Marriage changes your name. The affidavit is the document that puts that change on record before anyone else will act on it.
What the affidavit itself must say
State your name before the marriage, your name after it, and the date of the marriage, referencing the marriage certificate itself.
Keep it short and factual. A commissioner for oaths, a notary public, or a judge of the Federal High Court or a higher court witnesses it, stamps it, and hands you the sealed copy to keep.
Where this sits in the wider process
The affidavit alone does not update anything at NIMC, immigration or your bank. It supports each of those separate applications.
TechCabal's walkthrough of NIMC's self-service portal found it asking for a court affidavit, a government-issued ID, your marriage certificate and a newspaper publication for a marriage-based name change, though NIMC's own site does not publish a document list per field. Confirm the current list on the portal itself, since requirements can change.
Immigration's own list for the same kind of change runs to your marriage certificate, a High Court affidavit, a newspaper publication, an application letter, an NPC birth certificate or declaration of age, a state of origin certificate and your passport data page, on top of your current passport booklet for the appointment.
Once your affidavit is ready, see changing your surname on your NIN after marriage and changing your name on your passport after marriage for what each agency does with it.
What usually goes with it
A newspaper notice is the part people forget about until an agency's checklist mentions it. See the newspaper notice after a change of name affidavit for what that involves.
Keep your marriage certificate, the affidavit and the newspaper page together as one set. More than one agency will ask to see all three, not just one.
What it costs at court
The government charge for swearing this affidavit is a small stamp duty, similar to any other one-page affidavit.
See the change of name page for the current price if you would rather have a vetted partner firm draft and file it than start from your own paperwork.
If you use more than one version of your name
Some women keep a maiden name at work while using a married name everywhere else. That is a personal choice, and this affidavit is not required for it.
The affidavit matters when you want official records themselves, such as your NIN and passport, to carry the new name. Decide that first, then start the paperwork.
Common mistakes
- Applying to NIMC or immigration before the affidavit is ready, then having to restart the request later.
- Spelling the new name differently across the affidavit, the marriage certificate and the newspaper notice.
- Assuming the marriage certificate alone is enough, when agencies generally still ask for the affidavit too.
- Losing track of which agency has already seen which document, once several updates are running at once.
For a name change after divorce instead, see change of name affidavit after divorce. For the fuller picture, see our affidavit guides.