Name Act Article 1

The legal name of a citizen of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) shall be that entered in the household registration system; a citizen may have just one legal name.The name of a Taiwan indigenous person or a member of another ethnic minority may be registered under his/her culture and customs. If the Han Chinese name of an indigenous person has already been registered, he/she may apply to restore his/her ethnic name. Following a person’s legal restoration of an ethnic name, he/she may reapply to restore his/her original Han Chinese name. Each type of restoration is allowed one time only.The culture and customs mentioned in the preceding paragraph under which a Taiwan indigenous person may register his/her ethnic name will be investigated and confirmed by the central indigenous affairs authority. The central competent and indigenous affairs authority will jointly establish guidelines concerning the significance, application, and other relevant considerations.For a Taiwan indigenous person or a member of another ethnic minority mentioned in Paragraph 2 whose birth registration and initial household registration use his/her ethnic name, he/she may apply to change his/her ethnic name to a Han Chinese name. Those who have changed to a Han Chinese name may apply to restore his/her ethnic name. Each name change is allowed one time only.If an R.O.C. national marries a foreign national or stateless person, the spouse and all children, if any, must take a Chinese-language name that conforms to R.O.C. practices. The above provision shall also apply to a foreign national or stateless person applying for naturalization.Those who have taken a Chinese-language name by the preceding paragraph may apply to alter the name once.Persons applying to restore R.O.C. nationality must take the Chinese-language name used before they renounce R.O.C. nationality.