Deed poll guide: changing your name in the UK

You do not need a solicitor or a court to change your name in the UK. For most adults it comes down to one signed page: a deed poll.

Below is what a deed poll is, whether you actually need one, how to apply, and what to do once it arrives. If you have already decided, the adult deed poll application takes about five minutes.

What is a deed poll?

Think of a deed poll as a signed declaration that you have stopped using your old name and taken a new one. Sign it in front of two witnesses and it becomes your evidence of the change.

HM Passport Office, the DVLA, your bank and your employer all accept it as proof when you ask them to update your records. The document sets out three things:

• the name you have given up
• the name you now use, for all purposes
• the date the change took effect

The deed polls we issue are unenrolled deed polls. You sign them yourself in front of witnesses rather than lodging them with a court, and you can use the signed document as proof of your new name straight away.

Do you need a deed poll?

That depends on why your name is changing and what paperwork you already hold. Two situations usually need no deed poll at all. Almost everything else does.

When you do not need one

After marriage or civil partnership. If you are taking your spouse's or civil partner's surname, your marriage or civil partnership certificate is the proof. Organisations update your name from that certificate alone. Our guide to changing your name after marriage covers the exceptions.

After divorce or dissolution. If you want your former surname back, most organisations accept your marriage certificate together with the document that ended the marriage. In England and Wales that is a final order for divorces started on or after 6 April 2022, or a decree absolute for earlier ones. Some organisations still ask for a deed poll, which is why many people order one anyway. See our guide to changing your name after divorce.

When you do need one

If a marriage or divorce document does not cover your change, you need a deed poll. That includes changing your name because:

• you prefer a different first name, surname or both
• you want a name that reflects your culture, faith or family history
• you are changing your name as part of a gender transition
• you want to add, drop or reorder middle names
• you want the spelling to match how you actually use your name

A deed poll also gets round two common marriage certificate problems. If your certificate is lost, or was issued abroad in another language, replacing or translating it can take weeks. A deed poll is quicker, usually cheaper, and organisations deal with them every day.

Not sure which route fits? Our guide on how to change your name compares the options side by side.

How to apply for a deed poll

There are three parts. Only the first one is up to us.

1. Fill in the online application

Complete the adult deed poll application with your current name, your new name and your address. Check the spelling of your new name twice, because that is exactly how it will appear on the document. Payment is by debit card, credit card or PayPal, and the adult deed poll costs £22.50.

2. We prepare and post it

Applications received before 3pm Monday to Friday are prepared the same day. Your deed poll, along with any certified copies you ordered, is posted within two working days by First Class Post.

3. Sign it in front of two witnesses

Your deed poll is not valid until you and two witnesses have signed it. Signing instructions come in the same envelope, and the next section explains who can act as a witness.

Once it is signed, the paperwork stage is over. What remains is sending the deed poll to each organisation that holds your old name. Some want a certified copy, some want a form, and most need a fresh signature. If you would rather not work out who needs what, the Name Change Kit comes with the forms and letters already completed for HM Passport Office, the DVLA, HMRC, the electoral register, Council Tax, HM Land Registry and Companies House.

Who can witness your deed poll?

You need two witnesses. Both sign at the same time as you, having watched you sign. Each witness must:

• be 18 or over
• live in the UK
• know who you are
• have no close connection to you: not your partner, not a relative, and not someone who lives at your address
• understand what they are signing

A friend, neighbour or colleague is ideal. Gov.uk notes that some organisations will not accept a deed poll where a witness lives with you or is a close relative, so get the witnesses right the first time rather than finding out at the bank.

How old do you have to be?

You can make your own deed poll from the age of 16. At 16 or 17 the deed poll is yours to sign; no parent's signature goes on it.

Under 16, a parent or carer applies on the child's behalf and everyone with parental responsibility needs to agree. That is a separate application with its own rules, covered in our child deed poll guide.

Enrolling a deed poll at the High Court, which is a different and optional step, is only open to adults aged 18 or over.

What it costs and how long it takes

The adult deed poll costs £22.50. That covers the document itself; certified copies are an optional extra you choose at checkout.

The timeline has three parts:

• Getting the document: order before 3pm on a working day and it is posted within two working days by First Class Post.
• Signing it: as long as it takes to get two witnesses in the same room. For most people that is the same evening.
• Updating your records: the slow part. Each organisation has its own process, and a passport or driving licence renewal runs on that office's timescale, not ours.

We have issued over 900,000 deed polls in 13 years. If any organisation refuses to accept yours, you get your money back, subject to our terms.

Who to tell after you change your name

Your new name only becomes real when the organisations that hold your old one update their records. Start with the ones that issue identity documents, because the rest often ask to see those.

• HM Passport Office (see our passport name change guide)
• DVLA, for your driving licence and vehicle log book (see our driving licence guide)
• HMRC, for tax and National Insurance
• Department for Work and Pensions, if you receive any benefit or the State Pension
• Your local council, for Council Tax and the electoral register
• HM Land Registry, if your name is on a property title
• Companies House, if you are a company director
• Your employer, and your workplace pension
• Banks, building societies, credit cards and your mortgage lender
• Your GP and dentist, utilities, insurers and mobile provider

The list is long, which is the point of the Name Change Kit: the government forms and letters arrive already filled in, so you sign and post rather than research.

Are there restrictions on the name you choose?

You have a lot of freedom, but not total freedom. The limits come from two places: the general rules on gov.uk, and the practical rules HM Passport Office applies when it prints a passport. Your new name must:

• be pronounceable
• contain no numbers, symbols or punctuation, apart from a hyphen or an apostrophe in an established name such as O'Hara
• contain no accents or other marks on letters, because passport systems cannot print them
• not be offensive, vulgar or sexually explicit
• not promote crime, hatred or extremism, or be linked to a gang
• not be against the public interest, for example adding Ltd to the end of your name

A deed poll changes your name, not your title. It cannot make you a Sir, a Lady or a Doctor. And a string of words that does not read as a name may be questioned when you renew your passport, so keep it recognisable as one.

One legal point. If you are on a register of offenders, you must tell the police about your name change. Not doing so is a criminal offence.

Common questions

What is the difference between an enrolled and an unenrolled deed poll?

An unenrolled deed poll is signed in front of two witnesses and used straight away. That is what we provide, and it is the version most people use. An enrolled deed poll is the same declaration lodged with the High Court for a court fee, which puts your name change on public record. Enrolling is optional, is only open to those 18 or over, and HM Passport Office and the DVLA both accept an unenrolled deed poll. A small number of organisations may ask for the enrolled version. It is rare, and if any organisation refuses your deed poll, we refund you in full.

How many certified copies do I need?

No rule sets a number. Think about how many organisations will want to hold a copy at the same time: the passport office, the DVLA and your bank may all have one on file at once, and you will want the original at home. Most people find that around ten certified copies covers everything without a reorder.

Does a deed poll change my birth certificate?

No. A birth certificate records the facts at the time of your birth and a deed poll never alters it. Your birth certificate keeps your original name and your deed poll sits alongside it as proof of the change. Organisations see this every day and expect it.

What happens if an organisation refuses my deed poll?

Ask what exactly they need. The answer is usually a certified copy, an original rather than a photocopy, or a witness who meets their rules. If an organisation still refuses a deed poll we issued, you get your money back under our guarantee, subject to our terms.

Can I use my new name as soon as I sign?

Yes. The moment you and your two witnesses have signed, the deed poll is valid and you can use it as proof of your new name. There is no waiting period and nothing to register. UK Deed Poll is not a government agency; we prepare the document, and the signing is what makes it yours.

Ready to change your name? The adult deed poll application takes about five minutes and your document is posted within two working days.