Changing the name on your driving licence is free, but it only works by post. What to send the DVLA, how long it takes, and what to do about your V5C.
Post form D1, your current licence and the original document proving your new name (deed poll, marriage certificate or final order) to the DVLA in Swansea. It costs nothing, there is no online option, and you can keep driving while you wait. Your V5C log book is updated separately.
The DVLA does not let you change the name on your driving licence online. You post form D1, your current licence and the original document that proves your new name, and a fresh photocard comes back in about three weeks. There is no fee. What trips people up is everything around the form: it only exists on paper, a deed poll on its own is not enough evidence, and the vehicle log book is a second job.
Every application needs an original document that shows how your name changed. The DVLA accepts:
If you married or divorced and your passport already shows the new name, you can write your nine digit passport number on the form instead of sending a certificate.
One rule catches a lot of people. If your proof is a deed poll or a statutory declaration, the DVLA also wants a second document in the new name, issued after the deed poll and within the last 12 months: a bank statement, a utility or mobile phone bill, a letter from HMRC or your employer, or a letter from a council or government department. Update your bank first, wait for a statement, then post everything to the DVLA together.
Photocopies, laminated certificates and certified copies are all refused, including copies certified at a Post Office. Originals only, and every certificate must be signed and dated.
Then the driving licence is one item on a long list. HM Passport Office, HMRC, your bank, the electoral register, Council Tax and the DVLA all need telling, and each one has its own form or letter. The Name Change Kit (£59.95) prepares the completed forms and notification letters for the DVLA, HM Passport Office, HMRC, the electoral register, Council Tax, HM Land Registry and Companies House. You check them, sign, and post. If your marriage certificate, final order or deed poll is already in hand, the kit order form takes a few minutes.
Apply before 3pm and your deed poll is prepared today.
Without a marriage certificate or final order that matches the change you want, the DVLA will not act. A deed poll fills that gap. It covers a new first name, a new surname or both, and the DVLA, HM Passport Office and the banks all accept it.
The adult deed poll application takes about five minutes and costs £22.50. Applications received before 3pm Monday to Friday are prepared the same day and posted within two working days by First Class Post. You sign it in front of two independent witnesses aged 18 or over who live in the UK (not a partner, a relative or anyone at your address), and it is ready to go in the envelope with your D1. If any organisation refuses the deed poll, you get your money back, subject to our terms. Over 900,000 deed polls have been issued in 13 years.
Two things to know before you order. UK Deed Poll is not a government agency, and a deed poll does not change your birth certificate. The full process is in our deed poll guide.
Four things go in one envelope to the DVLA:
Post a car or motorbike application to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BN. Lorry and bus applications go to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BR.
The D1 pack is the odd one out among government forms. You cannot download it, and the DVLA's online form service will not send one out. The only place to get it is a Post Office branch that offers DVLA services, so collect one before you start.
Two optional extras carry a charge. A new photo at the same time costs £17 by cheque or postal order (free if you are over 70 or hold a medical short period licence). If your old licence is lost, stolen or destroyed, say so on the form and add £20. The name change itself stays free.
Your documents come back separately from the new licence, by second class post, so the licence often lands first. Postal applications usually come back within three weeks, longer if the DVLA needs to check your identity or medical details. To track the documents, put a stamped, self addressed Special Delivery or Signed For envelope in with the application.
You can keep driving while the DVLA holds your licence. GOV.UK says so in plain words, and you do not need to carry anything extra.
Since your original spends up to three weeks in Swansea, plan the order. HM Passport Office wants the original too, and so do some banks. Send the passport application first and the DVLA second, or send each a different original if you hold more than one. Our passport guide covers the passport side.
You can be fined up to £1,000 for leaving your old name on the V5C. A new licence does not update it; the DVLA treats the log book as a separate record with its own post.
The new log book can take up to six weeks. If your vehicle tax is due in the next four weeks, tax it online first or take the log book to a Post Office that handles vehicle tax so both happen at once. Moving house at the same time? Write the new address on the same D1 and in the same log book. The DVLA handles name and address together, by post only.
If your licence was issued in Northern Ireland, Swansea cannot help. Name changes go to the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) on form DL1 with your proof document, and there is no online option there either. The DVA aims to process a licence within 10 working days. You can keep driving in the meantime if you have held a Northern Ireland or Great Britain licence issued since 1 January 1976 and have not been refused or disqualified. The DL1 guidance notes list the proof the DVA accepts.
No. The DVLA's online services cover an address change and a photo renewal, and a name change is not among them. If you try to change your address online while your name is also changing, GOV.UK sends you to the postal route. Put both changes on one D1 (or D2 for lorry and bus licences) with your original documents.
Yes. The DVLA charges nothing for a name change, whatever the reason. The only charges are for extras: £17 if you want a new photo at the same time, £20 if your old licence is lost or stolen and you cannot send it back.
Yes. GOV.UK states you can still drive while you wait for the new licence. Give it three weeks before chasing the DVLA. Northern Ireland has the same allowance, with the 1976 condition above.
Yes. The DVLA refuses photocopies, laminated certificates and certified copies, including copies certified at a Post Office. Send the original, plus one document in your new name issued after the deed poll. The deed poll comes back to you by second class post, separately from the licence.
No. The licence and the log book are separate records, and the licence application never touches the V5C. Post the whole log book with a covering letter (and your deed poll, if that is your proof) to the address printed inside it, and allow up to six weeks. Skip it and you risk a fine of up to £1,000.
Adult deed poll £22.50. Apply in five minutes, prepared today before 3pm.
Online deed poll applications for adults and children across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Questions? support@ukdeedpoll.org