One question per page#
Each answer page is written for one question, phrased the way people ask it. The first paragraph answers it, in a box, in under sixty words, so that a reader who stops there still has the answer. The rest of the page gives the detail, the exceptions and the next step. When two questions would get the same answer, they are one page; when a section of a page becomes a question people ask on its own, it becomes its own page.
Every fact has a source, and the source is shown#
A statement of what the law requires, what an organisation asks for, what something costs or how long it takes is made only where a primary source says so, and the source is linked at the foot of the page. In order of preference:
- Legislation, on legislation.gov.uk.
- GOV.UK, and the sites of the Scottish Government, National Records of Scotland and nidirect.
- The published guidance of the organisation concerned: HM Passport Office, DVLA, a bank's own help pages, a regulator's rules.
- Court judgments and official statistics.
Other deed poll companies' websites, forums, news reports and summaries are not sources for a rule. Where an organisation publishes nothing on a point, the page says so rather than guessing.
Two dates, and what they mean#
Checked is the date a person last confirmed the page against its sources. Updated is the date the content last changed. A page is re-checked whenever a source changes and at least every six months, and fees are re-checked every April, when government fees usually change. A page is never re-dated to look fresh: the updated date moves only when the words do.
How the service is kept out of the information#
We sell deed polls, and the handbook is paid for by that. So:
- The answer always comes first. Any offer sits after it, is relevant to the page, and appears only where a deed poll is part of the answer.
- Where you do not need a deed poll, the page says so.
- Prices shown are the prices at our checkout, and the build of this site checks them against it.
- There are no pop-ups, countdowns, struck-through prices or claims of scarcity.
- Nobody pays to appear in an organisation guide, and no organisation is described more kindly for being a partner.
Plain English#
British English, short sentences, one idea per paragraph, and the legal term explained the first time it is used, with the glossary a link away. Figures carry their unit, their date and their source in the same sentence. Comparisons go in tables; steps go in numbered lists.
Privacy#
No page on this site names a private individual, and no page carries a telephone number, ours or anyone else's; contact pages are linked instead. The site sets no cookies for measurement or advertising unless you agree to them.
Corrections#
When a reader, a source or our own re-check shows a page to be wrong, the page is corrected and the correction is logged on the corrections page, with the date and what changed. To report one, use the contact page.
What we do not do#
- Give legal advice about your own situation. The handbook is general information, written against public sources.
- Publish a page we have not checked against its source.
- Repeat a claim because a competitor makes it.
- Change a page's date without changing the page.
