Changing your name as a care leaver

Who has to agree while I am in care?#

It depends on the legal basis for your care. Under a care order the council has parental responsibility, which it shares with your parents, and the Children Act 1989 says that while the order is in force no one may cause you to be known by a new surname without the written consent of everyone with parental responsibility or the court's permission. HM Passport Office follows the same rule: it will not accept a change of name for a child in care without everyone's consent or the court's leave, and it asks for consent from everyone with parental responsibility until 18 where a care order is in place.

If you are accommodated by agreement with your parents rather than under a care order, HM Passport Office's guidance for social services says the council does not hold parental responsibility, so the decision stays with your parents, or whoever else holds it. Can grandparents, guardians or the council change a child's name? sets out every kind of order.

Your social worker is the person to ask first. They can tell you which order applies and who would need to agree.

Can I change my name at 16 or 17?#

Usually, yes. GOV.UK says anyone aged 16 or over can make their own unenrolled deed poll, and HM Passport Office accepts a change a 16 or 17 year old makes for themselves, with no parental consent, as long as there is no court order and they show they use the new name.

A care order is the exception. It lasts until 18 unless it ends sooner, and HM Passport Office names care orders among the orders that run to the 18th birthday and stop a name being changed without the court's consent. While one applies to you, the consent rule above still stands. Changing your name at 16 or 17 covers the general rules.

What changes at 18?#

The decision becomes yours alone. A care order ends at 18 at the latest, and from then you make an adult deed poll like anyone else, with nobody's agreement. HM Passport Office says a customer aged 18 or over whose name was changed before they turned 16 needs no parental consent either, provided they show the change and that they use the name for all purposes. If you were known by a different name while in care without a deed poll, a deed poll at 18 is the simple way to make it your legal name.

What can my personal adviser help with?#

In England, if you were in care for at least 13 weeks between 14 and 16, including a day after your 16th birthday, GOV.UK says your council must give you a personal adviser, who helps you prepare for leaving care and supports you afterwards, until you are 21, or until your 25th birthday if you ask. Each council also publishes a local offer. The Department for Education's guidance on local offers, in effect since 30 September 2026, says each one should set out the help available to obtain or replace identity documents, such as a birth certificate, a passport or a provisional driving licence. It does not mention deed polls, so what councils offer varies.

When we read a handful of local offers on 26 October 2026:

So ask your personal adviser what your own council's offer covers, and whether it would pay for a deed poll. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own leaving care law, so a care leaver team there will say what applies.

Do I have to pay for a deed poll at all?#

No. GOV.UK publishes wording anyone aged 16 or over can use for free, signed in front of two adult witnesses. A deed poll from us is £18.50, drafted and checked by a paralegal; help paying for a deed poll compares the routes, and charities for care and adoption lists organisations that advise young people in and leaving care.