The deed records the whole name#
A deed poll does not change one word in isolation. It records that you have given up your full old name and taken your full new name, and the two names are written out in full. So a deed poll that changes only your first name still shows "Anna Ruth Carter" becoming "Eleanor Ruth Carter", and a deed poll that changes only your surname shows the forenames unchanged on both sides. That is what organisations expect: two complete names and one document linking them.
GOV.UK's rule is that you can change any part of your name, add or remove names or hyphens, or change the spelling. The only limits are on the name itself: it must be pronounceable, it cannot include symbols, numbers or punctuation apart from a hyphen or an established form like O'Hara, it cannot be offensive, and it cannot be a title.
Changing your first name#
A new first name is the change organisations see least often, and it is no different in law from any other. The deed poll is the evidence. For a passport, GOV.UK's guidance on names that do not match your documents says to send a deed poll, statutory declaration or affidavit, with proof of any earlier changes and evidence that you are using the new name, such as a payslip or a letter from your council. Choose the name with the rules above in mind, and remember that HM Passport Office applies them when it prints the passport, so a name the deed allows can still be refused there if it breaks one.
Changing your surname without a marriage#
The same. A marriage or civil partnership certificate is the only document that changes a surname on its own, and only to a spouse's surname. Any other new surname, chosen for any reason, is a deed poll, and it is accepted everywhere the certificate would be.
The small changes the passport office allows without a deed#
GOV.UK's guidance on changes to forenames lists three changes that HM Passport Office will make on the strength of two documents showing the name in use, with no deed poll: changing the spelling of your name slightly, for example Jane to Jayne; changing the order of your forenames; and removing middle names. The documents can be a letter from a local council or government department, a driving licence, a bank statement, or a baptism or confirmation certificate. It is worth knowing, but it only helps once another organisation has already recorded the new form, and most banks and employers want a deed poll before they will. For most people the deed poll comes first and the passport follows.
Using the new name#
Once the deed is signed, use the new form everywhere, in the same way. Tell the organisations that hold your records in the order that works: something that produces a document in the new name first, then the passport and driving licence, then everyone else.
