What to put in a change of name letter

How do I write a letter to change my name?#

A change of name letter asks an organisation to update one record, and it should give the person who opens it everything needed to do that without writing back to you: which record, the name on it, the name it should now show, and the proof. Student Finance England puts the rule more plainly than most. It wants a covering letter, signed and dated by you, confirming what change is to be made and the reason for it, with your customer reference number if you have one, and says that otherwise it cannot make the change.

What should the letter include?#

• Your name exactly as they hold it. Leeds City Council, for example, asks for your name as it appears on your council tax bill now. If the record shows an initial or a middle name, use that form, so the letter matches the record.
• Your new name in full, every forename and the surname, spelt as on the deed poll.
• Your account, policy or reference number. It is how the letter finds your record: a customer reference number for Student Finance England, a council tax account number for Leeds, your account number and sort code for NatWest. If you hold several accounts with the same organisation, list them all.
• The date of the change and what made it: the date your deed poll was signed, or the date of your marriage, civil partnership or divorce.
• A list of what you enclose, saying which documents are originals and which are certified copies.
• What you want back, and where to send it. Lloyds, for one, returns original documents, but returns certified copies only if you ask.
• Both signatures, where asked. NS&I will take a letter instead of its form if it gives your previous name and previous signature, and your new name and new signature. Lloyds' own form asks for both signatures too.
• How to reach you, so that a question does not have to wait for a reply by post.
• Your signature and the date.

Keep a copy of each letter and a note of the day you posted it.

Should I send the original or a certified copy?#

A certified copy, unless the organisation asks for the original. Organisations that file what they are sent keep the copy, and some are explicit about originals:

• Barclays wants original documents at a branch appointment, but certified copies if you write.
• Nationwide says it cannot accept original documents in the post or send originals back.
• HM Land Registry's guidance on form AP1 asks only for certified copies, and says it destroys what it is sent once it has been scanned, originals included, unless it is a cherished document such as a birth or marriage certificate or a passport.
• Leeds City Council asks you not to post original documents.

HM Passport Office and DVLA are the exceptions: each wants the original deed and posts it back. HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff says evidence of a change of name must be an original or a replacement document, and GOV.UK says passport supporting documents come back separately from the new passport; DVLA returns identity documents by second class post. A plain photocopy is enough for a few: Student Finance England takes a clear photocopy with the letter, uploaded to your online account. What a certified copy is and photocopy or PDF? cover the rest.

Which organisations want a form or an online route instead?#

Many do not take a letter at all, so check how each one takes a change of name before you write:

So for a letter to your bank: of the eight banks and building societies above, Barclays is the only one whose help page simply asks you to write in, though it also publishes a change of name form. Lloyds, Halifax and Nationwide take post only with their own form, and banks compared sets out what each wants. Energy, water, phone and broadband companies and councils have their own routes too: see utilities and council tax.

How do I post documents safely?#

• Keep the original at home unless the organisation has asked for it.
• When an original has to go, use a tracked service with a signature. At the Post Office, Special Delivery Guaranteed is tracked, signed for on delivery and includes compensation of up to £750; 1st and 2nd Class Signed For records a signature but includes up to £20. Lloyds and Halifax recommend recorded delivery for what you send them.
• Keep the proof of posting. The Post Office says you need it to claim for an item that is late, lost or damaged.
• Pay for the return journey if you want to track it. DVLA says that if you want to track your documents on the way back, you can enclose a prepaid Special Delivery or Signed For envelope addressed to yourself.

A cover letter template comes with every deed poll#

Every deed poll we draft comes with a signing guide, a guide to who to tell and a cover letter template. If you would rather not write the letters yourself, custom cover letters addressed from you to each organisation are an optional extra, sold in the same bundles as certified copies: 2 for £6, 6 for £10, 10 for £15, 15 for £20 and 20 for £25. Certified copies describes both.