Can I change my name back?

Can I change my name back after a deed poll?#

Yes. A deed poll records that you gave up one name and adopted another, and GOV.UK's guidance describes no way of reversing one. Going back is a change of name in its own right, made the same way: a new deed poll, signed in the name you use now and in the name you are returning to, in front of witnesses. HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff treats a return to an earlier name as a new change of name, needing evidence of the change and a document showing the name in use. The one shorter route, described below, is for going back to your birth name from a married or civil partnership name.

Keep the first deed poll. HM Passport Office asks for evidence of every change of name, linking back to your birth certificate on a first application or to the name on your last passport, and GOV.UK's deed poll wording warns that the authorities may check the history of both the old and the new name. You do not have to give a reason: GOV.UK's wording for a deed poll has no place for one.

Going back to your maiden name without a divorce#

You can, and the passport office does not ask for a decree. GOV.UK's passport guidance puts divorce and "returning to a previous surname" under one heading, and its list is:

• your birth certificate;
• a statement signed by you that you have gone back to the previous surname "for all purposes", which GOV.UK explains as not using your married or civil partnership name at all;
• a document showing you use the name, such as a payslip or a letter from your council;
• the marriage or civil partnership certificate showing both names.

A decree absolute or final order is not on it. HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff asks for the same things on a return to a birth name, and it accepts a divorce document in place of the marriage certificate only if it shows the link between the names, which, it notes, divorce documents issued in England and Wales since 1971 do not. Since June 2026 it no longer asks you to say why you are going back.

Other organisations are where the decree matters. GOV.UK's route for going back with documents alone is the marriage certificate with the decree absolute, or the civil partnership certificate with the final order, and it warns that some organisations will not change a name back without a deed poll. So before the divorce is final, or with an organisation that insists, the document is a deed poll. You can make one at any stage, and GOV.UK says anyone aged 16 or over can make their own. If you enrol it with the High Court while you are still married or in a civil partnership, GOV.UK says you may be asked for your spouse's or partner's written consent. Going back to your maiden name after divorce covers what banks accept, and changing your name after divorce the order in which to tell people.

Going back to your birth name after more than one change#

HM Passport Office's guidance separates three cases. If your only change was from your birth name to a married or civil partnership name, the list above applies. If there was another change in between, a deed poll before the marriage for example, you send your full birth certificate, the documents showing each change from your birth name to your most recent one, the signed statement and proof you use the name, and staff check the chain against your passport history. If the name you want back is not your birth name, such as an earlier married name, it is treated as a new change of name, needing evidence of the change, such as a deed poll, and of the name in use. If you were adopted, see going back to your birth name after adoption.

If you no longer have the marriage certificate, the guidance lets staff look for the link in their own passport records instead, as long as you have sent the statement, your birth certificate and proof you use the name. If the records do not show it, they will ask for the certificate; a copy of one registered in England or Wales costs £12.50 from the General Register Office.

What does it cost to change my name back?#

There is no fee for changing your name back as such. The costs are the documents you need and the records you update:

• Certificates: a copy of a marriage or birth certificate registered in England or Wales is £12.50 from the General Register Office, or £38.50 by its priority service.
• Passport: a change of name means a new passport, at £102 online or £115.50 on a paper form.
• Driving licence: free; DVLA charges nothing to change the name.
• A deed poll, if you need one: GOV.UK explains how to make your own, and says an agency or solicitor may charge. Ours is £18.50, drafted and checked by a paralegal and posted the same working day. Enrolling it with the High Court is optional and costs £53.05.

What happens to my children's names?#

Nothing. Your deed poll, statement or certificates cover your name alone. A child's name changes only by its own route: GOV.UK requires the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility, or a court order, and a parent who no longer lives with the child still has a say. If you and your children will now have different surnames, travelling abroad with a child who has a different surname explains what to carry, and changing a child's name covers changing theirs.