Can I change my name while I am living in a refuge?#
Yes. GOV.UK says anyone aged 16 or over can make a deed poll and use the new name straight away, and for your own name nobody else has to agree, including the person you have left. An unenrolled deed poll is not registered or published anywhere. Plan it with your support worker, because the safest moment to update each record depends on your situation.
Avoid enrolment. GOV.UK says it puts a public record of the change and your address in The Gazette, and a married applicant may be asked for their spouse's written consent; it makes almost no difference to acceptance (can someone find out my new name?).
Which address should go on the deed?#
Not the refuge's own. Refuge says the addresses of its refuges are confidential, as does Scotland's Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline of refuges there. In a 2023 High Court case about serving court papers on refuge residents, Refuge, Women's Aid and Latin American Women's Aid told the court that residents agree not to disclose the address, and that every refuge provides a PO Box or office address for residents' correspondence.
A deed poll records an address. GOV.UK's wording opens "I [old name] of [your address]", and ours prints, in its opening words, the address you give at our checkout. Anyone you show the deed to, or send a copy, will see it. So ask the staff which correspondence address to use, and give that. It need not change when you move on (deed polls and moving house).
Where should I have it sent?#
To that same correspondence address. Our checkout takes one address, which is both printed on the deed and used for posting it, so the two cannot differ. Ask staff how post reaches residents, and whether someone can sign for an item if you choose our tracked and signed service (delivery options).
Our order emails go to the email address you give, so use one only you can open. A phone number is optional.
Who can witness it?#
GOV.UK's wording has two witnesses aged 18 or over, and warns that some organisations will not accept a witness who is a close relative or who lives at your address. HM Passport Office needs at least one, who need not be a solicitor. Our deeds have space for two, and we recommend using both.
A member of the refuge staff can be one, if the refuge's own policy allows it, provided they are not related to you and do not live at the refuge. Another resident shares your address, so is better avoided. Each witness writes their own name and address beside their signature, so a staff member should give the service's correspondence address, never the refuge's location. Both must be in the room as you sign, in wet ink; a video call does not count (who can witness a deed poll?).
Which records should I change first?#
Anything the other person can still see or reach, then everything else:
- What you share: an email account, a phone on their contract, location sharing, a joint account. Refuge's tech safety site has guides to each.
- A bank account of your own, if you need one. Surviving Economic Abuse says some banks may accept a refuge or safe house address with a PO Box, and may consider a letter from a refuge, a social worker or a local authority if you lack the usual documents.
- ID in the new name, if your bank asks for it. Lloyds and Santander, among others, accept an unenrolled deed poll only alongside a passport or driving licence in the new name (banks compared).
- Everyone else, giving your new contact details in the same message as your new name (who to tell, and in what order).
How do I keep the refuge's location private?#
- Post. Royal Mail's redirection page asks anyone moving home because of domestic abuse to apply by phone, and gives the number.
- The electoral register. You can register anonymously, and the form lists the person who manages a refuge among those who can sign the attestation it needs (keeping your address off your records).
- Job checks. The DBS form asks for every address, and its guide says that for a refuge you enter only the address, without saying what it is.
- Family court. Form C8 keeps your contact details, and your children's, to the court and Cafcass (or Cafcass Cymru).
- Passport and eVisa. The Home Office's names guidance says an application from a victim of domestic violence or stalking who is changing their name to stay safe should be supported by an appropriate authority, such as the police or a refuge service.
- Credit files. Experian can remove a financial link to a former partner once you show the connection has ended.
Can I change my children's names too?#
Only with the agreement of everyone who holds parental responsibility, or a court order, even when the other parent is the person you have left. In England and Wales the court route is a specific issue order on form C100, for £270, with help for people on a low income. Changing your name after domestic abuse explains the safeguards.
Where can I get more help?#
Start with the refuge staff. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, is free and open 24 hours a day, with online chat. Charities for domestic abuse and safety lists services across the UK, and changing your name to stay safe puts every step in order. In immediate danger, contact the police.
Questions people ask
Is a deed poll signed in a refuge as valid as any other?
Yes. Where you live when you sign makes no difference. HM Passport Office's guidance says an unenrolled deed poll must be accepted if it is signed in your old and new names, witnessed by at least one person, signed in wet ink and dated.
Will I need a new deed poll when I leave the refuge?
No. A deed poll records the change on the day it was signed, and moving afterwards does not affect it, so keep using the same one and give each organisation your new address when you are ready.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
