Changing your name in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man

Are the islands part of the UK?#

No. The Ministry of Justice's page on GOV.UK says the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes Alderney and Sark, and the Isle of Man) are not part of the UK but self-governing dependencies of the Crown, with their own legislatures, legal systems and courts. GOV.UK's deed poll guidance does not mention them, so each island's own pages are the ones to follow.

Jersey#

Jersey's Royal Court registers deed polls through the Samedi Division of the Judicial Greffe, for £75, on the terms of its practice direction RC 05/26:

• Who can apply: anyone of full age who is ordinarily resident in Jersey. For a child under 18, a parent or legal guardian applies; a child of 14 or over signs too, and if one parent applies alone, the other parent's written consent, if living, is endorsed on the deed unless good cause is shown.
• Signing: in full, in both the old and new names, witnessed by an advocate or solicitor of the Royal Court or by a notary public.
• Contents: the old and new names, date and place of birth, ordinary residence, nationality at birth, and any marriage and divorce details.
• A spouse: a married applicant needs the spouse's written consent on the deed, unless good cause is shown, except for a change of forenames only.

The direction adds that registration in the Public Registry, where Jersey's property deeds and powers of attorney are kept, is needed only if your name appears in its Register of Contracts, Register of Procurations or, as a defendant, Register of Obligations.

Registration matters in practice: the Superintendent Registrar will not accept an unregistered deed poll or a statutory declaration among the identity documents for re-registering a birth, and says a child over a year old can have their name changed only by registered deed poll, except when the birth is re-registered. Other departments ask for a deed poll without saying which kind: Social Security, for example, updates its records from a copy of one.

Guernsey#

The States of Guernsey's guidance is the most open of the three. It says a British citizen can change their own or their child's name by executing a deed poll, signing it in front of witnesses who also sign, and that no advocate or solicitor is needed. A witness can be anyone aged 18 or over who knows you but is independent of you: not a relative, a partner or someone living at your address. Citizens of other countries are told to ask their embassy.

Registering the deed is a further step, not a condition. An advocate can prepare a deed poll and register it with the Royal Court, which gov.gg calls the equivalent of enrolment in London; the Royal Court says such a deed must be prepared by an advocate and presented in court. Neither page gives the fee.

gov.gg also says a marriage certificate proves whichever surname you choose on marrying, but that after a divorce you need a deed poll to show you no longer use your married name. There is no single public register of name changes, so you tell each department yourself, including the Revenue Service, and show an original of the deed.

Isle of Man#

The Isle of Man's Central Registry says you can prepare and sign a deed poll yourself, or take an advocate's advice if you are not comfortable doing so. Its Deeds Registry offers no form or standard wording, and its staff cannot advise. For a child, it warns that the other parent's consent may be needed and that this is a question for legal advice.

A deed poll can be registered in the Deeds Registry, which records deeds under the Registration of Deeds Act 1961. Once a deed is recorded, the registry keeps the original permanently, and it says the Passport Office will then accept a print of it, bought online. The registry's 2023 fees order has no separate entry for deed polls; its fee for registering a document not otherwise specified is £50. The Income Tax Division asks for a copy of the deed poll when you report a new name.

Passports issued on the islands#

Each island has its own passport office, and each issues British passports; Guernsey's stresses that there is no such thing as a "Guernsey" passport, only a Guernsey variant British one. A change of name means a new passport on all three islands, and the standard adult fee on each is £115.50.

• Jersey asks for a clear copy of your "change of name deed (deed poll) and statutory declaration", and a passport officer may ask to see the original. After a marriage, you send a copy of the certificate.
• Guernsey asks for your existing passport and evidence of the change, normally a marriage certificate or deed poll, as originals or certified copies issued by the relevant issuing authority.
• Isle of Man asks for the original deed poll and proof that you use the name, such as a tax letter or driving licence. It does not accept documents titled "Deed Registration", photocopies or certified copies, and for a child it also wants a letter from the other parent or parents approving the change. If your deed is in the Deeds Registry, which keeps the original, ask the passport office to confirm it will take the print.

Jersey and the Isle of Man both check the name in any non-British passport you hold; changing your name when you have two nationalities explains which passport to change first.

Can a birth registered on the island show the new name?#

None of the three registries describes recording a later change of name against a birth entry, as National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland's registrar can.

• Jersey's registrar can change a child's name on the birth registration within a year of the birth, and after that only when the parents marry or form a civil partnership, or a father or second parent is added. Re-registration costs £96.18, with a new certificate.
• Guernsey's Greffe amends the register when parents marry after the birth, for £15 plus £40 for the new certificate.
• The Isle of Man's Civil Registry records details as they were at the birth, and describes re-registering a birth after the parents marry or to add the father.

Using a deed poll made in England#

It depends on the island and the office. Guernsey's description of a deed poll signed before independent witnesses fits one made in England, for a British citizen, and the Isle of Man's passport office lists a change of name deed signed in both your old and new names among the evidence it takes. Jersey is stricter: its registrar wants a deed registered with a court, and the Royal Court's terms are for island residents, with an advocate, solicitor or notary as witness.

Our deed polls use the form UK organisations recognise, and our guarantee does not cover organisations outside the UK, so check with the island office before relying on one. If you live further afield, see changing your name if you live outside the UK.