Does a deed poll have a reference number?

Is there a deed poll number?#

Not for an ordinary deed poll. An unenrolled deed poll, which is almost every deed poll, has no official number, because it is not registered: GOV.UK says you can use it as proof of your new name as soon as it is signed, and The National Archives notes there may be no record of it anywhere but the document itself. HM Passport Office's test for accepting one asks whether it is signed in both names, witnessed, signed in wet ink and dated. A number is not part of that test, and there is no database to look one up in.

If your deed has a number printed on it, it is the reference of whoever drafted it. If yours came from us and carries a small reference at the top, that is our order reference: it lets us find your order if you need certified copies or a replacement, and it is not registered anywhere.

What references does an enrolled deed poll have?#

An enrolled deed poll is recorded by the High Court and, under regulation 7 of the 1994 enrolment regulations, advertised in The Gazette. Both leave references:

• The enrolment date. GOV.UK says the Deed Poll Office seals the deed and posts it back as proof of the change, and the Gazette notice records the date the deed was made and the date it was enrolled in the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
• The Gazette notice. Enrolled changes appear under notice code 2901, Changes of name. Each notice has its own notice ID, with the issue and page number of the edition it appeared in.
• A fee reference. If you apply by post, GOV.UK says you are given a fee reference number once you have paid. It identifies the payment, not the deed.
• An archive reference. A deed enrolled between 1904 and 2003 has a reference in The National Archives' series J 18 (its own example is J 18/463), which you quote to order a certified copy.

How to find a record of a name change explains each search, and how to enrol a deed poll the enrolment itself.

What do I write on a form that asks for a deed poll number?#

• If your deed poll is unenrolled, say so. Write "unenrolled deed poll, no reference number" and give the date it was signed, which is on the deed, then send the deed or a certified copy, as the form asks.
• If it is enrolled, give the date of enrolment and the Gazette notice ID.
• If you are not sure what the number is for, ask the organisation. It may want your account number with them, or simply the deed itself.