The deed poll itself#
A deed poll is a deed you make yourself. GOV.UK's guidance says that if you are 16 or over you can make an unenrolled deed poll and start using your new name, and it gives the wording to use. The same page notes that a specialist agency or a solicitor can make the deed poll for you, and that they may charge a fee. Neither adds anything to the legal effect of the deed; it is the signing, in front of witnesses, that changes your name.
The witnesses do not need to be lawyers either. HM Passport Office's caseworker guidance describes an unenrolled deed poll as a document that must be signed by at least one witness, and says in terms that the witness does not need to be a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths. Any independent adult who knows you will do: a friend, a neighbour, a colleague.
Where a professional is required: the statutory declaration#
The confusion comes from a different document. A statutory declaration is a sworn statement, and HM Passport Office's guidance lists who may witness one: a solicitor, a notary public, a justice of the peace, a commissioner for oaths, an officer of the armed services of a certain rank, or another person authorised by law to administer an oath, and it adds that the person witnessing may expect a fee. Some people are told to "get a statutory declaration" when what they need is a deed poll. For a change of name in England, Wales or Northern Ireland the deed poll does the same job, is accepted by the same organisations, and needs no professional at all. Scotland is different, and the guide to changing your name in Scotland explains the statutory declaration's place there.
Enrolment is not a solicitor's service#
Enrolling a deed poll means putting the change on public record at the High Court. GOV.UK says you can do it online or by post, it costs £53.05, and it takes several months. The application is made by you, on the court's own forms, and a solicitor is not part of the process. Enrolment is optional, and it does not make a deed poll more likely to be accepted.
When a solicitor is worth it#
A solicitor sells advice, and there are situations where advice is what you need. The most common is a child's name when the other parent will not agree: a deed poll cannot be made without everyone who holds parental responsibility, and the route is an application to the family court, where advice on your own facts is valuable. Others are a name change tied up with immigration status, an inheritance, a business, or a dispute with an organisation that will not budge. The National Archives says the same in its own way: if you need legal advice on proving a change of name, speak to a solicitor or to Citizens Advice.
For the deed itself, a solicitor will usually charge a professional rate for a document whose wording is published free by GOV.UK. Our deed polls are drafted and checked by paralegals, which is what makes them £18.50 rather than a solicitor's fee, and we do not give legal advice about individual cases.
