One document for each person#
A deed poll is a statement by one person that they have given up a name and taken another. A family cannot make that statement collectively, because each member's name is their own, and each organisation you deal with holds a record for each person. So a family of four changing its surname makes four deed polls, each showing that person's full old name and full new name, and each signed and witnessed in its own right.
HM Passport Office's caseworker guidance recognises deeds "issued on behalf of a family" and says staff must accept them, which is reassurance that a set of deeds made together will be treated like any others. What matters is that each person's deed is complete.
Adults#
Anyone aged 16 or over makes and signs their own deed poll. GOV.UK's rule is that a person aged 16 or over can make an unenrolled deed poll themselves; nobody signs for them, and a parent cannot change the name of a child of 16 or 17 on their behalf. Each adult's deed is witnessed by two independent adults, and it is fine for the same two witnesses to witness every deed in the family, as long as they are not family members themselves.
Children under 16#
A child's deed poll is made by a parent on the child's behalf, and GOV.UK is clear that it needs either the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility or a court order. In a family where both parents hold parental responsibility and both are changing, that agreement is built in. Where a child has another parent outside the household who holds parental responsibility, that parent's agreement is needed for the child's deed even though the adults in the household can change their own names freely, and if it is refused the route is the family court. The guide to changing a child's name explains who holds parental responsibility and how the court decides.
A step-parent, however long they have been in the child's life, cannot agree on the child's behalf unless they hold parental responsibility, by a court order or a formal agreement.
Ordering for a family#
With us, each person's deed poll is a separate order at £18.50: adult deed polls for everyone aged 16 or over, and a child deed poll for each child under 16, applied for by a parent. Every deed is drafted and checked by a paralegal, and every one carries the same guarantee. If the household is changing together it helps to sign them on the same day, in front of the same witnesses, and to keep the dates consistent, because a child's school or GP will often see the parents' deeds and the child's together.
Telling organisations#
Each person's records are updated separately. Adults follow the usual order: bank, employer and HMRC first, then passport and driving licence, then everyone else. For a child, the school, the GP, Child Benefit and the child's passport are the main ones, and the guide to who to tell lists the rest.
