Does the government have to approve a change of name?#
No. In England and Wales an adult changes their name by their own act, and no government department approves, issues or records it. GOV.UK says anyone aged 16 or over can make a deed poll themselves and start using the new name, and can use the signed deed straight away as proof of it. There is no application, no fee to the state and no waiting period. The only official step is enrolment with the High Court, and it is optional.
The law explains why. The explanatory note to the Enrolment of Deeds (Change of Name) Regulations 1994 says that at common law a surname is "the name by which a person is generally known", and that changing it by deed poll is "only evidential and formal". The change is yours to make. The deed poll is the evidence that lets organisations, government ones included, update their records. The Home Office's own policy on names speaks of "the right to change names in the UK" and is aimed at preventing its abuse, not at granting it.
What does GOV.UK actually offer?#
Guidance, not a service. GOV.UK's page on changing your name by deed poll sets out:
- the rules for a new name: pronounceable, no numbers, symbols or punctuation beyond a hyphen or an established apostrophe, nothing offensive;
- free wording for an unenrolled deed poll you write yourself, signed in front of two witnesses aged 18 or over;
- that a specialist agency or a solicitor can make the deed for you and may charge a fee;
- how to enrol a deed poll with the High Court, which is the one part run by the state.
What it does not offer is an online form that changes your name, a government deed poll to order, or a register to join. Websites that say otherwise are describing a service that does not exist.
Is enrolment the government route?#
It is the only official one, and it is optional. Enrolment records your deed with the King's Bench Division of the High Court, through the Deed Poll Office at the Royal Courts of Justice. GOV.UK says you must be 18 or over to enrol your own deed (a parent enrols for a child), it costs £53.05, it can take several months, and a notice of your new name and your address is published in The Gazette. Once approved, the office seals the deed and posts it back.
The 1994 regulations' note says enrolment "provides unquestionable proof of the execution of the deed". It does not make the change of name happen, and it rarely affects whether a deed is accepted: HM Passport Office must accept an unenrolled deed that meets its test. The exceptions are a few banks and Railcards, explained in do I need to register my deed poll?. Is there an official deed poll office? is about the websites that borrow the office's name.
Does the government keep a record of my new name?#
Not of the change itself, unless you enrol it. No department holds a copy of an unenrolled deed poll; you hold the original. What government bodies do keep is their own record of you: once you send HM Passport Office, DVLA or HMRC your deed, they update their files, and HM Passport Office checks its records for passports held in earlier names. Can someone find out my new name? covers who can see what.
Where government bodies do come in#
They come in afterwards, as record-holders setting their own evidence rules:
- HM Passport Office needs two things before it issues a passport in a new name: evidence of the change, such as the deed poll, and one document showing you use the name for all official purposes.
- The Home Office says it may refuse to issue a document in a new name to a registered sex offender or someone convicted of an offence involving false documents.
- Registered sex, violent or terrorist offenders must tell the police within 3 days of changing their name; GOV.UK says failing to is a criminal offence.
- A permanent resident overseas cannot change their name by deed poll, GOV.UK says: living outside the UK.
When the state does decide: children, Scotland and Northern Ireland#
| Situation | Is a public body involved? |
|---|---|
| An adult in England, Wales or Northern Ireland | No; enrolment is optional |
| A child, everyone with parental responsibility agreeing | No; a child deed poll |
| A child, a parent with parental responsibility refusing | Yes: the family court, on a specific issue order, form C100, £270 |
| Born or adopted in Scotland | Optional: National Records of Scotland can record the change, £40, by post |
| Born or adopted in Northern Ireland | Optional: GRONI can record the change, £35 |
A child is the one case where the state can decide. GOV.UK says a child's name changes only if everyone with parental responsibility agrees, or a court orders it, and that you must try to agree first: changing a child's name.
In Scotland the record is an extra, not a requirement. National Records of Scotland updates the birth or adoption entry so new certificates show both names, and HM Passport Office accepts that certificate as evidence, but NRS does not record a change made on marriage, divorce or civil partnership, and it says people born outside Scotland use a deed poll, a statutory declaration or their own country's process. In Northern Ireland, nidirect lists recording the change with GRONI and making a deed poll as alternatives. Scotland and Northern Ireland have the detail.
Questions people ask
Is there a government deed poll form?
Not for an ordinary deed poll. GOV.UK gives the wording for one you write yourself on its own page. Forms LOC020, LOC021 and LOC027 are the High Court's forms for enrolling a deed, which is optional; LOC020 is not a template for an unenrolled deed poll.
Is a deed poll from a private company valid?
Yes. GOV.UK says a specialist agency or a solicitor can make the deed poll for you and may charge a fee. HM Passport Office's guidance tells staff to accept an unenrolled deed poll signed in both names, witnessed, signed in ink and dated, and not to make inappropriate comments about the company that issued it.
Can the government refuse my new name?
Nobody approves it, but government bodies apply their own rules when they issue documents. GOV.UK's rules say a new name must be pronounceable, without numbers or symbols, and not offensive, and HM Passport Office will not print some names on a passport. What you can change your name to.
Is there one government office to tell?
No. GOV.UK's Tell Us Once service is for reporting a death, not a change of name, so each department is told separately. Every government body to tell lists them with what each wants.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
