How to enrol a deed poll

What enrolment is#

Enrolling a deed poll records it in the Central Office of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, through the Deed Poll Office of the King's Bench Division at the Royal Courts of Justice, and announces it in The London Gazette. The procedure comes from the Enrolment of Deeds (Change of Name) Regulations 1994. Their explanatory note sums up what enrolment adds: at common law a change of name by deed poll is "only evidential and formal", while enrolment "provides unquestionable proof of the execution of the deed". Before you start, do I need to enrol my deed poll? checks whether it would help you.

It is optional, and enrolled and unenrolled deed polls weighs whether it is worth doing; this guide covers how.

Who can enrol#

• Age. 18 or over. Someone aged 16 or 17 who is married or in a civil partnership, or has been, applies as an adult; for any other child, a parent or guardian applies, as below.
• Citizenship. The regulations require a Commonwealth citizen as the British Nationality Act 1981 defines it, which GOV.UK's form guidance spells out as a British citizen, a Commonwealth citizen or a British dependent territories citizen; the deed states which, and under what section of the Act. GOV.UK sets no such condition for an unenrolled deed poll.
• Where you live. If you live outside the UK, the regulations say you must show that you do not intend to stay abroad permanently, and you may be asked for a solicitor's certificate on how long you will be there. GOV.UK says a permanent resident overseas cannot change their name by deed poll at all (living outside the UK).
• Marriage or civil partnership. GOV.UK asks for the written consent of your husband, wife or partner. The regulations allow instead a good reason why that consent should be dispensed with.

What you need before you start#

• Proof of citizenship: a copy of your birth certificate, valid passport or certificate of naturalisation.
• Your other papers: your marriage or civil partnership certificate, your decree absolute or final order, or your spouse's death certificate, as they apply; adoption documents if you were adopted; a consent letter if you cannot complete the form yourself for medical reasons; and a certified translation of anything not in English or Welsh.
• A declarant. Someone who has known you for ten years or more, is a British or Commonwealth citizen, and is a householder in the UK, which GOV.UK defines as owning or renting a UK home or paying its household bills. It cannot be your husband, wife, civil partner or any relative by birth or marriage, but it can be a friend or a colleague.
• Two witnesses for the deed.

Step by step#

1. Apply online, or download the forms. Online, you answer GOV.UK's questions, submit within 28 days of starting and pay by card; HM Courts and Tribunals Service then emails you the three forms to print, with the deed filled in from your answers. By post, you download LOC020, LOC021 and LOC027 from GOV.UK, complete them yourself, and pay by card through the High Court Fees Office or by cheque or postal order to HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
2. Sign the deed, LOC020, in front of two witnesses. It becomes your deed poll, so GOV.UK says it must be printed single-sided with no crossings out or mistakes. It gives your old and new names in full, middle names included, your relationship status and your citizenship, and you sign it in both names. Both witnesses sign too. Photocopy the signed deed: for a postal application the copy is exhibit A.
3. Your declarant completes LOC021 and declares it true. GOV.UK says they swear to it before a solicitor, a commissioner for oaths or an officer of the court, by oath on a holy book or by affirmation, and that person prints and signs the form as well. An officer of the court means an appointment at the Royal Courts of Justice, arranged through the Deed Poll Office. Either way there is a fee.
4. Prepare the exhibits. Each photocopy gets a cover sheet, LOC027 or a plain sheet carrying the wording GOV.UK gives, signed by the same person who took the declaration. Exhibit A is the copy of your deed, B your proof of citizenship, and C your marriage or civil partnership certificate if you have one.
5. Post everything to the Deed Poll Office. The address is Deed Poll Office, King's Bench Division, Room E15, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL. GOV.UK warns that forms with mistakes are sent back.
6. Wait. GOV.UK's estimate is several months, and it says you can ask the Deed Poll Office for news six months after applying.

Who signs what, and in front of whom#

Enrolling a child's deed poll#

A parent or guardian applies, with the agreement of everyone who has parental responsibility or a court order, and GOV.UK says you must try to reach agreement before you seek an order (specific issue orders). The fee and the wait are the same as for an adult, and GOV.UK's guidance says every application to change a child's name is referred to a judge for permission to enrol.

You send the child's full birth certificate, any adoption papers, and papers about your own position where they apply, such as a decree absolute, a death certificate, a marriage certificate if your surname differs from the one on the birth certificate, or a letter from a new partner agreeing to the change.

The witnesses to LOC022 sign in pen. LOC023 is GOV.UK's suggested wording for the sworn statement of the child's best interests; LOC024 is made by someone who has known you for at least ten years and knows the child; and on LOC028, exhibit A is a copy of the deed and B the child's full birth certificate. A child of 16 or 17 adds a letter in both names saying they agree, witnessed by an adult not related to them.

For the child's passport, HM Passport Office's guidance says it needs no further parental consent when an enrolled deed poll is sent, because the regulations already require that consent or the reasons it could not be given. It treats an unenrolled deed signed by both parents the same way, if nothing suggests anyone else holds parental responsibility.

The notice in The Gazette#

The regulations require every enrolled deed poll to be advertised in The London Gazette. GOV.UK says the record will show your new name and your address, and that a copy of the notice will reach you by email or post. Notices appear under Changes of Name and give the date of the deed and of its enrolment, the former and new names, the address, marital status and citizenship.

You can ask for less to be printed. GOV.UK says that if you have a strong reason, you should give it in the application, and the judge may then allow the notice to show only your first name or only your surname; the same option exists for a child. Once published, a notice can be found by anyone searching The Gazette by name (finding a record of a name change).

What it costs#

GOV.UK gives the cost as £53.05, for an adult or a child. Behind that figure, the Enrolment of Deeds (Fees) Regulations 1994 set the fee for enrolling a deed at £11, in force since May 2024, and make the applicant pay for the Gazette notice. On top come the fees for having the declaration taken, and for a child the affidavit. Before a solicitor or commissioner for oaths, the Commissioners for Oaths (Fees) Order 1993 sets that at £5 for each, plus £2 for each exhibit marked; before an officer of the court there is a court fee instead. Postage and translations are extra. How much a change of name costs sets enrolment beside everything else.

Whether help with fees applies is unclear. GOV.UK's form pages link to the scheme, but its deed poll guide offers help only with the court order fee, and the scheme excludes copies, searches and charges made by third parties. If cost is a barrier, ask the Deed Poll Office before you apply.

What you get back#

When the application has been approved, the deed comes back to you by post bearing the court's seal, and GOV.UK describes that sealed deed as the proof of your change of name. GOV.UK's form guidance says the court keeps the photocopy of the deed, for reference and to make copies. HM Passport Office's guidance tells its staff to accept an enrolled deed poll as evidence of a change of name, supported, like any other, by evidence that you use the name.

Copies of an enrolled deed#

Ask the court first. The fee regulations charge 50p for making and examining a copy of an enrolled deed, including an office copy, and £11 for a search by staff, both since July 2026. GOV.UK's form guidance says the Deed Poll Team answers queries about deeds up to five years old and refers older ones to The National Archives, which holds enrolments made before 2003. How to find a record of a name change takes each route in turn. For everyday use, certified copies of the sealed deed work as they do for any deed poll.

Do you need to enrol?#

Most people do not. HM Passport Office's guidance obliges its examiners to accept an unenrolled deed poll that carries both signatures, at least one witness, wet ink and a date. GOV.UK's exception is an organisation that takes only enrolled deeds, which it says may include some banks, mobile phone companies and energy providers; if one of yours says so, get the requirement in writing before you start.

Deed Polls Online does not handle enrolment. The deed polls we draft are unenrolled, and usable the day they are signed.