The rule is written for spouses, not for wives#
GOV.UK's deed poll guidance says: you do not need a deed poll to take your spouse's or civil partner's surname; send a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate to record-holders. There is no other version of the sentence for husbands. The certificate records both people under the names they married in, so it links a husband's old surname to his wife's surname just as well as the other way round.
The passport rule is the same. GOV.UK's guidance on a passport after marriage says to send your marriage or civil partnership certificate when you apply for a passport in your new name, and HM Passport Office's caseworker guidance tells staff that if a customer sends their official marriage or civil partnership certificate they must accept it and deal with it in line with the guidance. Nothing in either turns on whether the applicant is the husband or the wife, and the same applies to two husbands, two wives, or civil partners.
What can go wrong#
The law is not the problem; habit is. A member of staff at a bank or an employer may not have seen a man change his surname on a marriage certificate before and may ask for a deed poll out of caution. Two things help. First, point to the certificate: it shows both names, and it is the document GOV.UK names. Second, if the organisation still insists, a deed poll in the new name removes the argument for £18.50 and is accepted everywhere the certificate is. Some men choose to make one anyway, so that every organisation sees the same document and nobody has to think about it.
When a deed poll is needed#
A certificate can only evidence a surname that is on it. If you and your wife both take a new surname, blend your two surnames into one, or add hers as a middle name, the certificate does not show that name and each of you needs a deed poll. Double-barrelling is the exception: GOV.UK's passport guidance accepts the certificate for a double-barrelled surname, though some organisations still prefer to see the joined form written in a deed.
The order of things#
Change the bank first, then your employer and HMRC, then the passport and driving licence, then everyone else, for the reasons set out in the guide to changing your name after marriage. Certified copies of a marriage certificate come from the register office, so order a couple with the wedding paperwork; posting the original to a dozen organisations in turn is the slowest way to do it.
