GOV.UK's three rules#
You can change any part of your name, add or remove names or hyphens, or change the spelling. The new name must:
- be pronounceable;
- not include symbols, numbers or punctuation, unless it is a hyphenated name or the punctuation is part of an established name, such as O'Hara;
- not be offensive or against the public interest, GOV.UK's example being "Ltd" added to the end of a name.
Two things a deed poll cannot do#
GOV.UK also says a deed poll cannot change which letters are capitalised in your name, and cannot change a title such as Mr, Mrs, Sir, Lady or Doctor. A title is not part of your legal name: you tell each organisation which one to use, and DVLA changes one on a licence by the same process as a name, asking for evidence only for a hereditary title. Can a deed poll change my title?
What we will not draft#
Because it would be refused, and the guarantee is on acceptance:
- names with numbers or symbols;
- titles, ranks or qualifications you do not hold, whether as a title or as a forename: Lord, Sir, Doctor, Captain, Reverend;
- anything vulgar, offensive, or that promotes crime;
- a string of letters nobody could pronounce.
We decline those and refund in full.
Names that get through and cause trouble#
Not refused, and we will draft them, but worth knowing the consequence. A famous living person's full name, a trademark taken as a surname, a phrase that reads like a form filled in wrongly ("Thank You"), or a spelling nobody can guess from hearing it. Each is a conversation at every counter for years.
HM Passport Office's own rules#
A passport is printed to HM Passport Office's guidance on names, which applies its own limits on characters and length and its own treatment of titles and single names, whatever a deed poll says. A refusal there is a decision about the name, not about the deed, and it is worth reading that guidance before choosing a name that is unusual in form.
