One and the same person declarations: proving two names are you

What is a one and the same person declaration?#

It is a statement, made formally in front of someone the law authorises, that two or more versions of a name on your documents all refer to you: a maiden name on a degree certificate and a married name on a passport, a middle name missing from a bank card, a surname spelt two ways. The phrase is common abroad, where the document is often called an affidavit of one and the same person. In the UK the usual form is a statutory declaration, made under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. Section 18 of that Act allows a justice of the peace, a notary public or any other officer authorised to administer an oath to take a declaration from anyone who makes one voluntarily.

A declaration does not change your name. It explains your names: which documents carry which version, and why. That is the difference from a deed poll, which adopts a name for all purposes from the day it is signed.

When do organisations ask for one?#

When no single document links the versions of your name. The examples below come from the organisations' own guidance.

• HM Passport Office. Its guidance on evidence of a change of name says that anyone without evidence from the time showing every link between their old and new names must send a statutory declaration. It must cover every name used, say when each was used and, where the information exists, explain each change (I changed my name years ago without a deed poll).
• Employers. The Home Office's guide to right to work checks, dated 1 October 2026, tells employers to check that any difference in names across your documents is explained by supplementary evidence, giving a marriage certificate, a decree absolute and a deed poll as examples. Its examples do not include a declaration, so one of those documents is usually the simpler answer at work.
• Officials abroad. The FCDO says local authorities in some countries may ask for an affirmation or affidavit as evidence of a change of name, or to support documents you already have. Spain's certificado de concordancia, confirming that two names belong to one person, is a similar request, and the FCDO's Spain guide says to meet it with a data subject rights request to HM Passport Office (using your new name abroad).

Where a difference is an organisation's own mistake, a declaration is the wrong tool: ask the organisation to correct its record (my name is different on my documents). For a mistake in a birth registration, see how to correct a birth certificate.

Statutory declaration, affidavit or deed poll?#

If you want one name everywhere from now on, a deed poll giving your former name exactly as your earliest record shows it often makes a declaration unnecessary; if the trouble is the past, the declaration is what tells it.

What goes into the declaration?#

There is no official form for a declaration of this kind, and we do not publish a template. What every declaration shares is the frame set by the schedule to the 1835 Act: you solemnly and sincerely declare the facts that follow, conscientiously believing them to be true, by virtue of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. HM Passport Office's guidance tells its staff to refuse a declaration that leaves out that statement or is signed only in an old name.

Between the opening and the closing words, a declaration about your names usually sets out, in plain sentences, your full name and address; each version of your name, with the documents that show it; when you used each one; and the reason for each difference, where you know it. Documents you rely on can be attached as exhibits, which the person taking the declaration marks and signs. You sign it in front of them, and they sign and state their capacity.

Can I write my own statutory declaration?#

Yes. Nothing in the 1835 Act requires a lawyer to draft it; the Act fixes only the declaration's wording. HM Passport Office's guidance says each of its application processing centres has specimen declarations that staff can give you so the wording is right. A solicitor will draft one for a fee, and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says its justices of the peace neither compose nor supply forms, so arrive with yours written.

Who can take a statutory declaration?#

HM Passport Office's guidance lists who it accepts a declaration from: a solicitor, a notary public, a justice of the peace, a commissioner for oaths, an armed forces officer of the rank of major, lieutenant commander or squadron leader or above, or anyone else authorised by law to administer an oath, such as a British diplomat or consular officer overseas. In Scotland a councillor counts too, for declarations dated on or after 10 December 2007. Passport office staff cannot take one.

In England and Wales, administering oaths is a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007, and HM Courts and Tribunals Service's guidance adds legal executives, licensed conveyancers and authorised advocates and litigators to the list. A justice of the peace takes declarations at a magistrates' court, which sets times for hearing them, so ask your local court first.

In Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says justices of the peace sign statutory declarations, including for a change of name, by appointment at the local justice of the peace court, and that councillors can sign statutory declarations but not affidavits.

How much does it cost?#

Drafting is a separate charge if a solicitor writes the declaration for you. Two cautions on the table. The 1993 Order covers solicitors and commissioners for oaths, but expressly leaves out anyone who can administer oaths only under section 113 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, so ask anyone else for their fee first. And HM Courts and Tribunals Service's own guidance still gives £27 for a magistrates' court declaration, the fee before the 2026 increase.

Using the declaration abroad#

An authority abroad may want the declaration legalised. GOV.UK says the Legalisation Office can apostille a document once a UK public official, such as a notary or solicitor, has certified it, at £45 on paper or £35 electronically. Check first what the authority will accept, because some will not take a UK declaration at all. The FCDO's notes for Brazil and Vietnam say British consular staff there issue no declarations, affidavits, "also known as" documents or deed polls to establish a British national's identity, and tell people to ask the organisation that issued a document to reissue it in the correct full name, or to take legal advice locally. Using your new name abroad lists the FCDO's letters on UK name law for 29 countries.

Is a false declaration a crime?#

Yes. In England and Wales, section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 makes it an offence to make a statement in a statutory declaration knowing it to be false in a material particular, punishable by up to 2 years in prison, a fine or both. HM Passport Office's guidance reminds its staff that making a false declaration is an offence, and says that falsely swearing an affidavit is punishable under the Perjury Act too.