Statutory declaration of name change: what it is and when to use one

What a statutory declaration is#

It is a written statement of facts that you sign and formally declare to be true in front of someone the law allows to take it. The law is the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. Section 18 lets a justice of the peace, a notary public or any other officer authorised by law to administer an oath take the declaration of anyone who makes it voluntarily, in the form set out in the Act's schedule.

The Perjury Act 1911 treats a statutory declaration as a statement made otherwise than on oath, but a false one is still a crime. In England and Wales, section 5 of that Act makes a knowingly false statement in one punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine, or both, and HM Passport Office's guidance reminds its staff that a false declaration is an offence.

How it differs from a deed poll#

Both are evidence of a change of name; the difference is in how each is made.

A deed poll is an act. You sign a deed saying you have given up your old name and adopted the new one, and independent witnesses watch you sign; HM Passport Office's guidance is clear that such a witness does not have to be a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths. A statutory declaration is a statement. You set out the facts of your change of name and declare them true before one of the people the law authorises, who signs the document as well. That appointment is the practical difference: it has to be arranged, and it usually costs something, where a deed poll needs only adult witnesses.

When people use one#

In Scotland. National Records of Scotland's guidance for people born outside Scotland gives three ways to change a name: the process in your country of birth, a deed poll, or a statutory declaration, which it describes as a legal document signed in front of a notary public or a justice of the peace. People born or adopted in Scotland can also ask NRS to record a change against their birth entry, and HM Passport Office accepts the resulting Scottish birth certificate as evidence of the change. Changing your name in Scotland covers that record and its fee.

To join up a name history. HM Passport Office's guidance says that anyone without contemporaneous evidence of every link between their names must send a statutory declaration covering all the names they have used, when each was used and, where known, the circumstances of each change.

To enrol a deed poll. The High Court's enrolment process includes one: form LOC021 is a statutory declaration by someone who has known you for at least ten years, declared before a solicitor, a commissioner for oaths or an officer of the court. How to enrol a deed poll explains it.

Who can take one#

HM Passport Office's guidance names the people whose declarations it accepts: a solicitor, a notary public, a justice of the peace, a commissioner for oaths, an armed forces officer holding 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 also counts, for declarations dated on or after 10 December 2007. Passport office staff themselves are not allowed to take one. DVLA's guidance gives a shorter list: a solicitor, a magistrate or a commissioner for oaths.

In Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says justices of the peace witness statutory declarations for a change of name, by appointment at the local justice of the peace court, and that councillors sign them too. A JP will not draft one; for that it points to a solicitor, most of whom are also notaries public.

What it costs#

In England and Wales the fee is fixed by law. The Commissioners for Oaths (Fees) Order 1993 sets what a solicitor or other commissioner for oaths charges for taking a declaration: £5 for each person making it, plus £2 for each exhibit it refers to that has to be marked, VAT included. Its parent section was repealed in 2010 with a saving that kept it in force, and legislation.gov.uk records no change to it since. The order does not cover notaries public.

In Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says the JP signing service is currently free of charge. Wherever you are, HM Passport Office's guidance warns that the person taking a declaration may expect a fee, consular officials included. Drafting is separate: if a solicitor writes the declaration for you, that is their own charge.

What it must contain#

The 1835 Act fixes the frame, not the facts, and HM Passport Office sets out what it will accept. The declaration must be signed in your new name and include the statement the Act requires: that you solemnly and sincerely declare the facts that follow, conscientiously believing them to be true, by virtue of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. Without that statement, or signed only in the old name, it is refused and a new one asked for.

In outline, a change of name declaration then gives:

• your full name and address;
• your former name and your new name in full, because HM Passport Office requires all change of name evidence to show the link between the two;
• for a name history, every name you have used, when, and why each changed;
• the place and date it was declared, with the signature and capacity of the person who took it, who also marks any document it refers to as an exhibit, as the court's form LOC021 and its exhibit sheets show.

Does HM Passport Office accept it?#

Yes. GOV.UK's guide to changing the name on a passport lists, under other name changes, a deed poll, a statutory declaration or an affidavit, sent with proof of any earlier changes and evidence that you use the new name, such as a payslip or a letter from your council. HM Passport Office's guidance tells its staff they must accept a declaration that meets the tests above. DVLA takes one too: its list of documents for a change of name includes a statutory declaration, sent with one document showing the new name from a list it publishes.

Deed poll or statutory declaration?#

Neither needs the other. In England and Wales a deed poll is usually simpler, because the only people involved are you and your witnesses (do I need a solicitor?). In Scotland a JP currently takes a declaration without charge, so the choice there is closer. Every legal way to change your name sets both beside the other routes.