What the document says#
GOV.UK publishes the wording it expects in a deed poll, so there is no secret to what is on the page. A deed poll for a change of name does five things:
- It declares the change. "I [old name] of [your address] have given up my name [old name] and have adopted for all purposes the name [new name]." That sentence is the deed. "For all purposes" is what separates a change of name from a nickname: you are undertaking to use the new name everywhere.
- It confirms the police have been told, where that applies. Only registered sex, violent and terrorist offenders have that duty, and the wording says "where applicable" so that everyone else can sign it truthfully.
- It acknowledges that authorities may check both names. HM Passport Office in particular may look at the history and validity of the old name and the new one when you apply for a passport.
- It is signed as a deed on a date, in your old name and your new name, in the presence of the witnesses named on it.
- The witnesses sign to confirm they watched you do it.
A deed we draft says the same things in the same order, printed on certificate paper with a marked space for every signature. There is no official form for an unenrolled deed poll and no government department issues one; the wording is what matters.
Why it is called a deed poll#
A deed is a written promise or declaration that the law treats as binding because of how it is signed, not because anything was paid for it. Most deeds are between two or more people. A deed made by one person alone is a deed poll. The name is a survival from the days of parchment: a deed between parties was cut with a wavy or indented edge so the two halves could later be matched, and a deed by one person was cut straight, or "polled".
So "deed poll" describes the form of the document, not its subject. A change of name is by far the most common thing a deed poll is used for today, which is why the phrase has come to mean a change of name document.
What makes it binding#
Section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 sets the rules for a deed made by an individual in England and Wales. The document must make clear on its face that it is intended to be a deed, it must be signed by the person making it in the presence of a witness who attests the signature, and it must be delivered as a deed. "Signed as a deed" in the wording does the first; your signature in front of a witness does the second; handing it over as done does the third.
That is why the witnesses matter more than anything else on the page. Without an attested signature there is no deed, just a statement. With one, the change of name is binding from the moment of signing. The law requires one witness; GOV.UK's wording names two, our deeds have space for two, and using both is what we recommend, because an organisation checking the deed expects to see two.
There is no waiting period and nothing to send anywhere afterwards. GOV.UK says you can use your signed deed poll straight away as proof of your new name.
What a deed poll can change#
Any part of your name. GOV.UK says you can change any part of your name, add or remove names or hyphens, or change the spelling. In practice that covers:
- a new surname, whether or not it belongs to anyone else;
- a new first name, or a change to the order of your names;
- a middle name added, removed or moved;
- a double-barrelled surname joined or split;
- a spelling corrected or altered.
What a deed poll cannot change#
- Capitalisation. GOV.UK says a deed poll cannot change which letters in your name are capitalised.
- A title. Mr, Mrs, Ms, Mx, Sir, Lady, Doctor: none is part of your legal name, and GOV.UK says a deed poll cannot change one. You choose a title by telling each organisation which one to use. DVLA changes a title on a licence by the same process as a name, asking for evidence only where the title is hereditary.
- Your nationality, immigration status or gender. A deed poll changes what you are called, nothing else.
- A child's name against the wishes of someone with parental responsibility. Everyone who holds it must agree, or a court must order the change.
- Facts on a birth certificate. In England and Wales a birth certificate records the birth as it was registered and is not amended for a later change of name; you show the two documents together. Can I change the name on my birth certificate?
Who can make one#
GOV.UK's rules are short. If you are 16 or over, you can make a deed poll yourself. A child under 16 cannot; a parent or guardian makes one on the child's behalf, with the agreement of everyone who has parental responsibility. And if you are a permanent resident overseas, you cannot change your name by deed poll at all.
Nobody has to approve your reason. A deed poll records what your name was and what it is now, and nothing about why.
Unenrolled or enrolled#
Almost every deed poll is unenrolled: you make it, you keep it, and nothing is recorded anywhere. The National Archives, which holds the historical records, says fewer than 1% of changes of name by deed poll were ever enrolled.
Enrolment means recording the deed with the King's Bench Division of the High Court, which puts the change on public record. It costs £53.05, is done on the court's own forms, can take several months, and your new name and your address are published in The Gazette. It is optional, and it does not make a deed poll more likely to be accepted. If an organisation has specifically asked you for an enrolled deed poll, that is what it is asking for. Enrolled and unenrolled deed polls has the full comparison.
Is a deed poll "official"?#
A common worry, and a fair one, because no government department issues unenrolled deed polls. The answer is that a deed poll is official in the way a contract or a will is official: it is a private legal document, valid because it was made in the way the law requires, not because anyone stamped it. HM Passport Office and DVLA both accept an unenrolled deed poll as evidence of a change of name. So do banks, employers, HMRC and the rest, because for most people it is the only document that exists.
What does not exist is a register. Nobody holds a copy of your deed poll but you and the organisations you have sent copies to, which is why the original is worth keeping safe and why losing it is a drafting problem rather than a legal one.
Deed poll, statutory declaration or certificate?#
Three documents can evidence a change of name, and they are not interchangeable.
| Document | What it is | When it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Deed poll | A deed by you, declaring the change, witnessed | Any change of name where no other document proves it |
| Marriage or civil partnership certificate | The registrar's record of the ceremony | Taking a spouse's surname, including a double-barrelled one; GOV.UK says no deed poll is needed |
| Statutory declaration | A sworn statement made before a solicitor or commissioner for oaths | Scotland, and where an organisation asks for a sworn account of your name history |
Divorce papers sit alongside the certificate: GOV.UK says you may be able to go back to your original name by showing the marriage certificate and decree absolute, though some organisations will not change a name back without a deed poll. Every legal way to change your name goes through each route.
How an organisation checks a deed poll#
HM Passport Office's guidance to its own staff is the clearest published test, and it is a good guide to what any organisation is looking at. An unenrolled deed poll, including one made online, must be accepted as evidence of a change of name provided it is signed in the old name and the new name, signed by at least one witness who need not be a solicitor, signed in wet ink rather than electronically, dated, and a contemporaneous document with nothing to doubt about its genuineness. It then asks for one document showing the new name in use. A deed that meets those tests is accepted; a deed with a missing witness, a date filled in later or a correction on its face is the one that gets questioned.
Four things people believe that are not so#
- "It has to be enrolled to count." No. Fewer than 1% ever were, and HM Passport Office's guidance does not ask whether a deed was enrolled.
- "It has to be done by a solicitor." No. GOV.UK describes making one yourself, and the witness need not be a solicitor either.
- "It expires." No. It records a change on a date and goes on proving it.
- "It is registered somewhere." Not unless you enrol it. There is no register of unenrolled deed polls and nobody holds a copy but you.
Does a deed poll expire?#
No. A deed poll records something that happened on the date it was signed, and it goes on proving it. There is nothing to renew. What people sometimes call an expired deed poll is a damaged or missing one, and the answer to that is a replacement, which records the same change and the same date.
Do you need a solicitor?#
No. A deed poll is binding once you sign it in front of ordinary independent witnesses, and GOV.UK describes making one yourself as well as having an agency or a solicitor draft it. A solicitor becomes relevant only when a document has to be used abroad, where a notary's certification or an apostille may be asked for, or when a child's name change has to go to court.
