Child deed poll

One rule before you order

A child's name can only be changed with the agreement of everyone who has parental responsibility for the child, or with a court order. That is GOV.UK's rule, and no deed poll provider can draft around it. You tell us who holds parental responsibility during the application, and the deed and the cover letter are drafted to record that agreement.

• Both parents agree. The most common case. You name everyone with parental responsibility when you apply, and the deed records their agreement.
• You are the only person with parental responsibility. Then yours is the only agreement needed: an unmarried father who is not on the birth certificate and has no order, for example, does not hold it. Tell us the situation and we draft to match.
• The other parent will not agree. A deed poll cannot do it, and the route is a court application for a specific issue order. We cannot do that for you, and we say so rather than take the order: changing a child's surname without the other parent's consent.
• The child is 16 or 17. They change their own name with an adult deed poll, signed by them, at the same £18.50.

What arrives in the envelope

• The child's deed poll, drafted by a paralegal and checked by a second person, printed on certificate paper, with space for the parent's signature and two witnesses.
• A parental cover letter, addressed from you, for the organisations that hold the child's records.
• A signing and witnessing guide, and a who-to-tell guide written for a child: school, GP, passport, Child Benefit.
• Any certified copies you ordered, so the original stays at home.
• A board-backed envelope if you added one.

Signed by a parent, on the child's behalf. The deed is drafted in the child's names and signed by the parent who applies, in front of two witnesses, with the parental cover letter for the organisations that hold the child's records.

What we ask at the checkout

1. The child's current name and new nameExactly as they should appear, checked letter by letter before printing.
2. The child's date of birthIt appears on the deed.
3. Who holds parental responsibilityEveryone who does, so the deed records their agreement.
4. Your name and addressAs the parent applying, and where to post the envelope.

Nothing is posted to us and no documents are needed for us to draft it. If anything needs clarifying, a paralegal emails you before drafting.

What you pay

A typical order is £23.49: the deed poll and 1st Class post. Payment by card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Klarna; confirmation by email.

What happens after you order

1. Confirmation by email It arrives straight away, with everything you entered, so you can check the names.
2. Drafted and checked A paralegal drafts the deed and the cover letter, and a second person checks every name against your order.
3. Posted the same working day In the Royal Mail service you chose, from £2.99.
4. Signed and witnessed at home Nothing to send back, and nothing to file.

After you have signed

The school first, because it is the record a child uses every day, then the GP, then HM Passport Office if the child has a passport, then Child Benefit, which must be told of a child's change of name by deed poll. Changing a child's name covers each organisation, and changing your name after divorce covers the parents' side.