Changing your name with your bank: sixteen banks compared

The eight biggest banks compared#

Every one of the eight biggest high street banks and building societies accepts a deed poll as evidence of a change of name. What differs is how you give it to them, and whether they want anything else with it. What will my bank ask for? gives the answer for your own banks, and the order to tell them in. Each bank's own pages, checked on 30 September 2026:

Bank	How you change it	With a deed poll like ours	Can it be the first place you tell?
Barclays	A branch appointment, or a form by post	Accepted for a new surname; a new first name needs photo ID in that name	Yes for a surname; for a first name, the passport or licence comes first
HSBC	A branch only	Accepted if witnessed, with proof of your previous name	Yes: take your old passport, licence or birth certificate as proof of your previous name
Lloyds Bank	The app on an iPhone, a branch, or a form by post	Only with a driving licence or UK or EU passport in the new name	No: the passport or licence comes first
Halifax	The app on an iPhone, a branch, or a form by post	Only with a driving licence or UK or EU passport in the new name	No: the passport or licence comes first
NatWest	The app, telephone banking or a branch	Accepted on its own, registered or not	Yes
Santander	A branch only	Only with a passport or driving licence in the new name	No: the passport or licence comes first
Nationwide	A branch, or a form by post	Accepted with one other ID document, in your old or new name	Yes
Monzo	A chat in the app	Accepted on its own	Yes

Our bank guides#

Each of these is written from the bank's own published process, with the documents it asks for, the forms and addresses, and any rule of its own.

More banks#

Eight more banks, building societies and app-only banks, from their own pages on 30 September 2026. first direct and Metro Bank publish too little for a guide of their own, so their names link to their own pages.

Bank	How you change it	With a deed poll like ours	Can it be the first place you tell?
TSB	A chat in the app, or a branch	Only with proof you already use the new name, such as a driving licence or passport	No: the passport or licence comes first
Virgin Money	A branch or a form for accounts, a letter for credit cards, a form for mortgages	Accepted; savings also want a birth or marriage certificate for your previous name	Yes
first direct	A chat in the app or Online Banking to order a form	Not published: the list of documents comes with the form	Its pages set no rule
Metro Bank	Not published for accounts; a mortgage by letter	Not published for accounts; a certified copy for a mortgage	Its pages set no rule
Starling	A message in the app, with the document attached	Accepted on its own	Yes
The Co-operative Bank	By post or in a branch, with your old and new signatures; a mortgage has its own form	Accepted for accounts; for a mortgage, only with ID such as a passport or driving licence	Yes, for accounts
Revolut	In the app, in your personal details	Not on its own: it asks for government-issued ID, such as a passport	No: the passport comes first
Chase UK	A chat in the app, from your personal details	Not on its list, which names only an enrolled deed poll; a passport or driving licence is	No: the passport or licence comes first

Which banks want a passport or licence first?#

Among the eight biggest, three write it into their policy. Lloyds and Halifax, which belong to the same group, say an unenrolled deed poll "can only be accepted with valid driving licence or UK/EU passport in the new name". Santander accepts an unenrolled deed poll "plus 1 ID document in your new name", such as a passport or driving licence. Barclays has a narrower rule: a change of surname is fine with the deed poll, but a new first, middle or full name needs government photo ID in the new name.

Among the other banks: TSB accepts an unenrolled deed poll only with proof that you are using your new name, such as a driving licence or passport. Revolut asks for government-issued ID for any change of name and does not mention a deed poll. Chase UK's list names only a deed poll "stamped as enrolled by the High Court", beside a passport or driving licence. And the Co-operative Bank takes a deed poll for everyday accounts, but its mortgage form wants ID with an unenrolled one.

At those banks, change your passport or driving licence first. Each of them needs something in the new name from someone else: HM Passport Office wants your deed poll and one document showing you already use the name, and DVLA, when your evidence is a deed poll, wants one document in the new name issued in the last 12 months, or your new UK passport number. A letter from HMRC, your employer or your council does for both, or a statement from a bank that accepts a deed poll on its own. Changing your name with HM Passport Office and with DVLA have the detail.

GOV.UK warns that some organisations, naming some banks among them, may accept only an enrolled deed poll. None of the eight biggest insists on one. Chase UK is the one bank we found whose list names only an enrolled deed poll, and there a passport or driving licence in the new name does as well. Wherever a bank attaches a condition, enrolment is the slower way round it: GOV.UK says it costs £53.05 and can take several months. Enrolled and unenrolled deed polls explains what enrolment does and does not change.

What every bank has in common#

A bank has to know who its customer is, so it will not change a name on your say-so: it wants to see the document that changed it. For a deed poll that means the deed itself in a branch, a copy by post, usually a certified copy, or an image or a chat in some apps; for marriage it is the certificate; for divorce, the papers that link the old name to the new one. None mentions a fee.

Once the record changes, the name on your account needs to match the name on your payslip, your benefits and anything paid in by standing order. Change the bank before the organisations that pay into it, unless your bank is one of those that wants the passport first, and then change it as soon as the passport or licence arrives. If your banks take documents by post, how many certified copies you need has the arithmetic, and does changing my name affect my credit rating? explains how your old and new names stay linked.

Questions people ask

Do banks accept an unenrolled deed poll?

Most do. All eight of the biggest do, but Lloyds, Halifax and Santander only alongside a passport or driving licence in the new name; NatWest, Monzo, HSBC, Nationwide and, for a new surname, Barclays accept it without one. Barclays says it accepts deed polls "that you've created yourself or bought online". Of the other banks we checked, TSB wants proof you already use the new name, Revolut asks for government ID and Chase UK lists only an enrolled deed poll.

Should I enrol my deed poll to make my bank accept it?

Usually not. Lloyds, Halifax and Santander do accept an enrolled deed poll on its own, but GOV.UK says enrolment costs £53.05, is for people aged 18 or over, and can take several months; a new passport or driving licence usually comes sooner and does the same job at those banks.

Does changing my name with the bank change my credit card too?

It depends on the group. Lloyds and Halifax say one change updates every account you hold across Lloyds Banking Group, including MBNA credit cards; Barclaycard and Santander mortgages are changed separately. Each bank's guide says which products follow. For American Express, Capital One, Tesco Bank and other card issuers, see changing your name on a credit card.

Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.

Changing your name with your bank or building society