Changing your name with Barclays

How do I change my name with Barclays?#

Barclays gives two routes on its help page, and both cover your current and savings accounts, cards and statements.

• In a branch. Book an appointment through Barclays' appointment booking page and bring proof of your change of name. Barclays says this must be the original documents, not copies.
• By post. Fill in Barclays' change of name form and send it to Barclays Bank, Leicester, LE87 2BB, with certified copies of your documents. The form asks you not to send originals, because Barclays cannot guarantee they will be returned.

Barclays' help page does not describe changing a name in the app or in Online Banking; those are for contact details such as your phone number and email address.

What does Barclays ask to see?#

It depends on which part of your name is changing.

On the deed poll itself Barclays is clear. Its help page says it accepts deed polls "that you've created yourself or bought online", that one does not need to be witnessed by a solicitor, and that it must be signed by you and witnessed by someone else. That describes an unenrolled deed poll, and the ones we draft have space for two witnesses.

Changing a first or middle name? Do the passport or licence first#

For anything beyond your surname, Barclays wants photo ID already in the new name, so the deed poll alone will not change a first name there. Change your passport or driving licence first, then take it to Barclays.

Both need something from another organisation first. HM Passport Office asks for your deed poll and one document showing you already use the new name, and DVLA, when your evidence is a deed poll, asks for the same kind of document or your new passport number. A letter from HMRC, a payslip from your employer or a letter from your council does the job, so tell them before the bank. Changing your name with HM Passport Office and with DVLA set out each step.

Sending the form by post#

The change of name form covers your personal Barclays current, savings and loan accounts only. It asks for:

• your details as Barclays holds them now, and your new details, with your account number and sort code;
• the reason for the change, with a certified copy of the matching document: a marriage or civil partnership certificate, a decree absolute or dissolution order, or a deed poll or statutory declaration;
• your old signature and your new one, under a declaration that you will use only the new name in your future dealings with Barclays.

A certified copy is a photocopy signed and dated by a professional person, such as a solicitor, dentist or teacher, as Barclays puts it. What is a certified copy? explains what they write, and we certify copies of the deed polls we draft.

New cards and chequebooks follow. The form says they show your title, initials and surname unless you tick the box asking for your forename. It also says your previous and new names may be shared with credit reference agencies and other lenders, which keeps your credit history together: does changing my name affect my credit rating?

Barclays' pages do not say how long the change takes by post.

Barclaycard, mortgages and other products#

A few Barclays products are changed separately.

• Barclaycard. Barclaycard's own help page asks for a letter with clear copies of your documents, such as your deed poll, sent to Barclaycard Customer Relations Department, PO Box 9131, 51 Saffron Road, Leicester, LE18 9DE; do not send originals. For an Amazon Barclaycard, it says to visit a branch or Barclays Local with the original documents and the card, and recommends booking an appointment.
• A Barclays mortgage. The help page asks you to tell Barclays you have a mortgage with it when you change your name in branch or by post, so it can update the mortgage too.
• Currency accounts, insurance and life insurance. Barclays' help page lists separate contact routes for these, including Aviva and Legal and General for some life policies.

If your address has changed as well, Barclays handles that separately: its address page says you can change contact details in the app, in Online Banking, by phone or in a branch, except that anyone who has, or has ever had, a Barclays mortgage must call. For every other bank, changing your name with your bank compares how they work.