Universal Credit#
GOV.UK's guidance on changes of circumstances is written for money matters, but it is also the rule for your name. You need to report changes so that you keep getting the right amount, and you need to report them as soon as they happen. The page lists the kinds of change it means, from finding a job to changing your bank details or your mobile number, and it warns that a change can affect the whole assessment period, not just the days after you report it. It also says you could be taken to court or have to pay a penalty if you give wrong information or do not report a change.
How to report is one line: sign in to your Universal Credit account. Report the new name in your journal, in the same way you would report a new address, and say what changed it: a deed poll, a marriage certificate or a decree. Your work coach will reply through the journal if they want to see the document, and whether a photograph of it uploaded to the journal is enough or they want to see the original at the jobcentre. The name on your account should match the name on the bank account your payments go to, so tell your bank as well, and in that order if you can.
The State Pension and Pension Credit#
If you get the State Pension or the over-80 pension, GOV.UK lists the changes you must report to the Pension Service. Marriage, civil partnership, divorce, dissolution and being widowed are on the list, and a change of name usually arrives with one of them. You can report a change in three ways: by phone, online through the "manage your State Pension" service for some changes, or by post to The Pension Service, Post Handling Site A, Wolverhampton WV98 1AF. The phone lines and the Welsh-language line are on the GOV.UK page.
People who claim Pension Credit have extra changes to report, listed on GOV.UK. If you live abroad, contact the International Pension Centre instead of the Pension Service. If you are reporting on someone else's behalf, GOV.UK points you to its "alternative enquiry" service.
Other DWP benefits#
Personal Independence Payment, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker's Allowance and the other benefits each have their own contact routes on GOV.UK, and each expects a change of name to be reported to it separately; DWP does not pass a new name from one benefit to another. Report it to each one you receive, using the contact details on that benefit's GOV.UK page.
What to have ready#
Your deed poll, or the certificate that changed your name, and the new name exactly as you want it recorded. If your payments are made into a bank account, change the name on the account too, so that the name DWP pays and the name the bank holds are the same.
