Education bodies hold your name in two kinds of record. Some describe you now: a school register, a student record, a UCAS application, a student finance account. Those should change when your name does. Others record what you achieved, and those usually do not: exam and degree certificates normally stay in the name you were entered or registered under, and your deed poll is the document that links them to your new name. Changing your name on exam and degree certificates sets out the exceptions.
Most of these bodies take the change online or by email. Those that say what they want ask for a copy or a scan of the document that changed your name, not the original. Student Finance England says an unenrolled change of name deed is accepted; SAAS and Student Finance NI each list a deed poll among the documents they take; UCAS asks for an official document and gives a birth or marriage certificate, driving licence or passport as examples.
Timing matters most while you are studying. Exam boards print certificates in the name you were entered under, and King's College London, for one, prints the name on your student record, so change the name before exam entries or before you graduate. Tell your university and your student finance body at about the same time: SAAS warns that if the organisations supporting you hold different details, your funding may be delayed.
For a child at school in England, Department for Education guidance says a school should not change the surname a child is known by without written evidence that everyone with parental responsibility consents, obtained independently of the parent asking. Updating a child's name at school covers it.
Our guides#
Changing your name on exam and degree certificates 
Changing your name with Student Finance and the Student Loans Company
Schools, colleges, universities and UCAS#
| Organisation | How to tell them | What they ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Your child's school | The school office | For a new surname in England, written evidence that everyone with parental responsibility consents, which the school checks independently |
| Your college or sixth form | The student records or exams office, before exam entries are made | Under JCQ's rules, candidates are entered under a name that can be checked against ID such as a birth certificate, driving licence or passport |
| Your university | Student records, before your award | Its own list of documents; King's College London, for example, accepts an enrolled or unenrolled deed poll |
| UCAS | Its update my details form | A photo or scan of an official document showing the change; tell your universities and colleges too |
Exam boards#
You need an exam board only when you want proof of your results, because certificates already issued keep the name you were entered under.
| Organisation | How to tell them | What they ask for |
|---|---|---|
| AQA | Its past results service, online | A scan of your deed poll, marriage certificate, or decree absolute with birth certificate |
| Pearson Edexcel | Its replacement certificate service, online | A deed poll, marriage certificate or DBS check with your ID |
| OCR | Its online application | A scan of your deed poll or marriage certificate, with your current name and your name at the exams |
| WJEC and Eduqas | Email its replacement certificates team | The type of name change and, for a deed poll, its date |
| CCEA | Its replacement certificate application form, by email | Extra ID, such as a deed poll or marriage certificate |
| Qualifications Scotland | Its change of name declaration, by email or post | Certified copies of two documents, one linking your old and new names |
Student finance#
| Organisation | How to tell them | What they ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Student Finance England | Upload through your online account | A signed and dated covering letter with a clear photocopy of the evidence; an unenrolled change of name deed is accepted |
| Student Finance Wales | In writing | A letter with your customer reference number, the date, your signature and evidence of the change |
| SAAS | Its change of name, gender and title form, by email | A copy of one document from its list, which includes a deed poll or statutory declaration |
| Student Finance NI | Form CO1, returned to your local office | Documentary evidence, such as a marriage certificate or deed poll |
| Student Loans Company, if you are repaying | GOV.UK's guidance says to phone; use its contact page | Not stated in GOV.UK's guidance |
Questions people ask
Does student finance accept an unenrolled deed poll?
Student Finance England says an unenrolled change of name deed is accepted and it does not need an enrolled one. SAAS and Student Finance NI list a deed poll among their documents without mentioning enrolment. Enrolled and unenrolled deed polls explains the difference.
Can I change my name on my UCAS application?
Yes. UCAS changes it for you when you send its update my details form with a clear photo or scan of an official document showing the new name, and it asks you to let your universities and colleges know as well.
Does SAAS pass my new name on to my university?
Do not rely on it. SAAS shares your details with your college or university, the Student Loans Company, HMRC and DWP to process your award, but its form asks you to tell your college or university, and the Student Loans Company and DWP if you have a loan, yourself, because if the details differ your funding may be delayed.
Will my degree certificate change to my new name?
Usually not once you have graduated, though some universities, Cambridge among them, will print a replacement in your new name. Changing your name on exam and degree certificates compares five universities and every exam board.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
