How do I tell PIP I have changed my name?#
By phone, straight away. GOV.UK's PIP guide says you must contact the PIP enquiry line straight away if your personal details change, "for example your name, address, phone numbers, bank account or doctor", and that such changes will not normally affect your eligibility for PIP or how much you get. For reporting any change, its instruction is one line: call the PIP enquiry line. The number, the Relay UK and British Sign Language video relay options and the opening hours are on GOV.UK's contact page for the Disability Service Centre, which deals with PIP claims already made.
That is the route in England and Wales. In Scotland, GOV.UK says new claims are for Adult Disability Payment instead, from Social Security Scotland, and PIP in Northern Ireland has its own centre; both are below.
Can I report it online or by post?#
Not online. GOV.UK's PIP guide mentions an online service only for claiming: in some areas you can make your full application online and sign in to a PIP account once registered. It does not say that service takes a change of name.
GOV.UK's Disability Service Centre page does give PIP a postal address, Freepost DWP PIP 1, and says to write nothing else on the envelope and that you need no stamp or postcode. Its instructions for reporting a change name the phone line, not a letter, so call first, and post a document only if you are asked to.
What evidence will PIP ask for?#
GOV.UK lists none for a new name, and neither does mygov.scot or nidirect; mygov.scot asks for proof of a new address, but nothing for a new name. Have your deed poll, or your marriage or civil partnership certificate, to hand when you call in case you are asked about it, and send only what is asked for. If you are asked to post a document, ask whether a copy will do, so the original stays with you; what is a certified copy? explains the difference.
Adult Disability Payment in Scotland#
Adult Disability Payment comes from Social Security Scotland, and mygov.scot says you should tell it if you change your name, "following a marriage or civil partnership, or if you've legally changed your name". There are two ways:
- Online. mygov.scot says Social Security Scotland's online change form currently takes changes to your personal details, "like your name or address".
- By phone. The call is free; the number and opening hours are on mygov.scot's contact page, with webchat and a British Sign Language video service.
If you are moving from PIP to Adult Disability Payment, mygov.scot says a change that happens before your PIP finishes goes to DWP, and one after your Adult Disability Payment has started goes to Social Security Scotland. If you move to Scotland from England or Wales, GOV.UK says to contact the PIP enquiry line and make a new claim for Adult Disability Payment.
mygov.scot adds that if you also get Universal Credit, Income Support, Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, you need to tell DWP as well.
PIP in Northern Ireland#
PIP in Northern Ireland is for residents of Northern Ireland, and nidirect says to tell the Department for Communities straight away about a change in your circumstances. The first example on its list of changes to report to the PIP Centre is "a change in your personal details such as name, address or doctor". The Department for Communities' contact page for the PIP Centre gives a phone line for existing claims, a video relay service for British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language users, and a postal address. Changing your name in Northern Ireland covers the other bodies there.
Your bank account and your other benefits#
GOV.UK says that if you get more than one benefit, you report a change to more than one organisation. Universal Credit takes it through your online account (changing your name with DWP), Child Benefit through the Child Benefit Office (Child Benefit), and the State Pension has its own route through the Pension Service (State Pension).
If your PIP is paid into an account in your old name, change the name with your bank as well. Some banks, such as Lloyds, Halifax and Santander, accept an unenrolled deed poll only with a passport or driving licence in the new name; changing your name with your bank compares sixteen. For Adult Disability Payment, mygov.scot says a change of payment details cannot be sent on the online or paper form: you call Social Security Scotland.
Questions people ask
Do I need to tell PIP if I change my surname after marriage?
Yes. GOV.UK's list of personal details to report includes your name, without any exception for marriage, and mygov.scot gives a marriage or civil partnership as its first example for Adult Disability Payment. In England and Wales it is one phone call, with no form to fill in.
Can someone else report my change of name to PIP?
Yes, with you there. GOV.UK says you can ask for a helper to be added to your call to the PIP enquiry line, except on textphone, or ask someone to call on your behalf as long as you are with them. If someone acts on your behalf and that person changes, GOV.UK says to report that too.
Is there a PIP change of name form?
Not on GOV.UK, which gives only the PIP enquiry line for reporting a change. Scotland is different: Social Security Scotland's online change of circumstances form takes a new name for Adult Disability Payment. Its downloadable form, mygov.scot says, is for changes to your health, care needs, disability, conditions or mobility needs.
Will a new name stop my PIP payments?
GOV.UK says a change to personal details such as your name will not normally affect your eligibility or how much you get. Its general benefits page still puts changing your name or gender first in its list of changes to report, and warns that a claim might be stopped or reduced if a change is not reported straight away.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
