How do I change my name with Sky?#
Contact Sky. Its help article on changing the name on a Sky account sorts changes into two kinds.
- Made over the phone, without legal proof, for reasons such as a new surname or title after marriage or divorce, a correction to a misspelt name, or your full first name where the account shows only an initial.
- Needing legal proof. Sky names two cases: a change of name by deed poll, and gender reassignment.
The article gives no online route, and it does not say how to send the documents for a change that needs proof. Sky's contact page explains that when you reach the end of a help guide and still need help, you are given a phone number and other ways to get in touch. That is the moment to ask how Sky wants to see your documents, and whether it wants originals or copies. Its pages do not say, so send nothing original until you know.
Have your account number to hand. Sky says it is the 12-digit number at the top of your bill, and that it also appears on the home page of My Account and on letters Sky has sent you. The article does not say how long the change takes, or mention your contract, your bills or your Direct Debit.
What does Sky ask for with a deed poll?#
Two supporting documents: one showing your previous name and one showing your new name. Sky adds that both documents must also confirm your current address, and it lists the kinds it accepts:
- a driving licence;
- a bank statement;
- a council tax bill;
- a water bill;
- a utility bill.
Every one of those is issued by another organisation, and the list does not mention the deed poll itself. Have the deed ready anyway, in case you are asked to show it. GOV.UK warns that some organisations, mobile phone companies among them, may accept only an enrolled deed poll. Sky's article asks for nothing of the kind; enrolled and unenrolled deed polls explains the difference.
Sky asks for the same two documents when a name changes with gender reassignment, the other case on its list. Changing your name when you transition covers the passport, driving licence and banks.
Tell your bank and council before Sky#
Because both documents come from someone else, Sky belongs near the end of your list.
The document in your new name can only exist once another organisation has changed your name: your bank, for a statement; your council, for a council tax bill; your water company or energy supplier, for a bill; or DVLA, for a driving licence. Some banks, including Lloyds, Halifax, Santander, TSB, Revolut and Chase UK, want a passport or driving licence in the new name before they will change it, and Barclays does for a new first name, so at those banks the statement comes later.
The document in your old name must show your current address too, so keep one back. GOV.UK tells you to send your old licence to DVLA when you change the name on it, so once you have done that the old licence is gone. A bank statement or council tax bill from before the change, in your previous name, fits Sky's list instead.
If you moved house around the time your name changed, you may have nothing in your old name at your current address. Sky's article does not say what it accepts in that case, so ask before you send anything.
After marriage or divorce#
This is the easy case. A new surname or title after marriage, or after divorce, is on Sky's list of changes it makes over the phone without legal proof, so its page asks for no certificate. The list mentions marriage and divorce but not a civil partnership or its dissolution; if that is your situation, ask Sky whether it treats it in the same way. For the passport, the bank and the rest, see changing your name after marriage or civil partnership.
Questions people ask
Can you change the name on a Sky account online?
Not according to Sky's change of name article, which describes changes made over the phone and gives no online route. My Sky is where you change details such as your email address, under My details.
Is it the same for Sky Mobile, Sky TV and Sky Broadband?
Sky's change of name article covers a Sky account and does not treat any of them differently. Sky Mobile does let you rename each plan or SIM in My Sky or the My Sky app, but that is a friendly label to tell them apart, not the account holder's name.
Can I put the account in my name if the account holder has died?
Sky's page on the death of an account holder says it can change ownership of the account to the next of kin or partner, or cancel it, and that the easiest ways to arrange this are to call or message it.
What if Sky will not accept my documents?
Complain to Sky first. Its complaints code says that if a complaint about Sky Broadband, Sky Talk, Sky TV or Sky Mobile is not resolved within six weeks, or Sky tells you it has reached deadlock, you can take it to CISAS, an independent dispute resolution scheme, which Ofcom says is free to use. What to do if an organisation refuses your deed poll has steps that usually settle it sooner.
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
