The routes, in short
- A marriage or civil partnership certificate covers taking your spouse's or partner's surname, and a double-barrelled surname made from both, whichever of you changes.
- A deed poll covers any other change for anyone aged 16 or over living in the UK: a new first name, a new surname, a surname made by running two together, or going back to a previous name when the divorce papers are not enough. You can write your own from GOV.UK's wording, or have one drafted.
- A child's deed poll needs the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility; without it, the route is a court order.
- A statutory declaration does the same job as a deed poll, declared before a solicitor or similar instead of ordinary witnesses.
Ways to change your name compares every route, and what a deed poll certificate is explains the term organisations use.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
A deed poll works for people born or living in Scotland. If you were born or adopted in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also have a change of name recorded against your birth entry, with National Records of Scotland or the General Register Office for Northern Ireland, so that new birth certificates show the change. Changing your name in Scotland and Northern Ireland explain how.
Questions people ask
Do I need a deed poll to change my name after marriage?
Not to take your spouse's or civil partner's surname, or to double-barrel both surnames: GOV.UK says your marriage or civil partnership certificate is the evidence, and HM Passport Office accepts it. You need a deed poll only for a name the certificate does not show, such as two surnames run together as one word.
Do I need a deed poll to change my name after divorce?
Not always. GOV.UK says you may be able to go back to your original name with your marriage certificate and decree absolute, or civil partnership certificate and final order, but some organisations will not change it back without a deed poll. Going back to your maiden name.
Can I change my child's surname without the other parent's consent?
Not on your own, and not by deed poll, if the other parent holds parental responsibility. GOV.UK says the route is a court order, after trying to agree first: a specific issue order on form C100. Changing a child's name without consent.
Deed poll or statutory declaration?
Either can record a change of name, and HM Passport Office and DVLA accept both. A statutory declaration is declared before a solicitor, notary public, justice of the peace or commissioner for oaths; a deed poll does the same job with ordinary witnesses. Statutory declarations.
Is there a deed poll certificate?
Not as a separate document. When a bank or a form asks for your deed poll certificate, or your change of name certificate, it means the deed poll itself. What is a deed poll certificate?
Something else? Ask us, and a person replies by email, normally the same working day.
