The principle underneath#
Under the common law of England and Wales you may call yourself what you like, and a name is simply what you are known by, provided you are not doing it to deceive. What organisations need is evidence: a document that links the name they hold for you to the name you now use. Each of the routes below is a way of producing that document, and which you need depends on what caused the change.
Route 1: a marriage or civil partnership certificate#
For taking your spouse's or civil partner's surname, including a double-barrelled surname made from both names. GOV.UK says you do not need a deed poll for this; you send a copy of the certificate to the organisations that hold your records. HM Passport Office issues a passport in the new name on the certificate alone, and can issue a post-dated one up to three months before the ceremony.
The certificate evidences a change to the spouse's surname. It does not evidence a change of first name, a surname that belongs to neither of you, or a middle name moved around; for those you need a deed poll as well, whether or not you are getting married.
Route 2: the divorce papers#
For going back to your original name after a divorce or the end of a civil partnership. GOV.UK says you may be able to do this by showing your marriage certificate together with your decree absolute, or your civil partnership certificate with the final order. HM Passport Office also asks for a signed statement that you have gone back to the former name for all purposes, plus a document showing you use it.
GOV.UK adds that some organisations will not change a name back without a deed poll. If one refuses, a deed poll settles it, and it costs less than the argument.
Route 3: a deed poll#
For every other change. A new surname you were not born with and did not marry into; a different first name; a middle name added, removed or moved; a spelling changed; a name you have used for years but never documented. A deed poll is a legal document that proves a change of name, made and signed by you in front of witnesses. GOV.UK says anyone aged 16 or over can make one and use it straight away.
It comes in two forms, unenrolled and enrolled, which prove the same thing; the enrolled one has also been recorded by the High Court for £53.05 and published in The Gazette. Enrolled and unenrolled deed polls explains the choice, and what is a deed poll? explains the document.
Route 4: a statutory declaration#
For Scotland, and for organisations that want a sworn account. A statutory declaration is a written statement you declare to be true before a solicitor, a commissioner for oaths or another person authorised to take declarations. In Scotland it is the traditional way to evidence a change of name, and National Records of Scotland accepts one as evidence when recording a change against a Scottish birth entry. Elsewhere it appears when an organisation wants a sworn account of a name history, for example where a name has been used inconsistently for years and no single document links the versions.
A statutory declaration is not a deed, and it is not registered anywhere either. What it adds is the solicitor's signature confirming you swore to it.
Route 5: a court order, for a child#
Where a child's name is to change and not everyone with parental responsibility agrees. GOV.UK is clear that a child's name is changed with the agreement of everyone who has parental responsibility or with a court order, and that you must try to reach agreement before you seek an order. The application is for a specific issue order on form C100, and the court fee is £263. The court decides on the child's welfare, and the order, if made, is the document that evidences the change. Changing a child's name covers what the court weighs.
When you have used several names#
Some people arrive with a history rather than a change: a name used since school that never matched the birth certificate, a married name kept after a second marriage, a spelling that drifted. There is no rule against it, but the organisations that hold your records need one document that links every version. Two things do that. A deed poll adopting the name you actually use, for all purposes, draws a line under the history from the date it is signed. A statutory declaration of your name history, sworn before a solicitor, sets out each name and when it was used, and is what an organisation usually means when it asks for a "one and the same person" declaration. HM Passport Office may check the history of both an old and a new name, so a tidy chain of documents saves questions.
A new first name when you marry#
The certificate covers the surname only. If you want a different first name as well, or a middle name moved or dropped, that part is a deed poll, and the sensible order is the deed poll first, then the marriage, so the certificate is issued in the name you will keep.
What HM Passport Office accepts#
HM Passport Office's guidance to its staff says every application in a changed name must be supported by evidence that shows the new name and its link to the previous one, such as a marriage certificate or a deed poll, and it must accept an unenrolled deed poll, including one made online, provided it is signed in both names, witnessed by at least one person, signed in wet ink and dated. The same guidance asks for one document showing the new name in use. So each of the routes above ends in the same place: a document that links two names, and a life already lived in the new one.
For a child#
The routes narrow. A marriage certificate does not change a child's name, and a child cannot make a statutory declaration or a deed poll of their own until 16. A child's name is changed by a deed poll made by a parent with the agreement of everyone who holds parental responsibility, or by a court order where they cannot agree. Changing a child's name.
Changing back#
A change of name is not a one-way door. An adult who wants their former name back, or a different one again, makes another deed poll; there is no limit on how many times a name can be changed by deed poll, though HM Passport Office may check the history of each name. After a divorce the certificate and decree can evidence a return to a maiden name without a deed, as above. A child's name can be changed back on the same terms as it was changed: with the agreement of everyone who holds parental responsibility, or by the court.
Which route, in one table#
| The change | The document | Deed poll needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Taking a spouse's surname on marriage or civil partnership | The certificate | No |
| Double-barrelling both surnames on marriage | The certificate | No |
| A new first name at the same time as marrying | The certificate for the surname, a deed poll for the first name | Yes, for the first name |
| Returning to a former name after divorce | Certificate plus decree absolute or final order | Sometimes, if an organisation insists |
| Any surname you did not marry into | A deed poll | Yes |
| A new first or middle name, or a spelling | A deed poll | Yes |
| A name used for years with no paperwork | A deed poll, or a statutory declaration of your name history | Usually |
| Born in Scotland, wanting the birth entry updated | A deed poll or statutory declaration, then the NRS record | Either |
| A child, everyone agrees | A child deed poll signed by a parent | Yes |
| A child, a parent will not agree | A court order | No: a deed poll cannot do it |
What none of them can do#
None of these documents changes a title (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Mx, Dr), which is not part of a legal name and is simply chosen; none changes which letters are capitalised, which GOV.UK says a deed poll cannot do; none changes nationality or immigration status; and none amends an England and Wales birth certificate, which records the birth as registered. What each does is prove that the person on one document is the person on the next.
