Help & advice
Who can change their name?
If you are 16 or over, you can. Nobody has to agree, you do not need a reason, and none is recorded. Under 16, everyone who holds parental responsibility for the child has to agree instead.
- No reason needed
- No upper age limit
Can you change it?
Every situation, with the answer.
16 or over, living in the UK
You canAn Adult Deed Poll
At 16 or over the decision is yours alone. Nobody has to agree, and no reason is needed. Sign it in front of two witnesses and it is your legal name from that moment.
Apply online – £18.5016 or over, visiting the UK
You can, with a UK addressAn Adult Deed Poll, posted to a UK address
You can change your name here, but you need a UK address the deed can be posted to, and you need to still be there when it arrives. Nothing is emailed as a PDF, because a printout is not what organisations accept.
Apply online – £18.5016 or over, a British citizen living abroad
You can, with one more stepAn Adult Deed Poll, then the FCDO
Nothing stops you making a Deed Poll. Passport applications from abroad go through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which accepts a correctly witnessed Deed Poll and may ask to see documents already showing your new name.
Overseas passports on GOV.UK16 or over, with another country’s passport
Ask the embassy firstCheck with the country that issued it
You can make a UK Deed Poll whatever passport you hold, and it is valid as a UK document. But only the country that issued your passport can change the name in it, so ask its embassy or consulate in the UK what they accept before you order.
Under 16, changing your own name
A parent applies for youA Child Deed Poll
Under 16 you do not sign your own deed. A parent applies on your behalf, and everyone with parental responsibility has to agree.
How a Child Deed Poll worksA child under 16, and everyone agrees
Go aheadA Child Deed Poll
Everyone who holds parental responsibility agrees, so this is straightforward. The parent applying signs it in front of two independent adult witnesses.
Apply online – £18.50A child under 16, and you alone hold parental responsibility
Go aheadA Child Deed Poll
If nobody else holds parental responsibility, yours is the only agreement needed. Tell us the situation when you apply, and the deed is drafted to match.
Apply online – £18.50A child under 16, and the other parent will not agree
A Deed Poll cannot do thisA court application instead
No child’s Deed Poll is valid without every holder’s agreement, and no provider can draft around that. The route is a court application for a specific issue order. We cannot do that for you, and we would rather say so now.
Ask a paralegal where you standA child who is 16 or over
They apply themselvesAn Adult Deed Poll, in their name
At 16 a young person changes their own name and signs the deed themselves. Nobody else’s agreement is needed, and it costs the same £18.50.
Apply online – £18.50What you can change
More than most people assume. You sign the deed yourself in front of two witnesses, and the new name is your legal name from that moment.
Your forename or surname
Either one, or both at once.
A middle name
Added, dropped or moved to a different place.
The spelling
Of a name you already have.
Your title
Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Mx, or none at all.
Everyone with parental responsibility has to agree
A child under 16 does not sign their own deed. A parent applies on their behalf, and every person who holds parental responsibility has to agree, not only the parent applying.
- A mother has parental responsibility automatically
- A married father has it too, and keeps it after a divorce or separation
- An unmarried father has it if he is on the birth certificate, later marries the mother, signs a parental responsibility agreement, is granted an order by a court, or becomes the child’s legal guardian
- A legal guardian or special guardian holds it in the same way
Where you live, and which passport you hold
A Deed Poll is a UK document, drafted in wording UK organisations recognise. Where you live changes the practicalities, not your right to sign one.
Living in Jersey? Jersey has its own Deed Poll: a set form, witnessed by an advocate, solicitor or notary public and passed by the Royal Court, and for some legal purposes a change of name there has to take that form. Citizens Advice Jersey explains it, and it is worth reading before you order from us.
Born or living in Scotland? You can use a Deed Poll too: HM Passport Office and DVLA accept one wherever you were born. If you were born or adopted in Scotland, National Records of Scotland can also record the change against your birth record, for £40, so new copies of your birth certificate show both names. That extra step is optional. Recording a change in Scotland.
More about who can change their name
Is there an upper age limit?
No. From your sixteenth birthday you can change your own name, and there is no upper age limit.
Do I need my partner's or my parents' permission?
Not at 16 or over. The decision is yours alone, and nobody has to agree to it. Agreement only comes into it for a child under 16, where everyone with parental responsibility has to agree.
What makes my Deed Poll binding?
Signing it in front of your witnesses, who sign it too. Ours has space for two, and we recommend using both: each over 18, not related to you and not living at your address. GOV.UK confirms a solicitor is not required. How to sign and witness it.
Can I use a Deed Poll in Scotland?
Yes. HM Passport Office and DVLA accept a Deed Poll wherever you were born, and National Records of Scotland lists a deed poll as one of the ways to change your name if you were born outside Scotland. If you were born or adopted in Scotland, you can also have the change recorded against your birth record, so that new copies of your certificate show both names. That extra step is optional. Recording a change in Scotland.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Related answers
Ready to change your name?
Apply online in about five minutes. Your Deed Poll is drafted, checked and dispatched the same working day, and guaranteed to be accepted.
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