Deed Poll Name Change: Enrolment, Restrictions, and Updating Records

A deed poll name change in England and Wales is a legal document in which you declare that you’ve abandoned your old name and will use a new one for all purposes. You can make one yourself for free from age 16, or pay £53.05 to enrol it through the High Court from age 18. Both versions are legally valid. The question for most people is which route the organisations holding their records will accept.¹

Unenrolled or Enrolled: Which One You Need

An unenrolled deed poll is a document you draft, sign in front of witnesses, and start using the same day. It costs nothing and carries full legal weight. An enrolled deed poll goes through the King’s Bench Division of the High Court, costs £53.05, and is published in The Gazette as a permanent public record.¹

HM Passport Office and DVLA both accept unenrolled deed polls as evidence of a name change.² So do most banks. Some banks, mobile phone companies, and energy providers, however, will only accept an enrolled deed poll. If enrollment matters for one organisation on your list, it may be worth paying the fee once rather than fighting individual battles. Call the organisations that hold your most important records before you decide.¹

Making an Unenrolled Deed Poll

From age 16 you can prepare your own deed poll without a solicitor. There is no official template, but the document must include your old name, your new name, a statement that you’re abandoning the old name and will use the new one for all purposes, and the date. GOV.UK publishes example wording you can adapt.

Two witnesses aged 18 or over must watch you sign and then sign it themselves. Some organisations reject deed polls witnessed by people at the same address or by close relatives, so use independent witnesses. All signatures must be in wet ink. Once signed, the document is legally effective straight away.³

Enrolling a Deed Poll Through the High Court

To enrol, you must be 18 or over. Those aged 16 or 17 can only enrol if they are or have been married or in a civil partnership; otherwise the unenrolled route is their option.⁴ You don’t attend court in person. The whole process runs online and by post.

Once you start an application, HM Courts and Tribunals Service reviews it and emails you three forms to print and complete.⁵

Form LOC020 is the deed itself. You state your old name, new name, and intention to use the new name for all purposes, and sign in front of two witnesses aged 18 or over.
Form LOC021 is a statutory declaration confirming your identity and the change. You sign it before a solicitor, a commissioner for oaths, or an officer of the court at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Form LOC027 is an exhibit cover sheet. Each supporting document you submit gets its own sheet, signed by whoever witnessed your statutory declaration.⁶

You’ll need to send your full birth certificate. A marriage certificate, decree absolute, or final order may be required if the change relates to a change in marital status. Any document not in English or Welsh needs a certified translation.⁴

The statutory declaration is a separate cost on top of the £53.05 enrollment fee. Solicitors and commissioners for oaths charge a statutory £5 per declaration, plus £2 per exhibit document they sign.⁷ An officer of the court at the Royal Courts of Justice can also administer it, but you need to phone the Deed Poll Office for an appointment.⁸

Post the completed package to the Deed Poll Office, King’s Bench Division, Room E15, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL. Staff review it for accuracy. You can request a status update 16 weeks after applying.⁴ When approved, the Deed Poll Office seals your deed and posts it back, and a notice of your name change and address is published in The Gazette.⁹

If publishing your full name and address would put you at risk, you can explain the reason in your application. A judge may agree to publish only your first name or only your surname.⁵

Names You Cannot Choose

Your new name must be pronounceable. It cannot include symbols, numbers, or punctuation, though hyphens and established forms such as O’Hara are allowed. Names considered offensive or against the public interest are refused, as are names implying a commercial or professional status you don’t hold, including anything ending in “Ltd.” A deed poll cannot change a title such as Mr, Mrs, Sir, Lady, or Doctor.¹

Changing a Child’s Name

For anyone under 18, you can either make an unenrolled deed poll through a solicitor or specialist agency, or enrol one through the High Court. Every person with parental responsibility must agree to the change. If agreement isn’t possible, you need a court order.⁴

You must try to reach agreement first. If that fails, apply for a specific issue order using form C100. The fee is £263, and the court decides whether the change is in the child’s best interests.

Children aged 16 or 17 can make their own unenrolled deed poll without parental involvement. If a parent is enrolling one on their behalf, the application must include a letter from the child confirming they agree, stating both the old and new name, witnessed and signed by an unrelated adult.⁴

Updating Your Records

Once your deed poll is signed and sealed, notify the organisations that hold records in your old name. There’s no central system that pushes the change through; you work down your own list.

Passport

You apply for a new passport in your new name. HM Passport Office accepts enrolled and unenrolled deed polls, provided the document is signed in both the old and new name, witnessed by at least one person, uses wet-ink signatures, and is dated.² You’ll also need a second piece of evidence, such as a bank statement or utility bill, showing you use the new name for official purposes. Complete the application in the name you want on the new passport.¹⁰

Driving Licence

Send DVLA form D1 with your old licence and supporting documents. Updating the name on a photocard licence is free.¹¹

Banks and Everyone Else

Banks usually want to see the original deed poll or a certified copy, and many refuse photocopies. If you bank in several places, ask each one what they’ll accept and plan the order of updates so you’re not stuck waiting for one bank to post your document back before you can approach the next.

Also notify HMRC, your employer, your GP surgery, schools or universities, insurers, and utility providers. Getting HMRC updated keeps your tax records tied to the right National Insurance number, which matters for pay, benefits, and pension credits. Keep a written list and work through it methodically until every account carries your new name.

1
GOV.UK. Change Your Name by Deed Poll
2
GOV.UK. Names – Evidence to Change a Name
3
GOV.UK. Make Your Own Unenrolled Deed Poll
4
GOV.UK. Change Your Name by Deed Poll – Change a Childs Name
5
GOV.UK. Change Your Name by Deed Poll – Enrol a Deed Poll With the Courts
6
GOV.UK. How to Complete an Adult Deed Poll Exhibit Cover Sheet
7
Legislation.gov.uk. The Commissioners for Oaths (Fees) Order 1993
8
GOV.UK. How to Complete the Adult Deed Poll Statutory Declaration
9
The Gazette. Deed Poll Notices – How Do I Change My Name
10
GOV.UK. Change Your Name or Personal Details on Your Passport
11
GOV.UK. Change the Name or Gender on Your Driving Licence