About Deed Polls - Answers to other frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Answers to other FAQs
This page contains the answers to 32 frequently asked
questions.& We suggest you spend a few minutes browsing the questions to
see if any are helpful or relevant to you.& Certainly, some will be.
A:& No, once you have executed (signed,
dated and witnessed) your Deed Poll, you can start using it immediately to get your
documents and records changed.& You only need to send your Deed Poll back to us
if you have ordered our Legal Copy and Archive Service™.& For further
information about this service, please
(open pop-up window).
A:& If you are British and live in the
United Kingdom, your witness can be anyone so long as they are at least 18 years of
know you and are independent of you i.e. not a relative or partner or someone
living at the same address.& A suitable witness would be, for example, a friend,
neighbour or work colleague.
If you are British and living overseas, you will need to have the signing of your Deed
Poll witnessed by a lawyer or a notary public.
If you are not British and live in the United Kingdom, you should check with your
Embassy (the passport section in consular services) to ask if your Deed Poll needs
to be witnessed by either a UK solicitor or a notary public.
Please note, if your
Deed Poll needs to be legalised with an Apostille, it will need to be witnessed by
a UK solicitor or a notary public.& See the answer to Q31 below for further
information about legalising your Deed Poll.
Yes, our Deed Polls are accepted.& In fact, if you
call the passport office they will probably give you our details.& If you wish to
confirm this, you can telephone the passport office's 24
hour Adviceline on 0.
The only other expense we are aware of is the cost of getting your British
passport reissued in your new name.& Current passport fees are
available on the passport office's website or by calling their 24 hour
Adviceline on 0.
You can obtain a
passport application pack from most main post offices or order one on the
(opens new window).&
You can also apply online on their website for your passport, which we
recommend you do immediately after you have applied for your Deed Poll.&
It takes a few days for the passport office to post your completed passport
application form to you, which you need to sign and return to them with your
Deed Poll document (or a legal copy of it).
No, you will receive a brand new passport and driving licence without any mention or reference
to your previous name.
No, you will not experience any problems with a Deed Poll issued by us.& We are
by far the
main issuer of Deed Poll documentation in the United Kingdom and our Deed Polls are accepted by
everyone.& Our Deed Polls are printed on security paper and carry our official seal so there is no question about
its authenticity.& Unfortunately, we issue many Deed Polls to people who have
wasted their money buying from cheap Internet sites.
All major record holders such as the passport office, DVLA and the financial
institutions will need to see either your original Deed Poll or what we call
a &legal copy& of it.& A legal copy is where we, or a professionally
qualified person, certifies that a copy of your Deed
Poll is a true copy of the original.& Unless you know someone personally who
can certify a copy, you will probably be charged for this service. When you
apply for your Deed Poll, you can also order our Legal Copy and Archive Service™.&
The legal copies you will receive from us can be used in lieu of your
original Deed Poll document.& Furthermore, should you ever lose or
mislay your original Deed Poll, you can obtain further legal copies from our
archives, which will hold a copy of your original, signed Deed Poll.&
For further information about our Legal Copy and Archive Service™, please
(open pop-up window).
is difficult for us to say how many legal copies you should order because we
do not know how many major record holders you need to notify of your name
change and how quickly you want to get your documents and records changed to
your new name.& Most clients order just two legal copies (the minimum
number) and are happy to wait until they are returned before they use them
again to notify other companies and organisations.& However, many
clients order as many as 25 legal copies because they have a large number of
companies and organisations to notify and they want to notify everyone at
the same time.& The average number of legal copies ordered is five.
If you ordered your Deed Poll direct from us and you subscribed to our
Legal Copy and Archive Service™ (available since May 2000), we can provide you with a legal
(certified) copy of your original Deed Poll from our archives.& To order, please
call our Helpline (see top of this page for our number and hours).& If
you did not order our Legal Copy and Archive Service™, we do not have a copy
of your Deed Poll.& All you can do is order a replacement Deed Poll
(see three paragraphs below).
If you had your Deed
Poll prepared elsewhere (at a solicitors for example), a copy of your Deed
Poll will only be available if you had your Deed Poll
entered in
the Enrolment Books of the Supreme Court of Judicature, which is located
within the Royal Courts of Justice
(Strand, London, WC2A 2LL. Tel: 020 ).& Enrolled Deed Polls are held for about five years at the Royal
Courts of Justice and then moved to the National Archives
(Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Tel: 020 ).
note, if you paid less than about ?100 for your Deed Poll, you would not
have paid to have your Deed Poll enrolled. In which case, no copy of your
Deed Poll will exist and all you can do to overcome your problem is to order
another Deed Poll to act as a replacement.& Even if your Deed Poll was enrolled, the
expense of obtaining a copy - you have to physically attend and search for
your Deed Poll - usually means it is much cheaper to order a replacement.&
We issue many Deed Polls every day to people who have lost their original -
this is the accepted practice.
order a replacement Deed Poll, please
When you enter your name details on the
application form, you should enter your 'former name' in the current name
fields and your 'current name' in the new name fields. The idea is to
replicate the name change shown on your lost Deed Poll document.&
Please note, if you have changed your name since changing your name by Deed
Poll (the one you have lost), please
us with any
relevant information and the chronological sequence of all your name changes
since birth.& We need to know the (approximate) date of your name
changes and how your name was changed e.g. by usage, marriage, Statutory
Declaration, Deed Poll etc.& We will then advise you how to apply.
Searching for someone's Deed Poll is like looking for the proverbial needle
in a haystack. This is because there is no central register of all name
changes by Deed Poll.& Furthermore, in addition to ourselves, a Deed Poll can be
prepared by any of the many thousands of solicitors throughout England and
Wales. Even if you discovered who prepared your relative's Deed Poll, client
confidentiality prevents the disclosing of any information about the Deed
The only chance you have of locating a Deed Poll is if it was an 'enrolled'
Deed Poll.& This is a type of Deed Poll that
can be enrolled (registered) with the government through the Court Service.&
Upon enrolment, a Deed Poll becomes a public record and becomes available
for public inspection - in the same way the public can inspect past birth,
marriage and death records.& However, very few Deed Polls are enrolled
(only about 1 in every 200) because it is a voluntary process and enrolling
significantly adds to the time taken and the cost of changing your name -
hence 99.5 per cent of people change their name by using an 'unenrolled' Deed Poll
(the type we and most solicitors issue).
Deed Polls that have been enrolled during the past five years are held at
the Royal Courts of Justice (Strand, London, WC2A 2LL. Tel: 020 ).
Before then, and going back to 1851, they can be found at the National
Archives (Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Tel: 020 ).&
However, you need to personally visit the National Archives to search the
records (except for Deed Polls enrolled between 1965 and 1983, which are
electronically stored and can be searched by telephoning the National
For further information
and advice about searching for evidence of a change of name, please visit
(opens new window).
Your credit rating will not be affected because when you complete any
application form for credit or a loan etc, you will be asked on the
application form if you have ever been known by a former name.& By disclosing
your former name, your credit history can be accessed.& Furthermore,
when you notify your bank of your change of name, your bank will notify the
credit reference agencies.
Yes you can, but if you are self employed and want to trade in your new
name, you must tell all those with whom you do business the name in which
you were made bankrupt.& In other words, you are not allowed to carry
on the same trade in a different name without telling your customers about
your former name.& This
condition does not apply once you are discharged from bankruptcy.& You
must also notify the Official Receiver dealing with your bankruptcy of your
name change.
Your right to change your name by Deed Poll is not taken away from you
because you have a criminal record.& However, you must be aware of the
following:
If you have any existing or pending criminal actions against you, you must
notify the police station dealing with your case of your name change.
If you are on probation, you must notify your probation officer of your name change.
If you are on the Sex Offenders' Register, you must notify the police
within 3 days of your name change.
A: You do not need to notify the Disclosure
and Barring Service of your name change.& However, if you are required to
apply again for a check, you will apply in your new name and enclose your Deed
Poll (or legal copy of it) as evidence of your name change.
Please note, the above advice also apples to Disclosure Scotland and
AccessNI, which are equivalent government agencies in Scotland and Northern
Ireland to the DBS in England and Wales.
Yes you do.& Whether you want to change your name to a former name or a new
name entirely, you will be required to provide &documentary evidence& of the
change.& A
provides you with the necessary documentary evidence of
your name change.& After you have reverted to your birth name by Deed Poll,
if you are ever asked to prove your identity you can produce your birth
certificate alone.& However, if you are asked if you have been known by
any other name, you must declare your previous names and produce your Deed
Poll document if required.
For security reasons, we strongly advise that you do not travel overseas
with documents in different names e.g. your passport in one name and your
travel documents, credit cards and driving licence etc in a different name.&
If you cannot get your travel documents changed to your new name, we suggest
you change your name after your holiday.& If you do go ahead and change
your name before you travel, only get those documents and records changed
that you will not be taking with you.
You have been wrongly advised. Although a Deed Poll is an English legal
document, it is recognised by all UK government departments, companies and
organisations.& Therefore, you will not experience any problems getting all
your documents and records changed to your new name (including your
passport, driving licence, medical records etc).& We issue hundreds of
Deed Polls to Scottish residents every year and we have never had any
problems reported by clients when getting their documents and records
It may be possible to change your daughter's name by Deed Poll if you have made reasonable attempts to
locate and contact the father.& Please read section 6 of our page
(opens new window) for information about how to proceed with an application.
Yes, you can change your title to Miss or Ms when you change your name. When
you complete our application form, you will see a section where you can tell
us what new title you want so we can incorporate a declaration on your Deed
Poll that changes your title.& Please note, if you change your title, you must ensure that on any application forms, for example for
credit, loans, insurance etc, you make it clear your marital status is
married (until your divorce is finalised).
Yes, you can change your title to Mrs when you change your name.& When you
complete our application form, you will see a section where you can tell us
what new title you want so we can incorporate a declaration on your Deed
Poll that changes your title. & Please note, if you change your title
you must ensure that on any application form for credit,
loan, insurance etc, you make it clear your marital status is single.
Yes, you can change your title to Miss, Ms or Mrs when you change your name.& When
you complete our application form, you will see a section where you can tell
us what new title you want so we can incorporate a declaration on your Deed
Poll that changes your title.& Please note, if you change your title to Miss, Ms
or Mrs, you must ensure that on any application form for
credit, a loan or insurance etc you make it clear your sex at birth was male.&
This is particularly important for insurances because you may get a cheaper
rate if the insurer believes you were born a female. In the event of a claim,
you will find you will not get paid out if your sex at birth is established.& Furthermore, it is a criminal offence to obtain a financial advantage if you
deceive someone.
Please note, if you obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate, you are able to
declare your sex at birth as female.
We will not accept an
order for a Deed Poll that includes a first name that may result in others
believing you have a conferred or inherited honour, title or rank.&
This is because of the obvious deception such a first name will cause to the
general public.& Therefore,
applications for a new first name such as Sir, Lord, Lady, Baron, Baroness,
Count, Earl, Countess, Duke, Duchess, Colonel etc will not be accepted.
Yes you do.& Two of the declarations you make on your Deed Poll are that you
will entirely abandon the use of your old name and you will only use your
new name in future.& A list of government departments, companies and
organisations that you may need to notify will be included in your Deed Poll pack.
You will not be
able to get documents such as your educational certificates changed because
these were correctly issued in the right name. However, this is not a
problem because if you have to produce your educational certificates, say at
a job interview, you simply produce your
Deed Poll as well.& It is the same
for married women who take their husband's surname - they have to produce
their marriage certificate as documentary evidence of the link to their
educational certificates. In your situation, your
Deed Poll document will
act as documentary evidence of the link to your former name on your
certificates.
Yes, with the permission of your employer you can continue to use your
existing name.& Companies are usually happy to allow you to continue using your
name if there are commercial benefits from doing so.
Please note, by continuing to use your current name, you are not in breach
of your declaration on your Deed Poll that you will abandon the use of your
former name.& This is because at work, you are acting on behalf of your
employer so any contracts or agreements you sign are not in your name but in
the name of your employer.
You do not need to change your trading name after you have changed your name
by Deed Poll.& For example, if your trading name is Mary Smith and you
change your name by Deed Poll to Mary Jones, legally your business will be
Mary Jones trading as Mary Smith.& On your headed paper, you will
continue to use Mary Smith but you also need to mention (usually at the
bottom of the page) the proprietor is Mary Jones.& When you notify your
bank of your name change, your business account name will be amended to
incorporate your new name.
Please note, by continuing to use your current name as your trading name,
you are not in breach of your declaration on your Deed Poll that you will
abandon the use of your former name.& This is because for business
purposes, you are not acting in your own name but on behalf of your trading
A:& Yes, you can change your name by
Deed Poll and then use it to obtain a new British passport in your new name from
the UK Passport Processing Centre that covers the country in which you live.&
You will then be able to use your new British passport to get your local documents
and records changed to your new name.& Please note, before you submit your
passport application, we suggest you check the website of the UK Passport Processing
Centre that covers the country in which you live (a link can be found on the
website of your local British Embassy) to check for any special requirements that
must be met before you will be issued with a new passport.& For example, you
may be required to produce two or three documents in your new name to demonstrate
you are using your new name for all purposes.
A:& Maybe.& Your Deed Poll will get
your documents and records changed that have been issued or are held by UK government
departments, companies and organisations so long as you can get your passport changed
to your new name.& This is because you may need to demonstrate to UK record holders
that you are changing your name for &all purposes&.& If you do not get
your passport changed, clearly you are not changing your name for all purposes.
Many countries allow their nationals who live in the UK to change their passport
using their Deed Poll but we suggest you check with the consular services section
of your country's embassy or high commission in London before you apply for your
Deed Poll to check if there are any special requirements.& For example, the
Pakistani High Commission requires its nationals to have their Deed Poll witnessed
by a solicitor (cost between ?5 and ?10).& For further information about who
can apply for a Deed Poll, please
(opens new window).
A:& Maybe.& A Deed Poll issued by
us is guaranteed to get your British passport reissued in your new name.& However,
you need to investigate the procedure for getting your other passport changed by
calling the consular services section of the issuing country's embassy or high
commission in London.
Many countries, particularly British Commonwealth countries, will accept
your Deed Poll as documentary evidence of your name change and will issue
you with a passport in your new name.& Some countries, Italy for
example, will ask you to apply to a court local to where you lived for
permission to change your name.& The court order issued can be used to
obtain a passport in your new name from your embassy.
A:& The US Embassy in London
will accept your original deed poll document so long as a UK solicitor has
acted as your witness.& Full instructions will be enclosed with your
Deed Poll documentation.
A:& Legalisation is a process
whereby the UK government confirms the authenticity of legal documents and
certificates issued in the UK.& Legalisation enables foreign countries
(or their embassies in London) to accept documents such as UK birth certificates
and our Deed Poll documents because their authenticity has been confirmed by
the UK government.& Legalisation overcomes the problem of foreign countries
not knowing whether a Deed Poll issued by us is genuine.& The legalisation of
documents is handled by the Legalisation Office at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (FCO) in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.& When a document is legalised,
an Apostille (certificate) is permanently attached to the document.
When you receive your Deed Poll, you should not sign it immediately but take
it to a UK registered and practicing solicitor or a UK registered and practicing
notary public who must witness you sign and date your Deed Poll document.&
You should expect to pay up to ?10 for this but do ask first (a notary
public will charge much more).& If you have already signed your Deed Poll
and had it witnessed by someone other than a solicitor or notary public, you need
to take your Deed Poll to a UK registered solicitor or notary public for
authenticating.& The solicitor or notary public must write (anywhere)
on your Deed Poll document &I have
no reason to doubt the authenticity of this document.&& It
is important that the solicitor or notary public signs and prints his or her
full name under this statement because the FCO will check the solicitor or notary
public is registered in the UK.& You can then arrange to have your Deed Poll
legalised at the Legalisation Office in Milton Keynes.
If you wish us to handle the legalisation of your Deed Poll, please request
this in the comments box on your application form.& Our fee is shown on our
Services available and fees page.
A:& A Statutory Declaration is
a similar document to a Deed Poll but because a Statutory Declaration is a
much less known and less used method of changing a person's name, there
are sometimes problems with its acceptability.& We often issue Deed Polls to
people who have been unable to get their Statutory Declaration accepted by
everyone. Furthermore, a Statutory Declaration must be sworn before a
Commissioner of Oaths or a Justice of the Peace.& Therefore, not only can a
Statutory Declaration work out more expensive than a Deed Poll prepared by
us but you must make an appointment with a local firm of solicitors to swear
the document.& Our Deed Poll service is more conveniently conducted either
entirely online, by post or over the telephone.
If you have any unanswered questions about changing your
name by Deed Poll, please
Alternatively, you can call our Helpline (see top of page for our Helpline's
phone numbers and hours).
Last updated: 16 February 2014
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