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Help & advice
Not in England and Wales: there the certificate keeps the name registered at birth, and you show it alongside your Deed Poll, which links your old name to your new one. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the change of name can be recorded against the birth, for £40 or £35. That is optional, because HM Passport Office and DVLA take a Deed Poll whichever part of the UK you were born in.
The rules in each part of the UK, and where each one applies:
A birth certificate records the birth as it was registered. GOV.UK says a correction cannot show new information, such as a change of name made later. You show the certificate alongside your Deed Poll, which links the two names.
What can change a birth recordWithin 12 months of the birth being registered, the name can be altered, or given if none was registered, with a certificate from the parents, or from whoever performed the baptism if it was given then. The register office adds the new name without erasing the original entry.
After 12 months, a Child Deed Poll records the change instead, with the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility.
Born or adopted in Scotland? National Records of Scotland can add the change to your birth record, and any copy of the certificate ordered afterwards carries both names, new and previous. You do not have to: a Deed Poll is taken by HM Passport Office and DVLA whichever part of the UK you were born in.
For anyone born or legally adopted in Northern Ireland, GRONI (the General Register Office for Northern Ireland) records a new first name or surname against the birth.
A birth certificate is issued by the country where the birth was registered, under that country’s rules, so ask its registry whether it records a change of name. In the UK, a Deed Poll is the legal document that proves the change, and you show it with your birth certificate.
From GOV.UK, National Records of Scotland and nidirect, checked October 2026.
Your birth certificate proves the name you were given. Your Deed Poll proves you gave it up and took another. Read together, they link one name to the other, and that link is what an organisation is checking.
It only holds if the former name on your Deed Poll matches the certificate exactly: spelling, order and all. Every deed we draft is checked before it is printed, and if one of ours is ever refused, we refund you in full.
So keep the certificate safe. You will still need it, and a Deed Poll does not replace it.
None of these is a way to show a name you chose later. Each is for something specific, with its own rules and evidence.
If something was recorded wrongly, it can be corrected for £83 or £99, with evidence dated around the birth. The original entry stays, with a note in the margin: full certificates show the note, and short ones just show the corrected details.
A birth can be re-registered if the parents marry after it was registered, or to add the father’s details if they were left out at the time.
Within 12 months of registration, the name a child was registered with can be altered, or given if there was none, without erasing the original entry.
With a Gender Recognition Certificate, you can order a new birth certificate showing your new gender. A Deed Poll is not a substitute for one.
An adopted person has an adoption certificate, and from 18 can order a copy of their original birth certificate from the General Register Office.
Copies of a certificate for a birth registered in England or Wales come from the General Register Office: £12.50, or £38.50 for the priority service.
From GOV.UK and section 13 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, checked October 2026.
Both can record a new name against a birth registered there. Here is how the two compare.
| Compared | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Anyone born or adopted in Scotland, for a change not made by marriage, divorce or a civil partnership | Anyone born or legally adopted in Northern Ireland |
| Cost | £40, plus £10 for each family member applying at the same time | £35, or £16 for each extra family member at the same time, plus £15 for a certificate showing the change |
| How many changes | From 16, one forename and up to 3 surnames, at least 5 years apart; under 16, one of each | From 18, your first name once and your surname up to 3 times, 5 years apart; under 18, once |
| Signing | The form is signed by hand and sent by post; there is no online application, and NRS needs an email address for every reply | Signed before a JP or lay magistrate, who charge nothing for it, or before a practising solicitor |
| Where it goes | By post to the Change of Name Team at New Register House, West Register Street, Edinburgh EH1 3YT | The General Register Office for Northern Ireland, with a certified copy of the birth certificate |
| How long | NRS aims to email within 20 days to confirm the details and take payment, and within 15 working days of payment to say it is done | Not given on nidirect |
| Afterwards | New copies show your new name and your previous one; a replacement certificate is ordered separately | A certificate showing the recorded change, for £15 |
From National Records of Scotland and nidirect, checked October 2026. If you were born outside Scotland but live there, National Records of Scotland points you to your country of birth’s process, a deed poll or a statutory declaration.
Not in England and Wales. GOV.UK says a correction cannot be used to show something that changed after the birth was registered, and a new surname is one of those things. Your certificate keeps your birth name, and your Deed Poll is the document that proves the change. Scotland and Northern Ireland, by contrast, will record it against the birth if you ask.
No. A Deed Poll changes the name you use, and it is not registered anywhere, so no birth record is altered by it. In England and Wales you show your birth certificate and your Deed Poll together.
Yes. It proves the name you were given, and your Deed Poll proves the change from it, so keep both safe. The former name on the deed has to match the certificate exactly.
Not in England and Wales. In Scotland, once a change of name has been recorded, new copies of the certificate show your new name and your previous one. In Northern Ireland, a certificate can be issued showing the recorded change.
It can be corrected if it was wrong when it was recorded. You need evidence of the correct detail from around the time of the birth, and the original entry stays, with a note of the correction in the margin. Correcting a birth registration, on GOV.UK.
Yes, in the first year. For a birth registered in England or Wales, the name can be altered within 12 months of registration, or given if none was registered, and the register office adds it without erasing the original entry. Once that year has passed, a Child Deed Poll records the change instead.
Two, and you can use either or both. A Deed Poll works for your records as it does for anyone else: HM Passport Office and DVLA take one whichever part of the UK you were born in. Separately, National Records of Scotland will note the change on your birth record for £40, after which new copies of your certificate carry both names. It is done by post, and not for a change after marriage, divorce or a civil partnership. Changing your name in Scotland.
For a birth registered in England or Wales, from the General Register Office online. Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own ordering service. Ordering a certificate, on GOV.UK.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
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