Impressed at how rapid and cheap. Would definitely recommend
Child Deed Poll · £18.50
Change a child’s name by Deed Poll
Apply for a Child Deed Poll online in about five minutes, for £18.50 plus delivery. It is for a child under 16: a parent with parental responsibility applies and signs, and everyone else who holds it has to agree. Hand-drafted by our paralegals and accepted by schools, HM Passport Office and the DVLA.
About five minutes · no solicitor needed · posted the same working day
- Guaranteed acceptance
- Posted today
- 4.95 from 7,678 reviews
Before you start
A Child Deed Poll in five answers
What parents ask us first, answered here rather than at the end of an email.
- OnlineCan I apply online?
- Yes, from start to finish. The application takes about five minutes at our secure checkout, and you pay by card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Klarna. The Deed Poll itself is printed and posted, never emailed.
- CostHow much is a Child Deed Poll?
- £18.50, exactly what an adult one costs. Royal Mail delivery is added on top, from £2.99, so a typical order with 1st Class is £23.49. Certified copies are optional.
- The formWhat does the application ask?
- Your child’s current and new names, who holds parental responsibility (the mother, the father or both) with each parent’s name, whether your child was born in the UK, and where we should post it.
- AgeWhat age is it for?
- Under 16. GOV.UK confirms that at 16 or 17 a young person can make their own unenrolled deed poll, so from the 16th birthday the Adult Deed Poll is the one, in their name. A Deed Poll at 16 or 17.
- SigningWho signs, and who must agree?
- The parent who applies signs, in front of two independent adult witnesses. When both parents hold parental responsibility, the deed names both and each one signs. Everyone with parental responsibility must agree, and the child does not sign.
- Ready?Apply in about five minutes
- Hand-drafted, checked and in the post the same working day. If it is ever refused, we refund you in full.
- Apply online – £18.50
The one thing that decides whether this works
Agreement. Every person with parental responsibility for the child has to be on board, and a missing agreement is the usual reason a child’s Deed Poll is turned down. Tell us at the checkout who holds it, and our paralegals draft the deed around that. Unsure where you stand? Ask us before you pay.
Working to a deadline? Order today and Tracked post should reach you by .
Parental responsibility
Who has to agree
Agreeing to a change of a child’s name is part of parental responsibility, as GOV.UK explains. So you need to hold it yourself, and every other person who holds it must agree too. Without that agreement, a child’s Deed Poll is not valid.
- The birth mother holds it from birth
- A father or second female parent who was the birth mother’s husband, wife or civil partner at the birth, and still holds it after a divorce
- A father who registered the birth jointly with the mother, or who later marries her
- Anyone with an agreement or court order giving it to them, such as a step-parent with a parental responsibility agreement, or a legal guardian
At the checkout you choose who holds it, the mother, the father or both, and the deed and cover letter are written for that.
What you are ordering
What a Child Deed Poll is
A legally binding document recording that your child’s name has changed, and that you had the parental responsibility to change it. For a child’s unenrolled deed poll, the route GOV.UK gives is a specialist deed poll agency or a solicitor.
- Under 16 only – from 16, the young person takes over with an Adult Deed Poll of their own
- The new name – forename, surname or both, spelled the way you want them, with the title you choose printed beside it
- A parental cover letter is included, written for schools and record holders
- Certified copies from £6 for two, so the school and the GP can be told at once
What it costs
£18.50, the same as an adult one
No account, no subscription, no hidden fees. Everything below is chosen by you at the checkout, and our Deed Poll cost calculator adds it up before you start.
What you will pay
No account, no subscription and no hidden fees. Everything below is chosen by you at the checkout.
- Your Deed Pollhand-drafted, guaranteed to be accepted
- £18.50
- Royal Mail delivery2nd class, 1st class, tracked or international
- from £2.99
- Certified copies optionalone for each organisation you need to tell
- from £6 for 2, up to £25 for 20
- Board-backed envelope optionalkeeps your documents flat in the post
- £1.99
A typical order is £23.49, £18.50 plus £4.99 first class. Nothing else to pay.
Changing your own name instead? Adult Deed Poll. Replacing a lost one? Replacement Deed Poll. A grandparent or friend paying for it? Ordering for someone else.
How it works
Four steps, and the school can be told this week
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Apply online
About five minutes. The child's old and new name, and who holds parental responsibility. Pay by card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Klarna.
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Drafted and checked
A paralegal hand-drafts the deed, the parental cover letter and any certified copies, then quality control checks all of it before it is posted.
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Sign it with two witnesses
The parent named on the deed signs it, or both parents if both are named, in front of two independent adult witnesses: each aged 18 or over, unrelated to you and living somewhere else.
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Tell the school and everyone else
Start with the school and the GP, then work down the checklist. The parental cover letter goes with each one, and certified copies save posting the original around.
Order today and it should reach you:Royal Mail working days, chosen at the checkout
What arrives
What lands on your doormat
Everything comes in a single envelope, posted on the working day you order. We never send the deed as a PDF: what you sign, and what schools and record holders see, is the printed original on certificate paper.
- Your child’s Deed Poll on bespoke certificate paper, hand-drafted and checked
- A parental cover letter written for schools, GPs and record holders
- Any certified copies you ordered, so the school and the surgery can be told at once
- Plain-English guides on signing, witnessing and who to tell
- A board-backed envelope, if you chose one, to keep it all flat on the way
Certified copies
How many copies will you need?
Children usually have fewer records than adults, so fewer copies are needed. Tick the ones that apply and we will suggest a bundle. HM Passport Office and the DVLA ask for the original itself, but many other organisations that will not accept a photocopy will accept a certified copy in place of the original.
How many certified copies will you need?
A certified copy is one we draft and certify alongside your Deed Poll, so you can deal with several organisations at once instead of one after another. Tick what you have, and say how many of each: two banks needs two copies. These are the 14 that normally keep what you send. HM Passport Office and the DVLA ask for the original itself, and most other places look at it and hand it back.
Money
Home and property
Work, health and study
Accepted by every organisation you will need to tell
UK Government
HM Passport Office
DVLA
HM Revenue & Customs
Banks & building societies
Schools & universities
HM Land Registry
Insurers & employers
If a Deed Poll we have drafted is ever refused, we refund you in full. See who you need to notify
Customer reviews
Read all our reviews
What our customers say
Excellent
4.95 out of 5 from 7,678 reviews
Read all our reviews
Very fast and cheap compared to other options. Fully accepted everywhere (I used Deed Polls Online to change the name on my license)
Needed a name change and these guys made the whole process seamless. I can definitely recommend them.
Questions & answers
Changing a child’s name
Can I apply for a Child Deed Poll online?
Yes. The whole application is online and takes about five minutes: your child’s current and new names, who holds parental responsibility and their names, and your address. You pay at our secure checkout, and the Deed Poll is drafted, printed on certificate paper and posted the same working day.
How much does a Child Deed Poll cost?
£18.50, the same as an Adult Deed Poll. Royal Mail delivery is added at the checkout from £2.99, so a typical order with 1st Class is £23.49. Certified copies, from £6 for 2, and a £1.99 board-backed envelope are extras you can leave out.
What age is a Child Deed Poll for?
Under 16. GOV.UK confirms that a 16 or 17 year old can make their own unenrolled deed poll, so from the 16th birthday the young person applies for an Adult Deed Poll in their own name and signs it themselves.
Who signs a Child Deed Poll?
The parent named on it, in front of two independent adult witnesses who then sign too. When both parents hold parental responsibility, the deed names both and both sign. Each witness must be 18 or over, not related to you and not living at your address. The child does not sign.
Does everyone with parental responsibility have to agree?
Yes, every one of them. A child’s Deed Poll made without that agreement is not valid, and HM Passport Office, for example, will not put the new name on a passport until everyone with parental responsibility has consented or a court has allowed the change. That is why the checkout asks who holds it.
Who has parental responsibility?
The birth mother, from birth. A father or second female parent who was married to, or the civil partner of, the birth mother at the birth. A father who registered the birth jointly with the mother, or married her later. And anyone given it by a parental responsibility agreement or a court order, such as a step-parent or a guardian.
What if the other parent will not agree?
A Deed Poll cannot be used to get round them. For parents who cannot agree, GOV.UK’s route is a specific issue order from the family court (form C100), after trying to agree first. We cannot apply to the court for you, so ask us first and we will tell you plainly where you stand.
Will the birth certificate change?
In England and Wales, not after the first 12 months from registration, apart from a few set cases such as re-registering when the parents marry. You show the Deed Poll alongside the certificate, a pairing schools and record holders know well. Birth certificates in each part of the UK.
Who will need to be told?
Start with the school, then the GP. After that: HM Passport Office if your child holds a passport, then the dentist, clubs, child benefit and any other record holder. Our checklist covers them and marks which ones normally keep a certified copy.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Ready to change your child's name?
Apply online in about five minutes. The Deed Poll is drafted, checked and posted the same working day, and guaranteed to be accepted.
Secure checkout · card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Klarna
