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Licence and passport

Driving licence or passport first?

Either order works, as long as you do one, then the other. DVLA and HM Passport Office each want your original Deed Poll, so the second application waits until the first sends it back. Go passport first and its number counts as the document in your new name on form D1; go licence first and your passport stays with you for any trip in the meantime.

Compare the two routes Apply online – £18.50
  • Either order works
  • One original, one at a time
  • Checked with GOV.UK, October 2026
A grey-haired man in a terracotta jumper looking from a plain burgundy passport in one hand to a driving licence card in the other

Neither office needs the other’s card in the post

GOV.UK tells you not to post your passport to DVLA: its 9-digit number, written on the form, does the job. HM Passport Office, for its part, lists a driving licence among the documents that show you use a new name. So whichever comes back first makes the second application simpler.

Side by side

The two routes, with one Deed Poll

Both start the same way and end in the same place. The difference is which card you are without while the first office has your original.

Passport first if no trip is coming up 1 Sign your Deed Poll and get one statement in your new name 2 HM Passport Office with the original Deed Poll, usually 3 weeks 3 Deed Poll back returned to you, then straight on to DVLA 4 DVLA, form D1 the original, and your new passport number Meanwhile your licence stays with you, but there is no passport to travel on for about 3 weeks Licence first if a trip comes first 1 Sign your Deed Poll and get one statement in your new name 2 DVLA, form D1 with the original Deed Poll, about 3 weeks by post 3 Deed Poll back posted on its own, by second class post 4 HM Passport Office the original, and your new licence as proof Meanwhile your passport stays with you, and GOV.UK says you can keep driving in the UK while DVLA works Passport first if no trip is coming up 1 Sign your Deed Poll and get one statement in your new name 2 HM Passport Office with the original Deed Poll, usually 3 weeks 3 Deed Poll back returned to you, then straight on to DVLA 4 DVLA, form D1 the original, and your new passport number Meanwhile your licence stays with you, but no passport for about 3 weeks Licence first if a trip comes first 1 Sign your Deed Poll and get one statement in your new name 2 DVLA, form D1 with the original Deed Poll, about 3 weeks by post 3 Deed Poll back posted on its own, by second class post 4 HM Passport Office the original, and your new licence as proof Meanwhile your passport stays with you, and you can keep driving in the UK
Your original Deed Poll can only be in one office at a time. Times from GOV.UK and HM Passport Office, checked October 2026: usually 3 weeks for each.
Your situation

Which order suits you?

Pick the line that sounds like your next few weeks. Each answer comes from what GOV.UK says each office needs, and when.

  • No trip abroad in the next couple of months

    Passport first

    Once the new passport arrives, its number goes on form D1 as the document in your new name, so DVLA needs nothing else from your bank or council, and the passport itself stays at home.

  • Flying soon, but not driving there

    Licence first

    Your passport stays with you for the trip, and you book in the name it shows. DVLA has your licence for about 3 weeks, and you can still drive in the UK while it does.

  • Hiring a car or driving abroad soon

    Both after the trip

    GOV.UK says to take your licence with you to drive abroad, and a passport application takes your passport. Send neither until you are home. Travel and car hire.

  • Married or divorced, with no Deed Poll

    Passport first

    After a marriage or a divorce, GOV.UK lets the number of a passport already in the new name stand as your proof for DVLA, so no certificate goes in the post. Your licence after marriage.

Your passport and DVLA

Do you need to send your passport to DVLA?

No. If your UK passport is valid, you write its 9-digit number on form D1 and keep the passport. GOV.UK says not to send the physical passport, and the number of one that has expired cannot be used.

One thing a passport in your new name does not do, after a Deed Poll, is replace the deed. GOV.UK lets a passport number stand alone as proof only after a marriage or a divorce. With a Deed Poll, DVLA still wants the original, and the passport number takes the place of the letter or statement in your new name. Everything DVLA accepts as proof.

A passport from another country is different: it counts as a document in your new name, but it is posted to DVLA rather than quoted. GOV.UK suggests holding off on a licence application if you will need your passport within the next 4 weeks.

What DVLA takes from a passport

  • The number of a valid UK passport, written on form D1Yes
  • The UK passport itself, in the envelopeNo
  • The number of an expired passportNo
  • A passport from another countryPosted

Changed your name by Deed Poll? The original deed goes to DVLA either way.

No passport, or not yet

Changing your licence without a passport

You do not need a passport at all to change the name on your licence. Without one, this is what goes in the envelope to DVLA.

  1. Form D1

    The pack comes from most Post Offices. Fill it in with your new name, spelt exactly as on your Deed Poll.

  2. Your current licence

    GOV.UK asks for the licence or identity document that shows the name you are changing from, and your licence is exactly that.

  3. Your original Deed Poll

    Signed and witnessed, never a copy. DVLA posts it back to you separately from the new licence.

  4. One letter in your new name

    Issued in the last 12 months, after your Deed Poll and after your current licence: a UK bank statement, a phone or broadband bill, or a letter from HMRC, your employer or your council.

Still on a paper licence? Its replacement is a photocard, which needs a photo and proof of identity, and GOV.UK lists what to post if you have no UK passport. Paper licences and a new name.

The weeks in between

Living with two names for a few weeks

Whichever order you choose, there is a stretch when one card shows your old name and the other your new one. That is normal, and it is legal: your new name has been yours since you signed the Deed Poll.

Bookings follow the passport

GOV.UK’s rule is that the name you book travel in must match your passport. Until the new one arrives, that means booking in your old name.

The deed links the two names

Your Deed Poll names you as you were and as you are now, so it is the paper that explains a mismatch. While the original is away, keep a certified copy to hand.

A smiling woman with a long black plait and sunglasses pushed up on her head, in a cream shirt, handing a passport and a licence card across a desk to a clerk who holds out a car key, a potted palm beside her
Travel and car hire

Trips, hire cars and a name in transition

A flight is booked against your passport. GOV.UK says the two names must match, and that you should not book travel at all until you hold a valid passport, because a new one has a new number.

A hire car is handed over against your licence. GOV.UK says to take your licence with you to drive abroad, so while DVLA has it you have nothing to show at the desk. DVLA’s leaflet INF188/6 adds that the cover for driving while an application is with DVLA comes from UK law, which other countries may not recognise.

  • Book the car in the name on the licence card you will hand over, and travel with the passport in the name on your tickets.
  • If the two cards show different names, carry your Deed Poll or a certified copy, and ask the hire company before you go what it will accept.
  • The hire company may want your driving record. GOV.UK’s view or share your licence service makes a check code, valid for 21 days.

We do not help with passport applications

Your passport: apply direct, and only direct

We make Deed Polls. The passport is between you and HM Passport Office, and nobody needs a go-between for it. Send your original Deed Poll with one document that shows you already use the new name, and the new passport usually arrives within 3 weeks.

Everything HM Passport Office asks for after a change of name is set out by the Deed Polls Online handbook, our sister site, in its guide to HM Passport Office. Our own guide covers your passport after a Deed Poll.

Our Deed Poll

One Deed Poll, for both offices in turn

Both offices want the original, signed in your old and new names and witnessed, and both send it back. Ours is drafted for exactly that journey: one page, a signature box for each of your names, a line for the date and space for two witnesses. We recommend using both.

Add certified copies at the checkout, and your bank, your employer and many others can update your name while the original is with DVLA or HM Passport Office.

The Adult Deed Poll

£18.50

  • Accepted by DVLA and HM Passport Office
  • Guaranteed to be accepted, or your money back
  • Hand-drafted by a paralegal, then checked
  • In the post the same working day
Apply online – £18.50 How the Adult Deed Poll works
Questions & answers

More about the licence and the passport

Should I change my name on my passport or driving licence first?

Either, one after the other. DVLA and HM Passport Office both want your original Deed Poll, so the second waits until the first returns it. With no trip coming up, the passport first is simpler, because its number then counts as the document in your new name on form D1. With a trip soon, do the licence first and keep the passport for travelling. Which order suits you.

Do I need to send my passport to change the name on my driving licence?

No. Write the 9-digit number of your valid UK passport on form D1 and keep the passport at home: GOV.UK says not to send it, and the number of an expired passport cannot be used. A passport from another country is different, because it is posted to DVLA as a document. Your passport and DVLA.

Can I change the name on my driving licence without a passport?

Yes. Send form D1 with your current licence, your original Deed Poll and one document in your new name issued in the last 12 months, after the Deed Poll and after your current licence, such as a UK bank statement or a letter from HMRC or your council. No passport is needed at any stage. What goes in the envelope.

My passport is already in my new name. Do I still send my Deed Poll to DVLA?

Yes, if your name changed by Deed Poll. GOV.UK accepts a passport number on its own as proof only after a marriage or a divorce. With a Deed Poll, DVLA wants the original deed, and your passport number takes the place of the separate document in your new name, so nothing else is needed.

Can I apply to DVLA and HM Passport Office at the same time?

Not with one Deed Poll. Each wants the original, neither accepts a certified copy, and each posts it back to you. Send one, wait for the deed to come home, then send the other. Certified copies are for everyone else on your list in the meantime.

Can I hire a car abroad while DVLA has my licence?

Plan on not. GOV.UK says to take your driving licence with you to drive abroad, and DVLA’s leaflet INF188/6 warns that the cover for driving while an application is with DVLA comes from UK law, which other countries may not recognise. Post your form D1 after the trip instead. Travel and car hire.

Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.

Keep reading

Related answers

Changing your driving licenceForm D1 by post, free and never online, plus Northern Ireland.Read this Changing your passportWhat HM Passport Office asks for and what it costs.Read this How long DVLA takes to change your nameUsually 3 weeks by post, chase after 4, and keep driving meanwhile.Read this

One Deed Poll, for your licence and your passport

Apply online in about five minutes. A paralegal drafts your Deed Poll, quality control checks it, and it is posted the same working day, guaranteed to be accepted by DVLA and HM Passport Office.

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