Finding a witness
Can someone witness my Deed Poll for me?
Yes, almost any adult you know. A witness has to be 18 or over and independent of you: not a relative, not your partner and not anyone who lives at your address. A colleague, a neighbour or a friend is the usual choice. We do not supply witnesses, because each one must be with you and watch you sign in ink, and a video call does not count.
Your Deed Poll has space for two witnesses, and we recommend using both.
Who can witness a Deed Poll in the UK
Four things decide it, and none of them is a qualification. Each comes from GOV.UK or from HM Passport Office’s guidance to the staff who check deeds.
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An adult
GOV.UK’s wording for a deed poll asks for witnesses who are 18 or over, on the day they sign.
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Not family, and not at your address
GOV.UK cautions that some organisations turn a deed poll away when a witness is a close relative or shares your address. We go one further and say no relative at all, by birth or marriage, and not your partner.
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Any job, or none
HM Passport Office’s caseworker guidance is clear that a witness can be someone other than a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths. A shop worker or a retired neighbour counts the same as a doctor.
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With you, watching you sign
They see you sign the paper by hand, then sign it themselves straight afterwards. The same guidance asks for every signature to be a wet one, in ink.
From GOV.UK’s guidance on making a deed poll and HM Passport Office’s Names: evidence to change a name, version 28.0, both read in October 2026.
Who could you ask?
Most people find their witnesses among the people they already see each week. It helps to remember how small the favour is: about five minutes, a pen, and their name, address and occupation written on the deed.
- Start at work. A colleague, a manager or someone in the next office can do it on a break.
- Then try your street. A neighbour from another house is a common choice, and a good one.
- Think wider. A friend, a friend’s partner, someone from a club, a class, the gym or your place of worship.
- Ask two at once. Two witnesses who know each other can come together, so it is all done at one sitting.
Truly nobody to ask? A solicitor or a notary public can witness it instead, usually for a fee. What to expect.
Could they witness it?
Everyone people usually think of, with the answer.
YesSomeone you work with
Often the easiest yes of all: you see them most days, and a few minutes at lunch is plenty. Your manager can do it too.
YesA neighbour
Next door or further along the road, provided they live in a different home from you.
YesA friend
Any friend aged 18 or over who is not related to you and does not share your home.
YesSomeone from a club, a class or your place of worship
A coach, a fellow volunteer or someone from your congregation: an adult you know who is independent of you.
YesYour GP, a teacher or another professional who knows you
If they are willing, though they need not say yes. Their job gives the deed no extra weight, so a friend or colleague does just as well.
YesA solicitor or a notary public
A paid option when there is no one else. Ask the price when you book, and take the deed unsigned so you sign it in front of them.
NoYour partner or anyone in your family
Not a husband, wife or partner, and nobody related to you by birth or by marriage, however well they know you.
NoAnyone who lives at your address
Sharing your address rules them out on its own, even with no family tie, so a housemate or a lodger cannot sign.
NoSomeone watching on a video call
A witness has to be physically there while you sign, and then sign the same sheet of paper. A face on a screen can do neither.
NoA remote or online witnessing service
It has the same problem as a video call: nobody is in the room. We do not offer one, and no service can make a remote witness count.
NoAnyone under 18
A 16 or 17 year old cannot witness it, even though they could sign a Deed Poll of their own.
Will a solicitor or notary witness it?
Yes, a solicitor or a notary public can act as your witness. You will usually need an appointment, and they may charge for it, so ask the price when you book.
It is a fallback rather than an upgrade. HM Passport Office tells its staff that a deed poll witness need not be a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths, so a professional’s signature makes your deed no stronger than your neighbour’s would.
Going to a solicitor or notary
- Ask the price when you bookThey may charge for their time, so it is worth knowing before you go.
- Take the deed unsignedThey have to watch you sign it, so nothing goes on it beforehand.
- Find your second witness tooYour Deed Poll has space for two. Whoever comes with you signs at the same sitting.
Why no one can witness a Deed Poll remotely
The law asks for presence. Under the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, a deed is signed in the presence of the witness who then attests that signature.
Presence means in person. HM Land Registry’s guidance on signing deeds reports the Law Commission’s conclusion that this needs the witness to be physically present, and that a “virtual” or “remote” presence is not enough.
The signatures are checked. HM Passport Office’s caseworkers ask for a new deed poll when one has not been witnessed or does not carry wet signatures.
So we draft your Deed Poll and post it, and the signing happens with you, in a room with people you know. No company can do that part from a distance, ourselves included, and it is the only part that needs anyone nearby: there is no office to visit.
What a witness has to do
- Be there in person while you sign
- See you sign, clearly
- Sign the same paper straight after you
- Use a pen: by hand, in ink
From Practice guide 8: execution of deeds, HM Land Registry, and HM Passport Office’s names guidance, read in October 2026.
Getting it signed
When your Deed Poll arrives, choose a time that suits both witnesses and do it all at one sitting.
Both together
Your Deed Poll has a space for each of two witnesses, and we recommend using both, with both watching as you sign.
Five minutes, one pen
You sign in your new name and in your old one. Each witness then signs and writes their name, home address and occupation.
Practise where each signature goesOnly found one so far?
Keep asking for a second: it is what we recommend. Before you sign with one, read the answer to “Do I need two witnesses?” on our signing guide.
Read the answerFinding a witness, answered
Can anyone witness a Deed Poll?
Almost any adult can. Your witness must be 18 or over and independent of you, which means not a relative, not your partner and not someone who lives at your address. They watch you sign, then sign the deed themselves. Your Deed Poll has space for two witnesses, and we recommend using both.
Is there a Deed Poll witness service?
Not one that can witness it from a distance. A witness has to be with you in person while you sign, so a witness on a video call or through an online service does not count, and we do not supply witnesses. If you have no one to ask, a solicitor or a notary public can be your witness, usually for a fee.
Will a solicitor witness my Deed Poll, and what does it cost?
A solicitor or a notary public can witness it, though you will usually need an appointment and they may charge for it, so ask the price when you book. You do not need one: HM Passport Office’s caseworker guidance says a deed poll witness need not be a solicitor or a commissioner for oaths.
Can my witness watch on a video call?
No. HM Land Registry’s guidance on signing deeds follows the Law Commission’s view that a witness must be physically present, and that a virtual or remote presence is not enough. The witness also signs the same paper straight after you, which nobody on a screen can do.
Can my partner, a parent or my housemate witness it?
No. GOV.UK cautions that a deed poll can be turned away by some organisations when a witness is a close relative or shares your address. We ask for no relative at all, by birth or marriage, no partner and no one who lives with you.
Can I sign first and have it witnessed later?
No. Your witnesses are confirming that they watched you sign, so only sign when they are with you. HM Passport Office asks for a new deed poll when one has not been witnessed. If you have already signed without your witnesses, ask a paralegal before you use it.
Do both witnesses need to be there at the same time?
That is what we recommend. GOV.UK’s own wording records a deed as signed in the presence of both witnesses, named one after the other, so sign once with both of them watching and let each sign straight afterwards.
Not sure about someone? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Witnesses in mind? Order yours today
Apply online in about five minutes. Your Deed Poll is hand-drafted with a space for each of two witnesses, checked and posted the same working day.
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