Your current name, exactly
As it is on your passport or driving licence. The deed links it to your birth certificate and to every record you hold, so spelling and order matter.
Help & advice
How do I change my name by Deed Poll?
To change your name by Deed Poll, you apply online, a paralegal drafts the deed, and you sign it in front of two independent adult witnesses. Your new name is legal from that moment, and then you tell the organisations that hold your records. At £18.50, ours is hand-drafted and in the post the same working day.
- Hand-drafted by a paralegal
- Dispatched the same working day
Where are you up to?
All five steps, in order:
Step 1 of 5
Apply online, in about five minutes
- Your current name, exactly as it is on your passport or driving licence
- Your new name in full, the way you want it to read, capitals, hyphens and apostrophes included
- Your date of birth, and the address it is posted to
Adult, Child and Replacement Deed Polls are all £18.50. Certified copies (from £6 for 2, up to £25 for 20), delivery (from £2.99) and a board-backed envelope (£1.99) are optional extras at the checkout. Confirmation comes by email.
Step 2 of 5
Drafted, checked and posted the same working day
A paralegal hand-drafts your Deed Poll, quality control checks both names and the dates against what you entered, and it is printed on certificate paper and posted. How soon it arrives depends on the post you chose at the checkout.
When yours could arriveStep 3 of 5
Check both names, then find your witnesses
Read your old name and your new name letter by letter before anyone signs. If anything is wrong, tell us before you sign.
Your Deed Poll has space for two witnesses, and we recommend using both: each over 18, not related to you and not living at your address. A neighbour, a colleague or a friend is fine.
Signing and witnessing itStep 4 of 5
Your new name is now your legal name
GOV.UK says you can use your signed deed poll straight away. HM Passport Office and DVLA each want to see one document already in your new name, so begin with whoever will produce one, such as your bank, your employer’s payroll, HMRC or the council.
Your list, in orderStep 5 of 5
The original one place at a time, copies everywhere else
HM Passport Office and DVLA each ask for your original Deed Poll, so they go one at a time. Many other organisations accept a certified copy, so the rest can be told together.
Afterwards, keep the original safe: nobody else holds a copy of it.
Step 2 and 3
What arrives in the post
Everything is drafted, checked and posted on the working day you order, and it arrives by the Royal Mail service you chose at the checkout.
Your Deed Poll comes unsigned. It does nothing until you sign it in front of your witnesses, so check both names first, while a mistake is still easy to put right.
Nothing is sent as a PDF to print at home: the original you sign is the one printed on certificate paper.
- Your Deed PollUnsigned, on certificate paper
- Certified copiesIf you ordered them, each certified as a true copy
- Plain-English guidesWitnessing it, using it, and who to tell
- An example cover letterTo send with it when you write to an organisation
Step 3
Who can witness it
Your Deed Poll has space for two witnesses, and we recommend using both. Each watches you sign, then signs underneath and prints their name and address.
Can witness it
- A neighbour
- A colleague
- A friend
Anyone over 18 who is independent of you
Cannot
- A parent or another relative
- Your partner
- Anyone who lives with you
Related to you, or at your address
Sign in front of them, not before. A deed signed the night before and witnessed the next morning has not been properly executed. Signing and witnessing it, in detail. Signing in their presence is a legal requirement, in section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989.
Step 1
Getting the names right
Your new name, as it will read
Capitals, hyphens and apostrophes included. Every record you change afterwards copies the deed, so write it the way you want it for good.
What you may change it to
A few names are refused, and passports have a length limit. Check the name you have chosen before you apply.
Questions & answers
More about the process
How long does the whole process take?
Applying takes about five minutes, and yours is drafted, checked and posted the same working day. After that it is the post you chose at the checkout, then signing with your witnesses, which takes minutes. Your new name is legal from that signature. When yours could arrive.
Do I need a solicitor?
No. GOV.UK says you can make a deed poll yourself, or have a specialist agency or a solicitor make it for you.
Who can be my witness?
Any adult over 18 who is not related to you and does not live at your address. Your Deed Poll has space for two witnesses, and we recommend using both. Each watches you sign, then signs underneath and prints their name and address. Signing and witnessing it.
What if there is a mistake on my Deed Poll?
Check both names the day it arrives, before anyone signs. If something is wrong, contact us before you sign it.
Will I get a confirmation?
Yes, by email when you order.
Is it the same for a child?
A Child Deed Poll follows the same steps. A parent applies for it, and every person who holds parental responsibility for the child has to consent.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Ready to start step one?
Apply online in about five minutes. Your Deed Poll is drafted, checked and dispatched the same working day, and guaranteed to be accepted.
Secure checkout · card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Klarna
