Our guides
How we check our guides
Every fact in our guides comes from the body that sets the rule, and is linked to it. That means GOV.UK, the DVLA, HM Passport Office, legislation.gov.uk and nidirect, and for our own service, our checkout, our deed and our terms. Each guide shows the month its facts were last checked. Where a source says nothing, we say so rather than guess, and when you tell us something is wrong, we correct it.
- Every fact linked to its source
- The month it was checked
- Corrected when you tell us
Our guides in brief
What you can expect from any guide on deedpolls.org, and what you should not expect from it.
- Sources
- GOV.UK, the DVLA’s own leaflets, HM Passport Office’s guidance, legislation.gov.uk and nidirect, then the pages of the organisations concerned
- On every guide
- A link to the source beside the fact it supports, and the month the facts were last checked
- When a source is silent
- We say that it is silent, and suggest who to ask, rather than fill the gap with a guess
- Our own service
- Described from our checkout, our deed and our terms, as they work today
- Legal advice
- None. Our guides are general information, and we are not solicitors, as our terms say in section 3
- Mistakes
- Email support@deedpolls.org and we correct the page and update the month it was checked
- Two websites
- deedpolls.org covers our Deed Poll, signing it and using it with the DVLA. Deed Polls Online, our sister site, is the handbook for every other organisation and situation
Where our facts come from
A rule is only as reliable as the place it is read from, so we go to whoever sets it and link to what they say.
GOV.UK
The government’s own guides and forms, such as changing the name on a driving licence or a vehicle log book, and making a Deed Poll.
The DVLA’s leaflets
The detail GOV.UK leaves out, such as leaflet INS57P on what each part of a driver number means, and INF188/6 on driving while an application is with the DVLA.
HM Passport Office
Its published guidance to its own staff on names and Deed Polls, which sets out what a Deed Poll must show to be accepted.
The law itself
Acts read on legislation.gov.uk, such as section 1 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 on how a deed is signed, and section 99 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 on a licence that no longer shows your name.
Northern Ireland
nidirect and the Driver & Vehicle Agency, because a licence from Northern Ireland follows its own forms and timings.
The organisations concerned
Transport for London, councils and car hire firms in their own words, quoted as they stand on the day we read them, because their rules are theirs to set.
How a guide is checked
Four habits you can see on any of our pages, so you can check our work for yourself.
Read at the source
A rule comes from the body that sets it, not from another website’s summary of it.
Linked where it is used
The link sits beside the fact, under each diagram or in the sentence, so the source is one tap away.
Silence said plainly
When a source stops short, the guide says so. Our driving licence number guide, for one, lists what the DVLA’s leaflet does not explain.
Dated
Each guide shows the month its facts were checked, and the date of its last change travels with the page for search engines too.
Found something wrong?
Rules change, and a page can fall behind. Email support@deedpolls.org with the page’s address and what you think is wrong, and a link to the source if you have one. A person reads it, usually the same working day. If the page is wrong, we correct it and update the month it was checked.
Our guides, answered
Where do the facts in your guides come from?
From the body that sets each rule: GOV.UK, the DVLA’s own leaflets, HM Passport Office’s guidance, legislation.gov.uk and nidirect, then the organisations concerned in their own words. Each fact links to its source. Our sources.
Are your guides legal advice?
No. They are general information about changing your name and using a Deed Poll. We are not solicitors and do not advise on anyone’s own circumstances, as section 3 of our terms says. If your situation is unusual, ask us before you order and a paralegal will say what we can do.
Why do some of your answers say a source is silent?
Because it is. When the DVLA, GOV.UK or another body does not say how something works, we would rather tell you that, and who to ask, than present a guess as a rule.
How do I tell you about a mistake on a page?
Email support@deedpolls.org with the page’s address, what you think is wrong and a link to the source if you have one. If the page is wrong, we correct it and update the month it was checked.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Related answers
Ready when you are
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.
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