Keep a certified copy
It goes on your file and stays there. 14 of the 35 on our list normally do this, among them banks and lenders, pension providers, employers and HM Land Registry.
Help & advice
Who do I need to tell about my new name?
Everyone who holds a record in your old name. Start with the ones that put your new name in writing, because HM Passport Office and DVLA each ask to see one of those.
- Accepted, or your money back
- A cover letter to send with it
Your list, in order
Everyone to tell, in the order that works, marked with who each one is for:
FirstPut your new name in writing
HM Passport Office and DVLA each ask for one document showing your new name, such as a bank statement or a letter from HMRC or your council. These are the ones that produce it.
ThenPassport, licence and log book
Each asks for your Deed Poll, so they go one at a time. Passport or licence first?
NextEveryone else, in any order
Most keep a certified copy, look at the original and hand it back, or take a photocopy, so these can run at the same time.
Identity documents
Money
Home and property
Work, health and study
LastThe ones people forget
None of these normally needs a certified copy. They are the ones still writing to you in your old name a year later.
All 35, as a checklist
Your answers and ticks are saved on this device only, and shared with the checklist. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Why this order
Your bank before your passport
HM Passport Office and DVLA each ask for your Deed Poll and one more document showing your new name. So the first to tell are the ones that will put your new name in writing: your bank, your employer, HMRC and your council.
HM Passport Office wants that document issued in the last 12 months. DVLA wants it dated after your Deed Poll and your current licence, and within the last 12 months too.
After that, the passport and the licence go one at a time, because each takes the original. Either order works.
Counts as the document in your new name
| Document | HM Passport Office | DVLA |
|---|---|---|
| A UK bank statement | Yes | Yes |
| A letter from HMRC | Yes | Yes |
| A letter from your council | Yes | Yes |
| A utility bill | Yes | Yes |
| A payslip | Yes | No |
| Your new passport | Not applicable | Yes |
| Your new driving licence | Yes | Not applicable |
DVLA takes an official letter from your employer rather than a payslip, and your new passport as its number, written on form D1. From each one’s guidance, checked September 2026.
Your Deed Poll
What they do with it
Each organisation does one of three things. Ask which before you post anything.
See the original, and return it
HM Passport Office and DVLA post it back once they have finished with it. A branch or a counter may check it in front of you and hand it straight back.
Take a photocopy, a scan or an upload
Common for utilities, subscriptions and online accounts, where a copy you make yourself is usually enough.
You have one original. Certified copies let the organisations that keep one run at the same time, while the original stays at home or is with HM Passport Office or DVLA. Certified copies cost from £6 for 2, up to £25 for 20.
Certified copies explained
Worth knowing
The ones with rules of their own
The electoral register
You register again with your new name on GOV.UK. It usually takes about 5 minutes, and you will be asked for your National Insurance number.
Benefits
A change of name is one of the changes GOV.UK says to report, and straight away: a claim can be stopped or reduced if you do not, and an overpayment may have to be paid back.
HM Land Registry
Form AP1, and there is no fee. Send a certified copy: HM Land Registry only needs one, and its form guidance says documents other than certificates and passports are destroyed once scanned.
Pet microchips
GOV.UK says keeping your pet’s microchip details up to date is your responsibility. Contact the database it is registered with, which may charge a fee.
An eVisa
Update your UKVI account when your name changes. You need an identity document that shows your new name, and you cannot change it while you wait for a visa decision.
Registered offenders
A registered sex, violent or terrorist offender must tell the police within 3 days, at their local prescribed police station. GOV.UK says it is a criminal offence not to.
Questions & answers
More about telling people
Is there a deadline for telling people?
Mostly not, but a few have rules of their own. The law says a driving licence must be surrendered straight away once the name on it is no longer correct, GOV.UK says to report a change that affects your benefits straight away, and registered offenders must tell the police within 3 days.
Does my National Insurance number change?
No. GOV.UK says your National Insurance number stays the same for life. Tell HMRC your new name, online or in the HMRC app.
Will they keep my original Deed Poll?
HM Passport Office and DVLA post it back. Most others keep a certified copy, look at the original and hand it back, or accept a photocopy or an upload. Ask each one before you post anything.
How many certified copies do I need?
Count the organisations on your list that keep one, not the whole list. The list at the top of this page counts them for you as you tick what you have. Certified copies explained.
Do I tell HMRC and DWP separately?
Yes, if you claim benefits. HMRC holds your tax and National Insurance record. A benefit is reported as a change of circumstances, and who you tell depends on the benefit: reporting a change, on GOV.UK.
What if an organisation will not accept my Deed Poll?
Ask what it objects to, in writing, and tell us: we will write to the organisation and explain. If a Deed Poll we have drafted is ever refused, we refund you in full.
I took my spouse's surname. Do I need a Deed Poll?
No. GOV.UK says you do not need a deed poll to take your spouse's or civil partner's surname: you send a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate to each record-holder instead, and for a passport that includes a double-barrelled name. A Deed Poll is for a change your certificate does not cover.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
Keep reading
Related answers
Ready to change your name?
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