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A checklist for drivers

Your car after a name change

Your driving licence and your V5C log book both go to DVLA by post, and neither costs anything. Send the licence first and the log book once your Deed Poll comes back. Car tax paid by Direct Debit is changed by letter to DVLA with a copy of your Deed Poll, or by phone after a marriage. Then tell your insurer, any finance company and your breakdown cover. The MOT certificate never needs changing.

Start the tick list Apply online – £18.50
  • DVLA charges nothing
  • 11 things, one list
  • Checked with GOV.UK, October 2026
A bald man in a navy jacket holding open a folder of papers while a woman with long red hair, in a coral jacket, points at a sheet and holds the car keys, the open boot of their green car behind them
The order that works

One original, two trips to DVLA

You have one signed Deed Poll, and DVLA wants it for your licence. Everything that takes a copy, a phone call or a form can run alongside while it is away.

Your original Deed Poll 1 Signed at home Your new name is legal from that moment 2 Driving licence Form D1 to DVLA, free, with the original 3 Back to you Posted on its own, apart from the new licence 4 V5C log book The whole book, a letter and your Deed Poll Alongside, any time: a copy, a call or a form Car insurerAs soon as you can Finance firmAsk what it needs BreakdownYour membership Tax Direct DebitA letter and a copy Plate certificateV750 or V778 Your councilPermit, Blue Badge When the new log book arrives Check your Dart Charge and TfL accounts match it Never: the MOT certificate It names the vehicle, not you Your original Deed Poll 1 Signed at home Your new name is legal from then on 2 Driving licence Form D1 to DVLA, with the original 3 Back to you Posted apart from the new licence 4 V5C log book The whole book, a letter, the deed Alongside, any time Car insurerAs soon as you can Finance firmAsk what it needs BreakdownYour membership Tax Direct DebitA letter and a copy Plate certificateV750 or V778 Your councilPermit, Blue Badge When the new log book arrives Check Dart Charge and TfL accounts Never: the MOT certificate It names the vehicle, not you
Your original Deed Poll can only be in one place at a time. DVLA returns your documents separately from the new licence, then the same deed goes with the log book. From GOV.UK’s licence, log book and identity document guidance, checked October 2026.
Your tick list

Everything a driver updates

Who to tell, how and what it costs, item by item. Tick each one when it is done, or when it does not apply to you. Your ticks stay on this device and go nowhere else.

  • Original or copy? DVLA wants the original Deed Poll for your licence. The tax Direct Debit and plate certificates take a copy.
  • Drive for a living? A lorry or bus licence uses form D2, and CPC cards, tachograph cards and taxi licences each change their own way: professional drivers.
  • Northern Ireland? The licence goes to the DVA instead: form DL1, explained. The log book is still DVLA’s.
  • Licence lost, or your name misspelt? A lost licence goes on the same form D1, for £20: a lost licence and a new name. A spelling DVLA got wrong, on the licence or the log book, is put right by letter: a name spelt wrong.

1Straight away

  • Who
    Your insurer
    How
    Your account, or by phone
    Cost
    Set by the insurer

    Do not wait for the renewal. Aviva, for one, tells drivers to let their insurer know as soon as possible, because wrong details on a policy can affect a claim, and that includes a named driver’s. The Deed Polls Online handbook, our sister site, compares how nine insurers take a new name. If the policy records your licence number, give the insurer the new one when the card comes: why the number changes.

  • Who
    The finance company
    How
    Ask what it wants to see
    Cost
    Ask when you call

    The agreement and the payments are in your old name, so tell the lender. Offer a certified copy if it wants proof, and keep the original for DVLA. If the log book names a lease company or your employer as registered keeper, the V5C is theirs to update: tell them your new name instead.

  • Who
    Your provider
    How
    Your account, or by phone
    Cost
    Ask your provider

    Update the name on your membership, through your online account or by phone, and ask the provider whether it needs to see anything.

2DVLA, with your original Deed Poll

  • Who
    DVLA
    How
    Form D1, by post
    Cost
    Free

    Pick up form D1 at most Post Offices and post it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BN, with your licence, your original Deed Poll and one document in your new name, such as a bank statement or your new passport number. A new photo at the same time is £17. You can drive while you wait.

    The licence, step by step
  • Who
    DVLA
    How
    The whole log book, by post
    Cost
    Usually free

    Write the new name in full in section 3 and post the whole log book to the address printed there, with a letter saying why and your Deed Poll as proof. Not telling DVLA can mean a fine of up to £1,000. The new log book can take up to 6 weeks.

    The log book, step by step

3DVLA, with a copy

  • Who
    DVLA
    How
    A letter to DDC, DVLA
    Cost
    No fee listed

    Write with your address, date of birth, bank or building society name, account number and sort code, and a copy of your Deed Poll, to DDC, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1ZZ. After a marriage or divorce, GOV.UK says you can phone DVLA instead.

  • Who
    DVLA Personalised Registrations
    How
    By post only
    Cost
    No fee listed

    Only for a number held on a V750 or V778 rather than on a car. Send the certificate with a letter giving your new name and a copy of your Deed Poll to DVLA Personalised Registrations, Swansea, SA99 1DS. A number already on your car changes with the log book.

    Private plates, explained

4Your council and charge accounts

  • Who
    Your council
    How
    The council’s own process
    Cost
    Set by the council

    Councils run their own permit schemes, and GOV.UK’s parking permit page finds yours from a postcode in England or Wales. Ask how it changes the name on a permit, and whether it wants to see the new log book.

  • Who
    Your council
    How
    Ask for a replacement
    Cost
    Set by the council

    GOV.UK says to contact your council, ask for a replacement badge in your new name, and keep using the old one until it arrives. The handbook shows how two councils handle a Blue Badge, and bus passes too.

  • Who
    Dart Charge
    How
    Sign in, or its contact form
    Cost
    No fee listed

    Sign in to your Dart Charge account to manage it. On the local resident discount, Dart Charge asks for a log book registered to the name and address on the account, and fresh proof every 2 years, so bring the account into line when the new V5C arrives.

  • Who
    Transport for London
    How
    Sign in to your account
    Cost
    No fee listed

    Auto Pay for the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels runs from a London Road User Charging account, so update your details there. For a UK vehicle, TfL’s terms say keeping DVLA’s record right is down to you, and an out-of-date one can lead to a wrong charge.

Nothing to do

Your MOT certificate stays as it is

An MOT is about the vehicle, not the keeper. DVSA’s sample pass certificate shows the registration, the vehicle identification number, the make and model, the mileage, the dates and the test centre and its tester, and nothing about who keeps the car.

So a new name changes nothing on it, and GOV.UK’s MOT history service finds the record from the number plate alone. One place the MOT does come up: if the car needs taxing in the next 4 weeks and you take the log book to a Post Office to tax it and change your details together, bring evidence of a valid MOT. GOV.UK says a screenshot of that history will do.

From DVSA’s MOT test pass certificate samples and GOV.UK’s log book guidance.

Married, divorced or by Deed Poll

What each one asks for, by reason

Changing the name on car tax or the log book after a marriage asks for less than after a Deed Poll. Here is the difference, from GOV.UK’s own pages.

What you changeAfter a Deed PollAfter a marriageAfter a divorce
Driving licenceYour original Deed Poll, plus one document in the new nameYour marriage certificateYour divorce papers, with your birth, adoption or naturalisation certificate
V5C, a new name onlyA letter, and proof such as your Deed PollA letter. No proof neededA letter. No proof needed
Tax Direct DebitA letter with a copy of your Deed PollA phone call to DVLAA phone call to DVLA
Plate certificateA letter and a copy of your Deed PollA letter and a copy of the certificateA letter and a copy of your divorce papers

Already married or divorced with a passport in the new name? DVLA also takes its 9-digit number for the licence. For a new first name, a blended surname or any name a certificate does not show, the proof is a Deed Poll. From GOV.UK on identity documents for a licence, the log book, the tax Direct Debit and private numbers.

Questions & answers

Your car and your new name

How do I change my name on my car tax?

If you pay by Direct Debit, tell DVLA. After a Deed Poll, write to DDC, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1ZZ with your address, date of birth, bank or building society name, account number and sort code, and a copy of your Deed Poll. After a marriage or divorce, GOV.UK says you can phone DVLA instead. The full tick list.

Do I need to tell my car insurance I have changed my name after marriage?

Yes, and as soon as you can rather than at renewal. Insurers ask you to keep the details on a policy current, and Aviva warns that wrong details can affect a claim. Most let you update your name in your online account or by phone; ask whether a fee applies.

How do I change the keeper's name on my V5C?

Write your new name in full in section 3 and post the whole log book to the DVLA address printed in that section, with a letter explaining the change and, after a Deed Poll, your Deed Poll as proof. It is usually free and can take up to 6 weeks. The log book, step by step.

Do I need to tell my car finance company I have changed my name?

Yes. The agreement and its payments are in your old name, so let the lender know and ask what it needs to see. A certified copy of your Deed Poll lets you keep the original for DVLA. If a lease company or your employer is the registered keeper, they update the log book, not you.

Do I need a new MOT certificate after changing my name?

No. An MOT certificate records the vehicle, not its keeper: DVSA's sample shows the registration, vehicle identification number, make, mileage, dates and test centre, and no keeper's name. Nothing changes on it, and the MOT history is found by number plate.

Should I change my driving licence or my log book first?

The licence. DVLA needs your original Deed Poll for it and posts your documents back separately from the new licence. Send the log book with your Deed Poll once it has come back. The licence is free, and the log book usually is too. The order that works.

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

Keep reading

Related answers

Your V5C log bookSection 3, by post, usually free: what to send and the £1,000 fine.Read this Changing your driving licenceForm D1 by post, free and never online, plus Northern Ireland.Read this Your name on a private number plateOn a car, the V5C; on a V750 or V778, a letter and a copy of your Deed Poll.Read this

Changing your name by Deed Poll?

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