How to Change, Add or Remove a Middle Name
Quick answer
Who should skip this
Skip a deed poll if you are only taking a spouse’s surname printed on a marriage certificate — that is not a middle-name change. Skip us if an organisation only wants a one-and-the-same-person declaration for a historic spelling mismatch and you are not changing the name going forward.
Checked by Sarah Ellison, paralegal — last reviewed 22 August 2026
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Why does a middle-name change need a deed poll?
Because your legal name is the whole thing — first, middle and surname together. Dropping a middle name you never use, adding one, or moving a maiden name into a middle position all change that legal name. A marriage certificate cannot evidence a middle-name change. A deed poll can.
The process is identical to any other adult deed poll. Under 16 needs the child pack and every parental-responsibility holder’s consent.
How do I make the change?
Generate a deed poll that states the old full name and the new full name exactly, print three to four copies, and sign in ink in both names in front of two independent witnesses aged 18 or over. It takes effect immediately. Electronic signatures are not accepted by HM Passport Office or the DVLA.
The full walkthrough is in name change UK. The paper is a change of name deed. Timing: how long a deed poll takes.
Who do I tell afterwards?
The same list as any name change: driving licence or passport first for name-in-use evidence, then bank, HMRC, employer, NHS, insurers and utilities. HMPO records all given names, so update the passport if you travel. A middle-name-only change is still a full identity update for those systems.
See the who to notify checklist.
What about spelling corrections?
A spelling change — Ann to Anne, Stuart to Stewart — works exactly the same way as any other deed poll. If an organisation is only questioning two historic spellings and you are not changing the name going forward, a one-and-the-same-person statutory declaration can be the quicker bridge.
That declaration: one and the same person (£9.99 plus a £5 witness fee). It does not replace a deed poll if you also want records updated to one spelling from now on.
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