How to Change the Name on Your Passport in the UK

Apply for a new British passport in the name you now use — there is no separate name-change product. Send your original signed change of name deed (deed poll) plus one piece of name-in-use evidence. Adult online applications cost £102, checked 13 August 2026. Your old passport stays valid until you renew.

GOV.UK frames this as getting a new passport, not editing the old one. You will be sent a new 10-year book. Time left on the old passport is not added. The name on the passport must match the name you use when you book travel.

Start the deed if you still need one: adult PDF £14.99 or the free template. Then work the who to notify checklist. If you only want the UK process, not the passport step, read name change UK and change of name deed.

Two things: evidence the name has changed, and evidence you use the new name for official purposes. For most people that is a wet-ink signed deed poll plus a bank statement, employer letter or similar document issued within the last 12 months. A valid UK driving licence can be older if it was issued after the deed.

HMPO’s public guide says send a deed poll, statutory declaration or affidavit with proof of previous name changes and evidence you are using the new name — for example a payslip or a letter from your local council. Caseworker guidance (names: evidence to change a name) is more precise about dates:

For a UK application, one name-in-use document is enough. Do not send a photocopy of a signed deed as that “use” evidence — HMPO wants a separately issued record. Fastest route: update the driving licence (free) so it can be your name-in-use document.

A change of name deed is another name for an unenrolled deed poll — HM Passport Office treats them as the same document. It must be dated, signed in your old and new names, and signed in wet ink by at least one witness. We use two independent adult witnesses, matching the GOV.UK model wording.

HMPO caseworker guidance states that unenrolled deed polls and change of name deeds are the same thing. Officers must accept them when they are dated, wet-ink signed in both names, witnessed, contemporaneous, and there are no doubts about genuineness — including deeds made online. They must not make inappropriate comments about the company that issued an online deed.

People searching “depol name change UK” mean this document: a deed poll, also titled CHANGE OF NAME DEED on the paper itself. Full guide: change of name deed. HMPO’s minimum is one witness; GOV.UK’s unenrolled example and most banks expect two independent adults who are not relatives, partners or housemates. We print two witness blocks. Get one: £14.99 PDF. DIY: free wording.

Make or buy a deed poll, print several copies, and sign them in ink with two independent witnesses aged 18 or over. Update a record that shows the new name — the free DVLA licence is the usual first step — then apply for the new passport with the original deed and that name-in-use evidence.

The name change itself is not a court application in England and Wales. It takes effect when the deed is signed. The passport is a later records step, like the bank or HMRC. Order that works for most people:

1. Deed poll — print three or four copies and sign them the same day.
2. Driving licence — free D1 update, and it doubles as HMPO name-in-use evidence.
3. Passport — new book, £102 adult online, original deed plus the licence or a 12-month paper.
4. Bank, HMRC, employer, NHS and the rest of the checklist.

Full walkthrough: name change UK. Timing of the PDF versus the records: how long a deed poll takes.

Generate the declaration, print three or four copies, and sign in both names while two independent adults watch. Each signed printout is an original. Send one original with the passport application — never a photocopy of an already-signed deed. Enrolment is not required for HM Passport Office.

Sign in wet ink. E-signatures fail at HMPO and the DVLA. Witnesses must be physically present. Keep at least one signed original at home when you post another. If HMPO asks you to send a new deed because the first was undated, unsigned in one name, or photocopied, print a spare original and sign it again — that is cheaper than arguing.

Our document uses the government model wording, an instruction card, and a money-back wording guarantee for HMPO, the DVLA, HMRC and UK banks. Start: adult form. If a named body has demanded a Gazette entry, read enrolled vs unenrolled before you pay the court £53.05.

Yes. A deed poll is England and Wales practice, but a British passport is a United Kingdom document. HM Passport Office accepts a correctly executed unenrolled deed poll from people living in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland, a statutory declaration is an alternative some people also use.

You do not need a separate “England name change” product. A British passport follows HMPO rules, not a county council. Living in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland is enough; you do not need to have been born in the UK. Foreign nationals can change the name they use on UK records; a foreign passport is still governed by that country.

Scotland has an extra registration option through National Records of Scotland, and some Scottish organisations prefer a statutory declaration. If that is your situation, see stat dec of name change. Eligibility: who can change their name. Trans applicants use the same deed, not a different HMPO product — trans name change UK.

There is no extra HM Passport Office surcharge for a name change. An adult standard 34-page passport is £102 online or £115.50 on paper, checked 13 August 2026. A child online application is £66.50. The deed poll is separate: free if you copy the government wording, or £14.99 for our PDF.

Fees, checked 13 August 2026 on GOV.UK passport fees:

Urgent routes (Online Premium, 1-week Fast Track) cost more — check GOV.UK for current add-ons. Sourced tables: open data. Broader comparison: deed poll cost.

The deed poll can be ready the same day you order and sign it. The passport itself is a new issue, not a sticker, so you wait for standard HM Passport Office processing. Check current times on GOV.UK before you book travel. Fast Track and Online Premium exist if you need the passport sooner.

Do not book travel until you hold a valid passport in the name on the ticket. The new passport will not have the same number as the old one. If you can still travel in the old name, keep the current book and update the passport after the trip.

The bottleneck is almost never the deed. It is getting name-in-use evidence (often the DVLA turnaround) and then HMPO’s queue. Sequence: how long a deed poll takes, then driving licence, then this page.

Yes. HMPO caseworker guidance says unenrolled deed polls and change of name deeds — including those done online — must be accepted if they are dated, wet-ink signed in both names, and witnessed. Rejections usually come from e-signatures, missing dates, or sending a photocopy of a signed deed.

GOV.UK warns that some organisations may not accept a deed poll you made yourself. For passports, the published caseworker test is execution, not whether you paid a company. Officers are told to request a new deed if it is not signed in both names, not witnessed, not wet-ink, not dated, or they have doubts it is genuine.

Common failures: one witness who is a housemate, electronic signatures, or posting the only original and then having nothing for the bank. Print and sign spares. Our £14.99 deed poll uses the government model wording with an instruction card. Enrolment is not what makes HMPO say yes — see enrolled vs unenrolled.

Update your driving licence first — the DVLA change is free, and a valid licence issued after the deed counts even if it is older than 12 months. Otherwise use a bank statement, employer letter or utility bill in the new name issued within the last 12 months. One piece is enough for a UK application.

HMPO does not need proof that you have changed the name with every agency. One official-use document is enough for a UK application. International applications from some country groups need more — check the application instructions if you are applying from overseas.

Do not try to use a photocopy of the signed deed as name-in-use evidence. Full order: who to notify checklist. If you claim Universal Credit, match the bank account name before the next payment — benefits name change.

If you took your spouse’s surname exactly as the marriage certificate shows, send that certificate — not a deed poll. HM Passport Office can also issue a passport in that married name up to three months before the ceremony, with a form countersigned by your officiant. Double-barrels and blends still need a deed.

The same straight-swap rule applies to a civil partnership certificate. Either spouse can take the other’s surname this way. If you are travelling on honeymoon in the old name, do not update the passport until you return.

Double-barrels, blends, and first- or middle-name changes are not written as the new full name on the certificate, so those still need a change of name deed. Guide: change name after marriage, civil partnership, double-barrelled surname.

Yes, with a child deed poll or other accepted evidence, plus consent from everyone who holds parental responsibility. A child standard 34-page passport is £66.50 online, with no extra name-change surcharge. If one parental-responsibility holder refuses, that is a court application, not a PDF we can sell.

From age 16 the young person makes their own adult deed poll. Under 16, HMPO looks at parental responsibility. An enrolled deed poll issued by the High Court can already show that consent was dealt with under the Enrolment of Deeds Regulations — that is not the usual route, and it publishes the child’s details.

Pack: child deed poll £17.99. Consent rules: parental responsibility and does the father have to agree? Adoption certificates can already show the new name — child’s name after adoption.

No. HM Passport Office accepts unenrolled deed polls and treats them as the same as a change of name deed. Enrolment at the Royal Courts of Justice costs £53.05 from age 18, publishes your details in The Gazette, and still requires name-in-use evidence. Skip it unless a named organisation has demanded the Gazette record.

Enrolled deeds are accepted, but they are not stronger for HMPO. They still need name-in-use evidence. Around 98–99% of people never enrol. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can make an unenrolled deed; High Court enrolment is only from 18.

Comparison: enrolled vs unenrolled. If you already enrolled and lost the paper, that is a different problem — lost deed poll.

If you hold a non-British passport, that name must match the British one — change the foreign passport first if they differ. Unexpired visas in the old British passport may become invalid; check with the issuing embassy. You do not need a countersignature for a name-only change.

GOV.UK is explicit: if you have dual citizenship and a non-British passport, the name and gender on that passport must match what you want on the British one. Change the foreign document first if they differ. You do not need a new British passport merely because you changed address, job, title, or marital status without changing your name, or because you became a dual national.

Fill in and sign the application in the name you want printed. Countersignatures are for appearance changes, not name changes. If you cannot be recognised from the old photo, you need both the name evidence and a countersignature. Next step if you still need the deed: get your change of name deed PDF for £14.99.