Changing Your Name in a Civil Partnership
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Skip a deed poll where the recipient accepts your civil partnership certificate and supporting evidence for the chosen surname. Our service does not handle High Court enrolment. Our automated child pack requires agreement from every parental-responsibility holder.
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Can I change my surname with my civil partnership certificate?
HM Passport Office accepts a civil partnership certificate when taking a partner's surname, including a double-barrelled surname. Check the full application requirements. Other record-holders, including banks and employers, set their own evidence and submission rules; confirm those before buying another document.
GOV.UK’s deed poll guidance says you do not need a deed poll to take your civil partner’s surname: send a copy of your civil partnership certificate to record-holders. HM Passport Office’s caseworker guidance adds that forming a civil partnership does not mean you have to change your name. You can keep your own surname, take your partner’s surname, take part of it, or join both existing surnames. Either partner can take the other’s surname.
| Your choice | Evidence HM Passport Office asks for |
|---|---|
| Keep your own surname | Nothing to change. You do not need a new passport if your civil partnership status changes but your name stays the same. |
| Take your partner’s surname | The civil partnership certificate, if it shows the link between your old and new names |
| Take part of your partner’s surname | The certificate. The guidance’s example is Sue Smith becoming Sue Jones after marrying David Jones da Silva. |
| Join both existing surnames with a hyphen or a space | The certificate, if it shows the link, how the new name was made and that the spelling has not changed |
| Merge both surnames into one new word | Additional evidence, such as a change of name deed, plus evidence that you use the name for all official purposes |
| Move your old surname into your forenames | Change-of-name evidence, such as a statutory declaration, plus evidence that you use the name; the certificate is not accepted for this |
| Later drop your own surname and keep only your partner’s | Change-of-name evidence, such as a statutory declaration, plus name-in-use evidence; the certificate cannot be used. Dropping your partner’s half to go back to your birth surname uses the previous-surname route instead: see what happens to our names if the civil partnership ends. |
Check the driving licence and passport evidence requirements before choosing an update order. Certificate and deed-poll applications can have different supporting-evidence rules. If you need proof of your new name in use, arrange an eligible employer or bank document before the application that requires it. Use the who-to-notify checklist and compare the marriage guidance.
When do we need a deed poll instead?
A deed poll may be useful for a new blended surname, an entirely new family name or a separate forename change that the certificate does not support. Double-barrelling after civil partnership is included in HM Passport Office’s certificate route. Check the evidence requirements before either partner pays for another document.
If you both want a merged or entirely new surname, each partner needs evidence of their own change for every record-holder that asks. HM Passport Office accepts an unenrolled deed poll that is dated, signed in the old and new names with wet-ink signatures, and signed by at least one witness. GOV.UK’s model wording uses two adult witnesses, and some organisations will not accept a witness who is a close relative or lives at your address.
Each of you can complete the three-minute form, or use the free deed poll template. For a forename or middle-name change, a statutory declaration of name change is another accepted document. Double-barrel detail: double-barrelled surnames. Compare the service and delivery method when checking other providers — price comparison.
Can I get a passport in my new name before the ceremony?
Yes. GOV.UK says you can apply for a passport in your new name up to 3 months before the civil partnership ceremony. Your old passport is cancelled, and the new one is post-dated: you cannot use it before the ceremony.
Send the passports for newly weds and civil partners form with your application. The religious minister or registrar who will conduct the ceremony must sign it. GOV.UK warns that some countries will not issue visas for post-dated passports, so check with the country’s embassy or consulate before you travel.
If you wait until after the ceremony, apply in the usual way and send your civil partnership certificate. GOV.UK lists the fee as £102 online or £115.50 by paper form (checked 24 September 2026). You get a new 10-year passport with a new number, and time left on the old one is not added. The name on your passport must match the name on your travel booking, so do not book travel in a name your passport does not show.
Can I keep using my own surname at work?
Yes. Nothing requires you to change your name, and you can take your partner’s surname while still using your previous surname for some purposes. HM Passport Office records this on the passport as an ‘also known as’ observation.
If you take your partner’s surname but use both surnames, for example for professional purposes, HM Passport Office asks you to confirm this in section 8 of the application form or in a signed statement. The passport is issued in the new name with the observation ‘The holder is also known as’ followed by your forenames and previous surname.
If you take your partner’s surname but use only your previous surname for all official purposes, you sign the application in your previous surname and send the certificate with evidence that you use that name. HM Passport Office then issues the passport in the previous name, with the partner’s surname as the observation. If you hold a second nationality, the guidance expects your foreign passport and British passport to show the same name; read our guide for foreign nationals.
Will every organisation accept the certificate in the same form?
No. Each record-holder sets its own rules about originals, copies and laminated documents, and some do not list a civil partnership certificate at all. Check the list before you post anything.
| Record | What the published guidance says |
|---|---|
| Passport | Original or replacement certificate, or a certified copy from the General Register Office. A laminated civil partnership certificate is accepted for a change of name. |
| Driving licence (Great Britain) | Free. Send original documents that confirm the new name with form D1 or D2. DVLA says not to send photocopies or laminated certificates. |
| Vehicle log book (V5C) | GOV.UK exempts a change because of marriage or divorce from the proof requirement. It does not mention civil partnership, so include the certificate or ask DVLA. |
| Banks and employers | Their own rules. Some organisations only accept an enrolled deed poll, so ask before you buy another document. |
If a certificate is lost or you need a spare, GOV.UK lists £12.50 for a copy from the General Register Office in England and Wales (checked 24 September 2026). It is sent 4 days after you apply if you have the GRO index reference; without one, each search costs £3.50 extra and delivery takes 15 working days. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate ordering processes. Our bank name-change guide and V5C guide cover those records in more detail.
What if we convert our civil partnership into a marriage?
Converting does not change either partner’s name by itself. GOV.UK says you do not need a new passport if your marital status changes but you keep your name. The routes depend on where the civil partnership was formed.
- England and Wales: only a same-sex civil partnership can be converted. You sign a ‘conversion into marriage’ declaration with the superintendent registrar. GOV.UK lists £55 to convert, £12.50 for the marriage certificate and £33 for an appointment if you have a ceremony (checked 24 September 2026). The marriage certificate is dated when your civil partnership was formed.
- Scotland: National Records of Scotland offers an administrative route at a registration office if the civil partnership was registered in Scotland, or a marriage ceremony.
- Northern Ireland: GOV.UK says you cannot convert any civil partnership into a marriage there.
If you already changed your surname using the civil partnership certificate, keep it. HM Passport Office asks for evidence of each change of name, linking back to your birth certificate or your last passport.
What happens to our names if the civil partnership ends?
Dissolution does not automatically change your name. Ask the recipient what it requires to return to a previous surname, including supporting evidence alongside certificates. A deed poll can record a suitable name change but does not prove dissolution. Check the route before preparing another document.
In England and Wales you can apply to end a civil partnership after more than a year, and GOV.UK says it normally takes at least 6 months. The final order is the document that ends the partnership; GOV.UK tells you to keep it safe. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different processes. If you do not want to end the partnership, a legal separation is an alternative.
GOV.UK’s deed poll guidance says you may be able to go back to your original name by showing record-holders your civil partnership certificate and final order, but some organisations will not change your name back without a deed poll. For a passport in your birth surname, HM Passport Office asks for:
- your birth certificate;
- a certificate showing both names (a final order is accepted on its own only if it shows the link between your names);
- a signed statement that you have gone back to that surname for all purposes;
- a document showing you use the name, such as a payslip or a council letter.
Going back to a name that is not your birth name, or choosing a new one, is treated as a new change of name. The official previous-surname passport checklist and our divorce name-change guide explain the evidence distinction. If the partnership is not yet dissolved, read changing your name after separation and confirm the recipient's requirements for your circumstances.
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