Enrolled vs Unenrolled Deed Poll – What’s the Difference?
Quick answer
Checked by Sarah Ellison, paralegal — last reviewed 6 January 2026
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Is an unenrolled deed poll legally valid?
Yes — fully. A 2021 ministerial research briefing (House of Commons CDP-2023-0044) confirms properly executed unenrolled deeds are “usually sufficient for all purposes, including applications to Government agencies”. HM Passport Office, the DVLA, HMRC, banks, the NHS, employers and universities all accept them. Around 98–99% of people never need to enrol their deed poll. Enrolment adds a permanent public record in The Gazette, not extra legal validity.
What does enrolment actually do?
Enrolment records your name change at the Royal Courts of Justice and publishes your old name, new name and home address permanently in The Gazette. That public record is the entire difference — the legal effect of the deed poll itself is unchanged. Only around 1–2% of deed polls are ever enrolled.
How much does enrolment cost and how long does it take?
The court fee is £53.05 (2026 figure — the court fee is set by the government, so check the current fee on gov.uk). You submit forms LOC020 and LOC021 with supporting documents to the Royal Courts of Justice, and the process takes roughly two to three weeks, sometimes up to three months.
Who might actually want to enrol?
Rare cases: some overseas authorities specifically ask for an enrolled deed, and a small number of people want the formal public record. The trade-off is privacy — your old name, new name and address become public forever. If you are simply changing your name for UK purposes, an unenrolled deed poll for £14.99 is all you need.
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