Who Can Change Their Name by Deed Poll?

Age decides who signs and whose consent you need. From 16 you sign your own deed poll; under 16, a parent or guardian applies with everyone’s agreement. High Court enrolment, which is optional, has its own rules.

Sources: GOV.UK — change your name by deed poll, change a child’s name and enrol a deed poll. Enrolment is optional: it puts the change on public record in The Gazette. Compare the two: enrolled vs unenrolled deed polls.

No, unless you are 16 or 17 and a court order still covers you. From your 16th birthday you are treated as an adult for name-change purposes: an unenrolled deed poll needs no consent from parents, a spouse or anyone else, and you never have to give a reason. Fill in the three-minute form, print, and sign in front of two independent witnesses. Age plus capacity to understand what you are signing is the eligibility test.

HM Passport Office’s change of name guidance says court orders, for example for children in care, can still require consent from everyone with parental responsibility until 18. And if your name was changed by someone else before you turned 16, HM Passport Office may still ask for everyone’s consent to that earlier change while you are 16 or 17; you can instead make a new deed poll yourself.

Start: adult form. Restrictions on the name itself: what names get refused. Separated but still married: your spouse does not have to agree — see change name after separation.

A parent or guardian applies on the child’s behalf, and everyone with parental responsibility must agree — usually both parents named on the birth certificate. If one holder refuses, the only route is a Specific Issue Order from the family court on form C100. We will not sell a document that would not be valid.

HM Passport Office guidance says a child under 16 cannot complete a change of name themselves. It accepts a name a child chose if everyone with parental responsibility consents to the passport application in that name and there is evidence of the change and of the name in use.

Pack: child deed poll. Detail: parental responsibility and does the father have to agree?

You do not need British citizenship — you need to live here and use the name here. GOV.UK says permanent residents overseas cannot change their name by deed poll. Foreign nationals can change the name they use for UK records; their home country controls its own passports. You must have mental capacity to understand the change.

If you have a UKVI account or eVisa, GOV.UK says you need an identity document that proves your name has changed before you can update the name in that account; there is a different way to update your details if you do not have one. You cannot change your name in the account while you are waiting for a visa application decision. A deed poll alone does not update your immigration record. Our guide for foreign nationals covers the UKVI account, right-to-work checks and using a UK deed poll abroad.

Dual nationals: GOV.UK says the name on your non-British passport must match the name you want on your British passport, so change the non-British passport first.

If you enrol a deed poll and cannot complete the form yourself for medical reasons, GOV.UK says you may be asked for a consent letter.

A deed poll can be used wherever you live in the UK. If you were born or adopted in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also have the change recorded against your birth entry, which a deed poll does not do.

• Born or adopted in Scotland. National Records of Scotland records the change and new certificates show both names. From 16 you can have one forename change and up to 3 surname changes, at least 5 years apart. It costs £40 (checked 24 September 2026). The service is not for a change after marriage, divorce or civil partnership.
• Living in Scotland but born elsewhere. NRS lists the process in your country of birth, a deed poll, or a statutory declaration signed before a notary public or Justice of the Peace. See stat dec of name change and our guide to changing your name in Scotland.
• Born or adopted in Northern Ireland. GRONI records changes for adults aged 18 or over: forenames once and surname up to three times, 5 years apart. It costs £35, and the form is signed before a Justice of the Peace, lay magistrate or practising solicitor (checked 24 September 2026). Northern Ireland residents can also use a deed poll.

Yes, but the change does not end your obligations. GOV.UK says registered sex, violent and terrorist offenders must tell the police within 3 days of changing their name, at their local prescribed police station, and that failing to do so is a criminal offence.

HM Passport Office’s names guidance notes that some people are not allowed to change their name; their passport applications are referred to its public protection team.

If you are bankrupt in England or Wales, GOV.UK’s restrictions still apply after a change of name. You cannot borrow more than £500 without telling the lender you are bankrupt, or run a business without giving the people you deal with the name you were made bankrupt in. GOV.UK also says you might have to include a changed name on a bankruptcy application, and the official receiver might need to tell others your previous name, for example to help people identify what you owe them. GOV.UK says the process to become bankrupt is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so check the rules there.

Yes. GOV.UK says a new name must be pronounceable, must not include symbols, numbers or punctuation except a hyphen or an established form such as O’Hara, and must not be offensive or against the public interest.

A deed poll also cannot change which letters are capitalised in your name, or change a title such as Mr, Mrs, Sir, Lady or Doctor. Record-holders apply their own checks on top: see UK name restrictions. Transgender people changing their name have extra privacy routes: trans name change UK.