Deed poll and name change in England

The English legal basis

The right to change your name in England is part of the common law, not something granted by statute. A person may take, use and be known by any name they choose, at any time, provided it is not for a fraudulent, immoral or otherwise unlawful purpose. A deed poll is simply the written record of that decision, signed in your new name and witnessed by two independent adults. It is not "registered" anywhere unless you choose the optional enrolment route.

GOV.UK guidance on changing your name by deed poll confirms that you can make your own unenrolled deed poll and lists what it must contain. The same page confirms that enrolling the deed poll — which places it on a public court record — is optional.

Who can apply in England

• Adults aged 16 or over can make their own unenrolled deed poll in England without any parent or guardian being involved.
• Children under 16 need everyone with parental responsibility to consent. See our child name change guide for the consent rules and evidence each organisation may ask for.
• People subject to certain court orders or licence conditions (for example, patients under the Mental Health Act, or people on the Sex Offenders Register) may need additional permissions. Check with the body supervising you first.

How the process works

The deed poll itself is one document. The work is mostly about updating the records that matter to you afterwards.

1. Make or order the deed poll. You can write your own (our free deed poll guide explains what the document must contain) or use a preparation service that checks it for you. Either way, the document is a single signed, witnessed record.
2. Sign in your new name in front of two independent adult witnesses who are not relatives and do not live with you. They sign too, adding their names, addresses and occupations. See our witness requirements guide for the full rules.
3. Use it as evidence to update your records — passport, driving licence, HMRC, banks, employer, GP and the others on our name change checklist.

Enrolling a deed poll in England (optional)

Enrolment places your deed poll on a public court record at the King's Bench Division of the High Court, at the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in London. A notice is also placed in The Gazette. Enrolment is not required for a deed poll to be valid in England.

A small number of organisations can ask for an enrolled deed poll — the most common example is HM Land Registry when transferring a mortgaged property into your new name. Most applicants never need to enrol. If they do, the process is straightforward but does carry a court fee and is publicly searchable.

England-only offices you may need to update

Most document updates in England are the same as anywhere else in the UK — your passport, DVLA driving licence, HMRC records, banks and so on. A few England-specific (or England-and-Wales-specific) offices do come up:

• HM Land Registry — Croydon Citizen Centre

  England and Wales property titles. You can update the name on registered land online using a signed unenrolled deed poll (or enrolled, where the property is mortgaged and some lenders ask for it).

• General Register Office (GRO) — Southport

  Holds birth, adoption, death, marriage and civil partnership records for England and Wales. A deed poll does not change a birth, marriage or decree absolute certificate. If you need a correction made to a civil registration record, the correction is added as a marginal note — see our birth certificate guide.

• HM Passport Office — London Customer Service Centre (Victoria)

  England's main Premium and Fast Track passport counter for urgent name-change applications. Standard online renewal is handled centrally and you do not need to visit — see our passport name change guide.

• Your local authority (council)

  Council tax, electoral registration and (if relevant) parking permits and concessionary travel. Most English councils accept an online update with a photo or scan of the signed deed poll.

When you do NOT need a deed poll in England

A deed poll is one of several routes to a name change. In England, the following situations often mean you do not need a deed poll at all:

• After marriage, your marriage certificate is normally accepted in England as evidence enough to take your spouse's surname (or combine surnames). See our marriage name change guide.
• After forming a civil partnership, the civil partnership certificate works the same way for changing your surname. See our civil partnership guide.
• After divorce, your decree absolute plus your marriage certificate are usually enough to revert to your maiden name. See our divorce name change guide.
• To correct a misspelling on an existing record, the body that holds the record may correct it without you needing a name-change document at all. See our corrections and amendments guide.

A deed poll is only necessary when you want a change that none of these documents covers — for example, a wholly new first name, a new middle name, a name unrelated to marriage, or a more complex combination of surnames.

England deed poll FAQ