Change your name by deed poll
You don’t have to follow a legal process to start using a new name. But you might need a ‘deed poll’ to apply for or to change official documents like your passport or driving licence. There are different rules for changing your name in Scotland.
Get a deed poll
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A deed poll is a legal document that proves a change of name. You can change any part, add or remove names and hyphens, or change the spelling.
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It doesn’t cost anything to make your own deed poll. Specialist agencies and solicitors may charge a fee to do it for you.
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You must be 18 or over to make a deed poll.
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There are extra rules about changing a child’s name.
Marriage and civil partnership
You don’t need a deed poll to take your partner’s surname. Send a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate to record-holders, eg benefits offices. Your documents will be updated for free.
If you divorce or end your civil partnership
You may be able to go back to your original name by showing record-holders either your:
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marriage certificate and decree absolute;
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civil partnership certificate and final order;
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Some organisations won’t change your name back without a deed poll.
Make an adult deed poll
You’ll need to do one of the following:
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use the official forms - do this if you want the name put on the official register (sometimes called being ‘enrolled’);
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make your own deed poll;
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use a specialist agency or a solicitor.
There are different rules if you want to change a child’s name.
Make your own deed poll
If you don’t want to register your deed poll, you can make your own instead. Speak to ICS Legal, as we can offer a deed poll template for a small fee, by calling us on 0207 237 3388.
Change a child’s name
To change the name of a child aged under 18 (sometimes called a ‘minor’) you’ll need either:
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the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility;
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a court order.
You must try to reach an agreement before you seek a court order.
Related FAQ's
Our speciality lies in the field of Immigration, Nationality and EU Law, so it means we always are dealing with this side of the law. We are able to support you in making a correct decision, avoid delays on your case, save money and time, not forgetting the stress of any doubts with your application.
There are many routes available to come to the UK, extend or switch, some of them do not allow extension or even switching. Knowing what is right can be a difficult task and this is why we are here. Simple task of not using the prescribed forms can mean your application is invalid, which means if you have no valid stay, you would have to return back and there is no appeal rights.
Our initial consultations are a chargeable service. We initially discuss the requirements of the application to ensure you meet the requirements and have the documentation required at hand for the submission. It gives you an opportunity to meet us and ask questions.
Each case will be checked thoroughly, everything will be cross referenced so guidelines are met and we will also add our legal document which would outline the Immigration Rules and how the client has satisfied the rules. We use documents that are used by Home Office case workers, so we know exactly what they would look for in your case.
The most important fact is that law constantly changes, policy guidelines and requirements are always changing, so it is best that you always use specialised services to support you. We never compromise our services, our fees remain very competitive but our expertise is at the very highest standard.
We place our clients first, so when you sign the customer care letter and we go through your case file, and we believe that the case would not be successful, we will terminate the agreement and return your documents. We will also provide alternative solutions with no added costs. We also have a cancellation period should you feel you want to withdraw your file.
Please note that all cases cannot be guaranteed as circumstances depends and whether you met guidelines, however the Home Office caseworker can still refuse cases on the balance of probabilities and other factors. Our job would be to prepare your case in the best possible way.
1) You contact us through e-mail or phone.
2) We take some basic information, we ask some relevant questions to understand the type of query and what type of support is required.
3) Your case then gets passed to a case worker.
4) Case Worker would contact you to set up an initial meeting.
5) You attend a consultation, an action plan is drawn up and we find out whether ICS Legal can support your case. A report would be sent where there is a requirement to outline what was discussed and what to do next.
6) You authorise us to be your legal representative by signing our customer care letter.
7) We will then start to request documents and information about your case this will build up your case pack.
8) We will then write our legal report and use Home Office caseworker’s documents to ensure everything has been checked and all requirement have been met.
9) Where possible we will go through every aspect of your case before case submission.
10) We will continue to update you throughout the case life cycle .