How to get a copy of your Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration

We are often contacted by individuals who have changed their name in the past by Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration but have since lost the documentary evidence to prove the change of name. This is most common in cases where the subject of the name change was a child at the time which means that their parents would have had custody of the name change documents and in the time between the name change and the present date, they have been lost due to moving house, etc. Due to the fact that there are no central registers for either Deed Polls or Statutory Declarations, it is incredibly hard, if not impossible to get a copy of your original name change document. In the vast majority of cases, the only way to obtain evidence of your past name change is to either apply for a new Deed Poll or have a new Statutory Declaration drawn up by a solicitor.

Quick jump:

• How to get a copy of a Deed Poll
  • Deed Polls not issued by the UK Name Change Service
  • Deed Polls which were issued by the UK Name Change Service
• How to get a copy of a Statutory Declaration

How to get a copy of a Deed Poll

This section applies to people who have had their name changed by Deed Poll only.

Deed Polls not issued by the UK Name Change Service

If your Deed Poll was not issued by the UK Name Change Service, your best bet for obtaining a copy of your Deed Poll is to speak with the person or organisation which prepared your original Deed Poll. There is a possibility, though small, that the person or organisation will still have a copy of your Deed Poll and you can then use that to prove that your name was changed in the past.

There is also a possibility, though smaller than the likelihood that the person which originally prepared your Deed Poll still holds a copy, that your Deed Poll was enrolled in the Enrolment Books of the Supreme Court of Judicature. If your Deed Poll was enrolled, you will be able to obtain a copy by going to the Royal Courts of Justice in London, or, if the document was enrolled more than five years ago, at the National Archives in Surrey.

NOTE: Unless you paid a substantial fee (around £180), your Deed Poll will not have been enrolled at the Supreme Court of Judicature.

If you are unable to obtain a copy from either the person who originally prepared your Deed Poll or from the Royal Courts of Justice / National Archives you have no choice but to apply for a new Deed Poll as if you were only just changing your name.

When making your application for a Deed Poll to replace a lost document, you should enter your OLD name in the CURRENT name sections and your CURRENT name in the NEW name sections. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us using our live chat service.

Deed Polls which were issued by the UK Name Change Service

If the Deed Poll you are trying to get a copy of was issued by the UK Name Change Service we may be able to issue a copy of your Deed Poll to you.

If you ordered the Certified copy service when making your Deed Poll application we will have a digital copy of your Deed Poll in our archives and therefore we can issue further certified copies of the Deed Poll for you to use in place of the original. To get a copy of your Deed Poll please call our helpline on 020 3397 0441 and a member of staff will guide you through the process.

Even if you did not order the Certified copies service we can still help you. We can issue a Deed Poll which is identical to the original for the discounted fee of £10. Once you receive the replacement, you will sign and date it as you did your original and then you can use it to prove your name change.

How to get a copy of a Statutory Declaration

As a general rule Statutory Declarations are prepared by a law firm and must be notarised by a solicitor or Magistrates Court clerk in order to be legally binding so unless you had multiple copies of your Statutory Declaration notarised at the time of your name change (in which case, why are you reading this article?), there will be no copy for you to obtain. Therefore the only option available to you is to have another Statutory Declaration drawn up and notarised in order to prove your name change.

Having said that, rather than paying for another Statutory Declaration, you can instead apply for a Deed Poll to act as your documentary evidence of a past name change. Applying for a Deed Poll from the UK Name Change Service will usually work out cheaper than having a law firm draw up a Statutory Declaration and then having it notarised and Deed Polls are a much more widely accepted method of changing your name.

If you decide to apply for a Deed Poll rather than having a replacement Statutory Declaration created, you must ensure that you enter your OLD name in the CURRENT name sections and your CURRENT name in the NEW name sections of the application form.