Having your Deed Poll legalised

Legalisation is the process of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) officially confirming that a signature, seal or stamp on a document is genuine. Legalisation of a document does not represent a guarantee from the FCO that its contents are accurate and in no way signifies approval from the FCO or the government of the United Kingdom.

NOTE: Your Deed Poll does not need to be legalised in order for you to legally change your name. It is only required if you will be presenting your Deed Poll to government agencies and other organisations outside of the UK.

Why do I need to have my Deed Poll legalised?

If you are planning to use British legal documents abroad, you"ll likely be asked to have your documents legalised by the FCO before they can be accepted. The Stamp of Authenticity from the FCO gives the person or organisation you are dealing with complete confidence that the documents you present are genuine.

How are documents legalised by the FCO?

When legalising documents the FCO first check the signature, seal or stamp on the document against their database. Once they have confirmed that the document is genuine they attach an apostille (legalisation certificate) to confirm this.

Having your Deed Poll legalised

This article is primarily about having your Deed Poll document legalised to be used overseas so we will describe this process in more detail.

Change of Name Deed (Deed Poll) documents must be certified by a UK solicitor or notary public as being original, or true copies of the original before the Foreign & Commonwealth Office will legalise them.

Fees for a solicitor or notary public to certify your Deed Poll can vary widely. In a recent test we were given four quotes for certifying a Deed Poll from law firms in the same town: £10, £25, £40 and £55. This example demonstrates that it is best to shop around to find the best possible price.

Once you have had a solicitor or notary public certify your Deed Poll you can send it to the FCO. Once the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have confirmed that the signature on the Deed Poll is genuine, they will attach a legalisation certificate which means that your Deed Poll will now be accepted by foreign governments and organisations.

The cost to have your Deed Poll legalised will be £28 (as of May 2009) per document.

Which other documents need to be legalised?

There is no definitive answer to this question because it depends on the local requirements of the country you are visiting. We suggest that you contact the authority, person or organisation you are dealing with to ask which documents will need to be legalised. You may also be able to get useful information and advice from the Embassy, Consulate or High Commission of the country involved.