Do I need a Deed Poll?

You do not necessarily need a Deed Poll to legally change names in the UK. If you are changing your surname after marriage or after forming a civil partnership for example, your marriage or civil partnership certificate will often provide the evidence needed to have your documents and records amended. Read the article below to find out whether or not you will need to apply for a Deed Poll in order to change your name.

Changing your name

If you want to change your name you simply have to ask people to start calling you by your assumed name. However, if you want official documents and records such as your passport, driving license, credit cards and your bank account to be amended to show your new name, you will need to execute (sign) a Deed Poll. A Deed Poll is a legal document that you sign to confirm that you are totally abandoning your former name and from the date on the deed, you will use for all purposes your assumed name. There are certain documents such as birth, marriage, civil partnership and examination certifications that you will not be able to get amended. This is because they are historical documents and were correct at the time of issue.

Changing your surname through marriage

Please note: for the purposes of this article, "marriage" refers to both couples that have been married in the tradition sense and those that have formed a civil partnership.

Women have the legal right to change their surname to that of their husband upon marriage. Equally, either couple in a same sex relationship has the right to adopt their partners surname upon forming a civil partnership. To do this, all you have to do is send a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate to the organisations that hold your personal data and ask them to amend their records.

Unfortunately married men do not enjoy the same automatic right to assume their partners surname upon marriage as a women or civil partner does. Although some government agencies such as the Identity and Passport Service will accept your marriage certificate as evidence of your change of name, many other organisations such as banks, building societies and credit card companies will not. It is therefore advised that you execute (sign) a Deed Poll and send it as documentary evidence of your name name in place of a marriage certificate.

If you are breaking with tradition and not simply taking your partners surname upon marriage or forming a civil partnership, this will need to be done by Deed Poll. For example, some couples decide to combine both their surnames into a double-barrelled name.

Changing your name after divorce or seperation

If you managed to change to your current name simply by presenting your marriage or civil partnership certificate to the organisations you needed to inform, you should be able to revert to your previous name by showing them your decree absolute or civil partnership dissolution certificate. If, however, you had to originally execute (sign) a Deed Poll to achieve your current name, you will need to do the same to revert to your old name.

You do not have to wait for the finalisation of your divorce or civil partnership dissolution proceedings before you can revert to your maiden name. If you want to revert to your previous name before you receive your decree absolute or civil partnership dissolution certificate, you can execute a Deed Poll and send that to the organisations that hold your personal data and they will amend their records to show your maiden name. Please note, this will not affect any legal proceedings concerning your separation. All you have to do is present your Deed Poll to the relevant people (your solicitor, your partner’s solicitor and the judge if applicable) and future documentation will be issued in your maiden name.