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About Deed Polls
What is a Deed Poll?
Why is it called a Deed Poll?
What is the purpose of a Deed Poll?
Who can apply for a Deed Poll?
Can I change my children's names?
Are there any restrictions on names?
Is a Deed Poll registered anywhere?
Can a birth certificate be changed?
Why do people change their name?
Answers to other FAQs
Applying for a Deed Poll
How to apply
Services available and fees
Services for previous clients
Apply for a copy of your archived Deed Poll
Apply for a replacement Deed Poll
General name change information
Introduction
A woman's rights upon marriage
A man's rights upon marriage
A couple's rights upon a civil partnership
A woman's rights upon separation
A woman's rights upon divorce
A woman's rights upon being widowed
A child's rights upon adoption
Adding a middle name
Advice for transsexuals
More than a change of name...
 Changing your name on your passport
Obtaining a copy of your lost Deed Poll
Who to advise after changing your name
UK Deed Poll Service
Contact us
What our clients say about us
What the media says about us
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions and your rights
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General name change information
Changing your name on your British passport
The name
on your passport should always match your legal name. So if your name
changes you need to get your passport reissued in your new name. This
is true whether you change your name by Deed Poll or change your name
following your marriage, separation, divorce or
form a civil partnership.
In all cases, you will need to apply for a new 10 year passport. This means
your current passport will be cancelled. However, your new passport
will be credited with extra time (up to nine months) towards the unexpired
time on your current passport. If your current passport contains an
unexpired visa, it may become invalid so you will need to check with the
issuing authority whether your visa in your cancelled passport can still be
used (you can request your cancelled passport is returned to you). If
not, you will need to reapply for a new visa.
1. Applying
for a passport in a name that is different to the name on your birth
certificate
If
you are applying for your first passport and the name you are known by is
different to the name on your birth certificate, you will need to enclose
with your passport application a document called a Deed Poll (also known as a Change of
Name Deed), which shows your name changing from
your birth name to the name you are known by.
Please note, it does not
matter that you do not have any documentary evidence of your former name
change. Maybe your name was changed when you were a child and you
cannot find any documentary evidence of the change. What is important is that
your Deed Poll document you
send to the Passport Office shows your name changing from your birth name
to the name you are known by. Therefore, when you complete the Deed
Poll application form, you need to enter your birth name in the current name
boxes and your current name in the new name boxes. This will ensure the
correct name change appears on your Deed Poll document and it will be
accepted by the Passport Office.
2. Changing
the name in your passport following your change of name by Deed Poll
If
you change your legal name by Deed Poll, your Deed Poll document will be accepted by the Passport Office as documentary evidence of
your change of name. Please note, your Deed Poll
will also be accepted by all United Kingdom government departments and
agencies, companies and organisations to enable you to get all your other
documents and records changed or reissued in your new name including your UK
driving licence, bank accounts, credit cards and
medical records etc etc.
When you send your
passport application form to the Passport Office, you simply need to enclose
your Deed Poll document.
3.
Changing
the name in your passport following your marriage or civil partnership
If you have recently married and wish to take your
husband or wife's surname, your
marriage certificate will be accepted by the Passport Office as documentary
evidence of your change of surname. Similarly, if you have entered
into a civil partnership and wish to take your partner's surname, your civil
partnership certificate will be accepted. The
Passport Office will also accept a marriage certificate or a civil
partnership certificate as documentary evidence of a change to a
double-barrelled surname i.e. your surname combined with your spouse's or
civil partner's surname e.g. Smith-Jones or Smith Jones. In all the
above situations, a
Deed Poll is not required for the Passport Office. Passport
application packs are available from most post offices.
Please note, although
government departments will accept a marriage certificate or civil
partnership certificate to double-barrel your surname in your passport, many
companies and organisations will not, especially the financial institutions.
Therefore, you may still need to apply for a Deed Poll to get your
non-government documents and records changed to your new double-barrelled
surname. Certainly, if you wish to do something other than take your
partner's surname or double-barrel your surname, you will need to apply for
a Deed Poll. Please click on the appropriate link below for further
information.
If you will be either
taking your partner's surname or forming a double-barrelled surname
following your marriage or civil partnership, you can apply for a new
passport in your new name up to three months before your ceremony, although
you will not be able to use your new passport until the actual day of your
ceremony.
4. Changing
the name in your passport following your separation
If you wish to
revert to your name before marriage or your civil partnership, you will
need to change your name by Deed Poll and then apply for a new passport enclosing your
Deed Poll document as documentary evidence of your name change.
Please click on the following link for further information:
5. Changing
the name in your passport following your divorce or the dissolution of your civil
partnership
If you wish to
revert to your name before marriage or your civil partnership, you simply
need to apply for a new passport and enclose your decree absolute
certificate or your civil partnership dissolution certificate. You
also need to enclose a signed statement that you are using your former name
for all purposes.
Please note, although the
Passport Office will issue a new passport in your former name, you may still
need to apply for a Deed Poll because many companies and organisations, in
particular the financial institutions, require a Deed Poll to make any
change to your name records.
The only way to find
out if you need a Deed Poll is to contact everyone you deal with, for
example, your bank, building society, credit card company and mortgage
company etc and ask what their policy is for changing a name following
divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.
Please click on the following link for further information:
6. Changing the name in your child's passport
If you wish to change the name
in your child's passport (or you are applying for a first passport in a name
that is different from the name on your child's birth certificate), you will
need the consent of everyone with parental responsibility, which we also
need before we can issue your child's Deed Poll. Therefore, when you
apply for your child's Deed Poll, you need to post to us a letter of consent
signed by everyone with parental responsibility. This letter will be
returned to you with your child's Deed Poll for sending to the Passport
Office with your child's Deed Poll. For further information about parental responsibility and
consent requirements, please on the following link:
7. Contacting the UK
Identity & Passport Service
You can contact
Identity & Passport Office's 24 hour Adviceline by calling
0870 521
0410. Your call will be routed to your nearest passport office (there
are seven offices throughout the UK). Alternatively, you can visit
their website by clicking
on this
link (opens
new window). Passport application packs are available from most Post Offices.
If you live in the UK, you can apply online for your passport by clicking
on this
link (opens
new window).
8. How to
apply for a Deed Poll
To apply for a Deed Poll,
please
click here.
You will see you can apply online, by post, by telephone or in person at our
offices in Witham, Essex. If you are applying for a Deed Poll for a
name change that happened in the past (when you were a child for example)
please enter on the application form your previous name in the current name
boxes and your current name in the new name boxes. This will ensure
the correct name change appears on your Deed Poll document.
Last update: 3 March 2008
Whilst
every care has been taken in the compilation of the information provided
on this website, UK Deed Poll Service will not be held liable or
responsible for any loss, damage or other inconvenience caused as a
result of any inaccuracy or error within the pages of this website.
Copyright © UK Deed Poll Service, All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction of any part of this website's content is illegal without
our permission.
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