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?
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Changing your name by Deed Poll
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Services for previous clients
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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
Changing your name on your passport
Who to advise after changing your name

UK Deed Poll Service
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Contrary to popular belief, there is no central register of name changes in the United Kingdom. Deed Polls are not registered anywhere unless they are "enrolled" i.e. lodged for safe keeping, in the Close Rolls of the Chancery (from 1851 to 1902) and from 1903, in the Enrolment Books of the Supreme Court of Judicature, which is located within the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.

Enrolling a Deed Poll provides a public record of a person's name change and since 1914 the details of the name change are published in either the London or Belfast Gazette [What is the London Gazette]. Unnervingly, the person's name change details and home address are also published on the London Gazette's website for all to see.  Fortunately, it is not a requirement to enrol a Deed Poll.  Furthermore, because enrolling significantly adds to the cost and the time taken to change a person's name and because most people who change their name only wish to inform those who have a reason to know, only one in every two hundred Deed Polls is enrolled.  All other Deed Polls are unenrolled, which is the type we issue.

Deed Polls that have been enrolled at the Royal Courts of Justice in London remain there for about five years. After which (and going back to 1851), they can be found at the National Archives, which is located at Kew in Richmond, Surrey.

For further information about enrolling a Deed Poll, contact the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL or telephone 020-7947 6000.

Last updated: 14 June 2005