Enrolling a Deed Poll
There is no central register of name changes in the United Kingdom, and no requirement to have a Deed Poll enrolled. In fact one can simply start using their Deed Poll document straightaway to have their records updated.
Having a Deed Poll enrolled is a voluntary procedure that allows one to have their name change made public. It involves additional costs and is therefore very rarely done.
When a Deed Poll is enrolled it is lodged for safe keeping in the Enrolment Books of the Supreme Court. This is situated within the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London. Mandatory, when enrolling a Deed Poll is a notice for the London Gazette, a publication that evidences a change of name through the High Court. In short the notice would contain the following details:
- Your former names
- Your new names
- Your address
- The date of your name change
- The date it was enrolled with the High Court
Deed Polls enrolled at the Supreme Court remain there for five years after which they are transferred to the National Archives at Kew in Richmond, Surrey.
When the court enrolment fee and publication in the London Gazette have been taken into consideration the total cost of enrolment is approximately sixty pounds. Due to this further cost, the time delay in the whole name change process, and general inconvenience, very few people choose to have their name change enrolled.