Your age and nationality and country
of residence will determine whether
or not you can apply for a change of
name by Deed Poll.
Age
Any person aged 16 or over can
change their name by Deed Poll with
no parental consent required.
For those
under 16 years of age someone with
parental responsibility must apply.
Everybody with parental
responsibility for the child must
give their consent to the name
change.
For more information on these issues
read the pages:-
If you are a British citizen living
in the United Kingdom you are able
to apply for a Deed Poll to change
your name so long as you are not
doing so for fraudulent purposes.
The Deed Poll will then be accepted
by all organisations as documentary
evidence of your change of name
including the Passport Office.
Living abroad
If you are a British citizen but do
not currently reside in the United
Kingdom, you can apply to change
your name by Deed Poll.
However, we advise that you first
contact you local British Embassy to
ensure that you will be able to have
your name changed on your British
passport. In the majority of
countries this will provide no
problems although some insist on the
executing of your Deed Poll being
witnessed by a solicitor.
Foreign nationals living in the
United Kingdom can change their name
by Deed Poll. This will be accepted
as evidence of your name change and
you will be able to have records
changed into your new name.
Before applying for a Deed Poll you
should check with your country's
high commission or embassy in London
to see if a change of name by deed
will be accepted to get your passport
changed. Some
foreign embassies require their
nationals to have a solicitor
witness the signing of their Deed
Poll in order for it to be accepted.
If you are unable to get your
passport changed it is unadvisable
to proceed with a change of name by
Deed Poll as one must change their
name for ‘all purposes’. Continuing
to get records changed into your new
name with other organisations could
lead to problems on these grounds.
Living abroad
If you are living outside the United
Kingdom and are not a British
citizen a Deed Poll issued by
ourselves is unlikely to be
accepted. If you would like to have
your name changed on your passport
you should make inquires about how
to do so with a local government
department, as the law differs
greatly from
country to country.
Asylum seekers living in the United
Kingdom
Asylum seekers living in the United
Kingdom can apply for a Deed Poll
which will allow them to get all
documents and records changed into
their new name. When filling in the
application form, your nationality
should be entered in the relevant
section. Once executed your Deed
Poll will be accepted as proof of
your name change by all
organisations including the
UK Border and Immigration Agency.
