#Change my name checklist free#

However, it is legal for you to use a passport in your previous name until it expires. To change the name on your passport, you have to renew it, which costs £72.50. Alternatively, you can change your name by deed poll and present this document instead. Changing your name after divorceĪll you need to revert your ID and bank accounts back to your maiden name after you divorce is your decree absolute and your marriage certificate. To change a child's forename before their first birthday you must apply to the General Register Office.įor more information, consult your local Citizens Advice bureau. If you want to do it yourself, everyone who has legal responsibility for the child should give their consent to the change in an accompanying letter, and if the child is aged 16 or 17 he or she should also give consent. If you are changing your child's name by deed poll it is more complex, so it may be worth going to a specialist agency or lawyer. Present this document to all relevant government authorities and financial institutions as you would a marriage certificate.įor extra security, you can get your deed poll witnessed in front of a solicitor for a set 'oath fee' of £5. If you go for the DIY option, create the declaration then print off a few copies on good quality paper or parchment paper and get them witnessed and signed.

#Change my name checklist free#

The biggest agencies charge about £35, although the UK Deed Poll Office and the Legal Deed Poll Service charge less than £15, and you can get a free template from Free UK Deed Poll, which is accepted by the DVLA, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, NatWest, the Co-operative Bank, First Direct, HSBC, CallCredit and Nationwide.

You can prepare it yourself using the legal phrases shown in Ministry of Justice form LoC020, or pay a solicitor or specialist agency to help you. Two witnesses, who aren't related to you, must also sign your deed poll and give their name, occupations and addresses. Your new name must contain both a forename and a surname and be pronounceable, as well complying with other common sense restrictions specified by the Home Office. You must sign and date this declaration in both your old and your new name. I require all persons to address me by my new name only. Changing your name by deed pollĪ 'change of name deed poll' is simply a document that contains the following three declarations: If you wish to travel on honeymoon under your new name, you can change the name on your passport up to three months before the ceremony, using form Passports for newlyweds and civil partners (pdf). If one of these situations applies to you, you may prefer to change your name by deed poll (which should always be acceptable proof).

This is not always the case if you are a married man taking your wife's surname or if you are double-barrelling or meshing your surnames. To change your surname to your spouse or civil partner's surname (or to double-barrel your joint surnames) on your passport or driving licence you need to fill in the relevant forms requesting the change and present your marriage certificate.įinancial institutions, such as banks and building societies – should also accept your marriage certificate as proof you have taken your partner's surname if you are a married woman or civil partner. Your marriage or civil partnership certificate does not in any way indicate the surname you'll have after the ceremony, yet you can use it to prove you have changed your name.