First Direct starts a name change in chat. Ask for its form in the app or Online Banking, and it sends the list of documents with it. Your old cards keep working until the new ones arrive.
Banks change their processes from time to time, so if anything differs when you get in touch, follow First Direct’s instructions. Every source is linked.
Chat with First Direct in its app, or log in to Online Banking and select ‘Message us’. Ask to change your name and First Direct will send a form to confirm your new details, with a list of the documents it needs. Once it has them, it updates your details and sends any replacement cards and cheque books you need. You can keep using your old ones until the new ones arrive.
Chat with First Direct in its app. No app? Log in to Online Banking and select ‘Message us’.
First Direct says you can request a form in the chat to confirm your new details.
The form comes with a list of the documents First Direct needs you to send.
Once First Direct has them, it updates your details and sends any replacement cards and cheque books you might need.
First Direct doesn’t publish its list of documents on its website. It sends the list with the form, so you’ll know exactly what it wants before you send anything.
Have your proof of the change to hand when you start the chat. Our main bank guide explains what UK banks usually ask for, and why.
Keep your old cards. First Direct says you can carry on using your old cards and cheque books until the new ones arrive.
First Direct’s website doesn’t say whether a deed poll needs to be enrolled, or whether it wants the original or a certified copy. Both will be on the list it sends you, so check it before you post anything.
Whatever it asks for, make sure your deed poll is complete: signed in your old and new names, dated, and signed by an independent witness. If several organisations want an original at the same time, extra signed originals save waiting for one to come back. Our guide to originals, certified copies and photocopies explains the difference.
Have your deed poll ready before you start the chat, so you can send it as soon as First Direct’s list arrives.
First Direct is a division of HSBC UK, but it runs its own name change process through chat. If you have HSBC accounts too, HSBC has its own route: a branch visit with proof of the change and of your previous name. See our guide to changing your name with HSBC UK.
First Direct’s help page doesn’t give a timescale for a name change. For anything else, its number is 03 456 100 100.
Your account number and sort code stay the same, so your salary, Direct Debits and standing orders keep running. What does need a nudge is anyone who pays you. Banks check the name you’re paid under through Confirmation of Payee, and Pay.UK says a personal account has to match the exact registered name. Once First Direct has your new name, someone paying you under the old one may be told it doesn’t match, so give your employer, landlord and regular payers the new name too. Pay.UK: Confirmation of Payee
Your credit file catches up as lenders report your new name. Our guide to name changes and your credit report explains how the old and new names stay linked, and the name change checklist keeps track of everyone else.
Chat with First Direct in its app, or in Online Banking using ‘Message us’, and ask for the form to confirm your new details. It comes with a list of the documents to send.
First Direct sends a list of the documents it needs along with the form you request in chat, so you’ll know exactly what to send.
Log in to Online Banking and select ‘Message us’. You can ask for the form there.
Yes, once it has your documents. First Direct says it’ll send any replacement cards and cheque books you might need.
Yes. First Direct says you can continue to use your old cards and cheque books until the new ones arrive.
Use the relevant organisation’s instructions when submitting your documents.
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