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Practical UK name-change guide

Changing your name with HMRC and National Insurance

HMRC doesn’t find out about your new name on its own, and your employer updating payroll doesn’t do it for you. Here’s how to tell HMRC yourself, what happens to your National Insurance number, and the records that sit alongside it.

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Practical next steps
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Practical guidance for your next name-change step. References are linked throughout and collected at the end.

Updated: 28 October 2026
On this pageQuick answerWays to tell HMRCNational InsuranceHMRC and your employerWho else to tellTrans and non-binary peopleFAQs

The quick answer

Tell HMRC yourself, using its online form or the HMRC app. Your National Insurance number stays the same for life, so your contributions record carries on as before. HMRC’s guidance doesn’t ask you to send your deed poll when you report the change, but keep it to hand in case HMRC asks for evidence later. Tell your employer or pension provider separately, and the Child Benefit Office too if you claim it.

The practical details

Three ways to tell HMRC about your new name

RouteWhen it suits youWhat you need
Online formMost people. GOV.UK calls it “Tell HMRC your name has changed”.A Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login sign-in. You can create one if you don’t have it.
HMRC appYou already use the app for your tax code or payslips.The app’s “Manage your information” section lets you update your name or address.
Through your accountantA tax agent looks after your affairs.Agents report the change through their own online account, by phone or in writing.

Whichever route you use, report the change once. If you send a Self Assessment return, GOV.UK says your details are updated once you’ve reported the change, so you don’t need a separate update for your return. GOV.UK: tell HMRC about a change to your personal details

The online form is at Tell HMRC your name has changed. Sign in, give your new name, and keep a note of the date you sent it.

The practical details

What happens to your National Insurance number

Nothing. GOV.UK says your National Insurance number “remains the same for life”. It exists so your contributions and tax are recorded against the right person, and a new name doesn’t change that. Your contributions record, and the State Pension it builds towards, stay attached to the same number. GOV.UK: your National Insurance number

You don’t apply for a new number when you change your name. If you need to find yours, it’s on payslips and your P60, and the HMRC app shows it too.

Getting married or entering a civil partnership? That’s a change HMRC wants to hear about in its own right, separately from your new name, because it can affect your tax. GOV.UK covers it under relationship or family changes.

Your next step

HMRC and your employer are separate updates

Your employer keeps its own payroll record and reports your pay to HMRC. It’s tempting to assume that updating HR is enough, but HMRC expects you to report your change of details yourself, and your employer to update payroll. Do both, around the same time, so your payslips and your tax record show the same name.

Pension providers work the same way. A workplace or private pension keeps its own records, so tell it directly, or check whether your employer passes the update on. Our guide to changing your name with your employer and payroll covers the HR side.

The practical details

Who else to tell alongside HMRC

Child Benefit

Tell the Child Benefit Office

Changes affecting Child Benefit are reported separately from your tax record. If it’s your child whose name has changed, GOV.UK lists a child changing their name by deed poll as a change you need to report.

Benefits

The office that pays you

If you get Universal Credit, State Pension or another benefit, tell the office that pays it. Don’t assume your HMRC update reaches it.

Business

Your business records

If you’re self-employed or run a business, GOV.UK has a separate service for changing business details. Company directors need to update Companies House too.

Accountants and agents

Anyone acting for you

If an accountant or tax agent files for you, tell them your new name so their records and HMRC’s match.

GOV.UK: report changes that affect your Child Benefit; GOV.UK: change of name or address for a business

The practical details

If you’re changing your name as part of a transition

HMRC has a dedicated team, Special Section D, for legal gender changes. GOV.UK says you can write to it about your name change if you haven’t changed your gender legally, include your National Insurance number, and tell it if you don’t want your records restricted. GOV.UK: gender change and HMRC

If you get a Gender Recognition Certificate, HMRC is usually told automatically. It updates its records, tells the Department for Work and Pensions, and restricts access to your records to specialist staff. You still need to tell your employer yourself.

HMRC Special Section D, Room BP9207, Benton Park View, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1ZZ. Phone 03000 554344, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. You can’t confirm a legal gender change over the phone.

Our trans name change guide covers the deed poll itself and the order to update everything else.

Your questions answered

Frequently asked questions

HMRC’s guidance doesn’t ask you to send one when you report a name change online or in the app. If HMRC later asks you to confirm your details, it’ll tell you what to send and how. Don’t post an original unless you’re asked to.

No. GOV.UK says your National Insurance number remains the same for life, whatever your name.

No. Your employer updates payroll, but HMRC still expects you to report your change of details yourself. Do both.

No. Reporting a change of name to HMRC is free, online or in the app.

No separate update is needed. GOV.UK says your details are updated once you’ve reported the name change.

Check the detail

Sources for this guide

Guidance and reference pages

Use the relevant organisation’s instructions when submitting your documents.

Continue your name change

Related guides

Changing your name with your employer and payroll

What HR needs, when payslips change and how to time it.

Changing your name on the electoral register

Credit checks, voter ID and what your council may ask for.

Your complete name-change checklist

Every organisation to tell, in a sensible order.

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