Changing your name takes three things: the right document, two signatures in front of your witnesses and a list of everyone to tell. Here’s the order that gets it done fastest, from choosing your name to updating your last account.
Each step links to a full guide, and every rule is checked against GOV.UK and the Passport Office. Sources are listed at the end.
Get a deed poll, or use your marriage certificate if you’re simply taking your spouse’s surname. Sign the deed poll in your old and new names in front of two adult witnesses. Then update your photo ID first, your driving licence and then your passport, because with those in your new name, your bank, employer, HMRC, GP and everyone else is straightforward.
In England and Wales you don’t need a solicitor or a court. Our printed deed poll is £14.95 with free tracked delivery, and our free checklist tracks who you’ve told.
You can change any part of your name: your first name, middle names, surname, the spelling or the hyphens. GOV.UK’s main limits are that the name must be possible to pronounce, can’t include numbers or symbols, and can’t be offensive. Our guide to the rules on new names has the detail. GOV.UK: change your name by deed poll
Then check which document covers your change. If you’re taking your husband’s or wife’s surname, or making a straightforward double-barrelled name from both of yours, your marriage certificate does it. Every other change needs a deed poll: a new first name, an added middle name, a new surname, a combined name, or taking a partner’s surname without marrying.
| Your change | The document |
|---|---|
| Taking your spouse’s surname | Marriage or civil partnership certificate |
| A new first name or middle name | Deed poll |
| A new surname, or a combined one | Deed poll |
| Your partner’s surname when you’re not married | Deed poll |
| Back to your maiden name after a divorce | Your certificates, though some organisations still ask for a deed poll |
A deed poll is the legal document that proves your change of name. You can make one yourself or have one prepared. Either way, it’s valid once it’s signed and witnessed, and GOV.UK says you can use it straight away. GOV.UK: make an unenrolled deed poll
Fill in one short form and we do the rest. It arrives ready to sign, with clear instructions.
Creates the wording for you to print at home on your own paper.
GOV.UK asks for two witnesses aged 18 or over, and warns that some organisations won’t accept a witness who is a close relative or lives at your address. Friends, neighbours and colleagues are ideal. GOV.UK: make an unenrolled deed poll
With both witnesses watching, sign in your old name and your new name, in ink, and make sure the deed poll is dated. HM Passport Office won’t accept one that isn’t signed in both names, isn’t dated or doesn’t have real ink signatures. Your witnesses then sign and add their details. HM Passport Office: evidence to change a name
Sign every original copy the same way. Extra originals let you update several organisations at once instead of waiting for one to come back, and our guide to how many copies you need helps you choose. The full signing walkthrough is in how to sign a deed poll.
Driving licence. Changing your name with the DVLA is free. Post form D1 with your licence and your original deed poll or marriage certificate. The DVLA doesn’t accept photocopies or laminated certificates, and you can keep driving while you wait. GOV.UK: change the name on your driving licence
Passport. HM Passport Office needs your deed poll and evidence that you’re using your new name, such as a payslip or a letter from your council. A driving licence issued after your deed poll can count as that evidence, which is why the licence comes first. GOV.UK: other name changes on a passport
Travelling soon? GOV.UK says the name on your passport must match the name you book travel in, so book in the name on the passport you’ll travel with. Our guide to booking flights during a name change explains your options.
Order by 6pm, Monday to Friday, and we process it the same day. It’s posted free, ready for your licence and passport applications.
With photo ID in your new name, the rest is quick. Work through your bank and building society, your employer and payroll, HMRC, pensions, your council and the electoral register, your GP, then utilities, insurance, your phone and the smaller accounts.
Banks set their own rules, so check ours bank by bank before you go in. Many organisations update you by letter, and our free change of name letter template saves you writing the same thing twenty times.
Your deed poll is valid from the moment you sign it in front of your witnesses. After that it depends on each organisation, and your driving licence and passport take longest because you post documents to them, so start with those.
Driving licence first if you have one, because it’s free and gives you photo ID in your new name. Then your passport, then your bank, then work, HMRC, your council and your GP, then everything else.
No. In England and Wales you can change your name with a deed poll, without a solicitor or a court.
You can order your deed poll online and update many accounts online, but the deed poll itself must be printed and signed in ink in front of your witnesses. HM Passport Office only accepts real ink signatures.
Our printed deed poll is £14.95 with free tracked delivery, or our generator is free if you’d rather print it yourself. Changing your name on your driving licence is free. A new passport has its own fee, which GOV.UK lists.
No law says you must, but you’ll need a passport in your new name to travel in it. GOV.UK says the name on your passport must match the name you book travel in.
The official rules this guide is based on, checked in October 2026.
Order your deed poll now and we’ll prepare it, check it and post it free. Same-day processing when you order by 6pm, Monday to Friday.
ChangeYourName.co.uk is an independent UK deed poll provider.
Printed deed poll
£14.95, free delivery