Lost your deed poll? What to do next

The quick answer

If we prepared your deed poll, you can order more copies online with your order reference and the email address you used. They’re made from the same details as your original, and you sign and witness each one like the first. If you made your own or used another provider, the quickest fix is usually a new deed poll, signed and witnessed today.

An enrolled deed poll is different: GOV.UK says to contact the Deed Poll Team about one enrolled in the last 5 years, and The National Archives about anything older. Whatever you do, never backdate a new deed poll to look like the old one.

Start here

First, check what you still need it for

A deed poll does its main job when you update your records. If your passport, driving licence and bank are already in your new name, you may rarely need it again.

You’ll need proof of the link between your names when you update anything still in your old name, such as an old pension, a savings account or a passport you haven’t renewed. Make a list of what still shows your old name before you decide what to replace.

Your situation	The quickest fix
You ordered your deed poll from us	Order more copies with your order reference and email address
You made your own, or used another provider, and changed your name recently	A new deed poll, signed and witnessed today
Your deed poll was enrolled at the High Court	Ask the Deed Poll Team, or The National Archives for older deeds
You changed your name years ago and need the link for a passport	HM Passport Office may ask for a statutory declaration

Our customers

Ordered your deed poll from us?

You can order more copies online in a few minutes. Enter your order reference and the email address you ordered with, and we’ll find your details. The copies use exactly the same names and details as your original order, and each one needs to be signed and witnessed like your deed poll.

Can’t find your order reference? It’s in your order confirmation email and starts with CYN-, so searching your inbox for CYN- usually finds it.

Each copy is dated the day you sign it. That’s right for everyone you haven’t updated yet. If an organisation specifically wants the deed poll you signed when you first changed your name, ask it what it will accept instead.

Everyone else

Made your own, or used another provider?

An unenrolled deed poll isn’t registered anywhere, so there’s no official copy to request. Another provider may still hold your details, but it can’t give you back a signed original.

If you changed your name recently, the simplest fix is a new deed poll, signed in your old and new names in front of two witnesses and dated the day you sign it. It does the same job as the one you lost for every organisation you haven’t updated yet.

Never backdate it. A deed poll must show the date it was really signed, and HM Passport Office checks that a deed poll is dated and was made at the time of the change. HM Passport Office: evidence to change a name

Enrolled deed polls

Lost an enrolled deed poll?

If your deed poll was enrolled at the High Court, there’s an official record of it. GOV.UK says to contact the Deed Poll Team at the King’s Bench Division about a deed poll enrolled in the last 5 years, and The National Archives about older ones. GOV.UK: how to complete the adult deed poll form

Our guide to the official Deed Poll Office explains what it does and doesn’t do.

Older name changes

Proving an old name change for your passport

HM Passport Office wants to see how the name on your last passport, or your birth certificate for a first passport, links to your name now. Its guidance says that where there’s no evidence made at the time for a link, you need a statutory declaration covering the names you’ve used, when you used them and why they changed. HM Passport Office: evidence to change a name

A statutory declaration has to be witnessed by someone like a solicitor, notary or justice of the peace, who may charge a fee. If your name has changed more than once, our guide to lost deed polls after several name changes helps you map each step, and our comparison of deed polls and statutory declarations explains the difference.

Keep a spare from day one

Order your deed poll with extra copies, keep one safe at home and you’ll always have proof to hand. Posted free with Royal Mail tracking.

Start my deed poll What’s included

Your questions answered

Frequently asked questions

If we prepared it, yes: order more copies online with your order reference and email address. An unenrolled deed poll you made yourself isn’t registered anywhere, so there’s no copy to request. An enrolled deed poll has an official record, and GOV.UK explains who to ask.

Yes. Losing the document doesn’t undo your change of name. You just need new proof of it for anyone you haven’t updated yet.

Yes. A new deed poll, signed in your old and new names in front of two witnesses, does the same job for everyone you haven’t updated yet. Date it the day you sign it, never earlier.

In your order confirmation email. It starts with CYN-, so searching your inbox for CYN- usually finds it.

GOV.UK says to contact the Deed Poll Team at the King’s Bench Division if it was enrolled in the last 5 years, and The National Archives if it’s older.

Add extra copies when you order, keep one safe at home with your birth and marriage certificates, and keep a labelled scan for reference.

Check the detail

Sources for this guide

Guidance and reference pages

The official rules this guide is based on, checked in October 2026.

Ready when you are

Replace it today.

A new deed poll, prepared from your details, checked by a person and posted free. Same-day processing when you order by 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Start my deed poll See what’s included

The quick answer

First, check what you still need it for

Ordered your deed poll from us?

Made your own, or used another provider?

Lost an enrolled deed poll?

Proving an old name change for your passport

Keep a spare from day one

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a copy of my deed poll?▾

Is my name change still valid if I lose my deed poll?▾

Can I just make a new deed poll?▾

Where do I find my order reference?▾

How do I get a copy of an enrolled deed poll?▾

How do I stop it happening again?▾

Sources for this guide

Guidance and reference pages

Related guides

Lost a deed poll after several name changes?

How many certified copies do I need?

Deed poll vs statutory declaration

Replace it today.