Changing name by deed poll in 2025

EnPointe

@TsetseRoar you are vastly overcomplicating this and are being misled by a  significant number of people 

a deed poll can easily be drawn up by the individual  , the form of words is given on the  gov/uk  site  previously  cited by @smudge56 in another reply  and assuming you have  two people who meet the crtieria  for witnessing a deed poll   then you are sorted 

Saver73

EnPointe said:

Saver73 said:

TsetseRoar said:

I want to change my given name; my only reason for doing this is that I have never liked my first name and want to make a fresh start.

I don't mind paying for this...a lot of money if that's what it takes, but no more than is necessary. No unnecessary faff either.

The UK government deed poll site describes enrolled and unenrolled deed polls, and suggests that, while an unenrolled deed poll is simpler, banks may not accept it.
Then, from the instructions for an enrolled deed poll, it seems I will need to find a friend who's known me for 10 years plus and have them sign a document in the prescence of a solicitor. A pretty expensive and faff-ridden route.

However, there are many solicitors, and just online platforms, that have services that are entirely remote, and claim that the resulting document(s) will be accepted by banks, DVLA etc. Some charge as little as £17 for this.

It's all a bit confusing. I'm either overcomplicating it, or the various online sites are overpromising / misleading.

A family law solicitor in your local area could prepare a change of name deed for a fixed fee, usually around £100, though more if it's a complex request.  You can find family law solicitors in your area via the Law Society find a solicitor website.


https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

Edited to add - usually the solicitor will provide you with a number of certified copies to use at your bank, DVLA etc

there is no need at all to waste 100 GBP on this  

a deed poll  is  very  easy to draw up and does not  require a lawyer 

enrolled deed polls are unnecessary for the vastest majority of  things 

Up to individuals to make their own decisions, this my suggestion to the OP and how I did it.

EnPointe

Saver73 said:

EnPointe said:

Saver73 said:

TsetseRoar said:

I want to change my given name; my only reason for doing this is that I have never liked my first name and want to make a fresh start.

I don't mind paying for this...a lot of money if that's what it takes, but no more than is necessary. No unnecessary faff either.

The UK government deed poll site describes enrolled and unenrolled deed polls, and suggests that, while an unenrolled deed poll is simpler, banks may not accept it.
Then, from the instructions for an enrolled deed poll, it seems I will need to find a friend who's known me for 10 years plus and have them sign a document in the prescence of a solicitor. A pretty expensive and faff-ridden route.

However, there are many solicitors, and just online platforms, that have services that are entirely remote, and claim that the resulting document(s) will be accepted by banks, DVLA etc. Some charge as little as £17 for this.

It's all a bit confusing. I'm either overcomplicating it, or the various online sites are overpromising / misleading.

A family law solicitor in your local area could prepare a change of name deed for a fixed fee, usually around £100, though more if it's a complex request.  You can find family law solicitors in your area via the Law Society find a solicitor website.


https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

Edited to add - usually the solicitor will provide you with a number of certified copies to use at your bank, DVLA etc

there is no need at all to waste 100 GBP on this  

a deed poll  is  very  easy to draw up and does not  require a lawyer 

enrolled deed polls are unnecessary for the vastest majority of  things 

Up to individuals to make their own decisions, this my suggestion to the OP and how I did it.

my experience and the experience of dozens of  other peopel i know is that name changes  using  deedpolls  drawn up  personnally from the form of words on the government website  of the time  have been accepted for everything including  government agencies  (DLVA, DVSA, HMRC, DWP, HMCTS to name  bur a few ) for  Secruity vetting , DBS and safeguarding   and for the banks insuers  and yutilty companies 

TsetseRoar

Update: I still haven't pushed the button on this, but on the basis of the comments here and elsewhere I am not going to bother with the solicitor route; seems self-enrollment will be sufficient especially as I'm just changing my given name.
The webpage I mentioned in the OP just assists a bit with doing printouts etc and seems reasonable for £17.

Mojisola

EnPointe said:

my experience and the experience of dozens of  other peopel i know is that name changes  using  deedpolls  drawn up  personnally from the form of words on the government website  of the time  have been accepted for everything including  government agencies  (DLVA, DVSA, HMRC, DWP, HMCTS to name  bur a few ) for  Secruity vetting , DBS and safeguarding   and for the banks insuers  and yutilty companies 

This is what I did.  I copied out the wording from the government website and made the layout to my taste and it's worked fine.

Once you get your driving licence and passport changed, everyone else is happy to accept that as identity.

(One tip about the format of the declaration I got from the passport office was that it's best to put first names in lower case - John Michael - and the surname in all capitals - BROWN.  I had used all capitals and they weren't sure what the surname should be)

Scorpio33

Use this: https://freedeedpoll.org.uk/

I did. It was accepted everywhere, including bank, driving licence etc.

Cost = NIL, just need two people to sign it.

Sulaco86

My wife changed her first name by deed poll 20 years ago, and it was fine and not all that expensive. You will have to occasionally pull out the document to prove you are the same person, but it's no big deal. Bear in mind that a significant percentage of the population changes their name when they get married, or indeed divorced, so companies and systems are set up to deal with this as a normal thing.

One word of warning. My wife forgot to formally change her name at our bank at the time. All her cards were already in her new name as a 'known as', so she just forgot to submit the formal paperwork and never saw anything to remind her otherwise as all the correspondence had her new name anyway.

For the last couple of decades this didn't matter until she tried to open a new account for an ISA, and failed on their 'know your customer' checks as her first name doesn't match. Which is fair enough.

Realising her mistake, she has now submitted a name change request to our bank, only to be told they won't accept a deed poll document more than 12 months old. Which has left us a bit stuck really, what is she supposed to do, change her name back again and then repeat the original change? We have a complaint in and are waiting to see what they say as they seem to have left us no way to fix the problem. 

But the moral of the story is to be dilligent in checking and changing your name with absolutely every institution that matters within a few months of making the change!