How to change your name in the UK

In short

How to change your name in the UK, for England and Wales: make a deed poll, print it, sign it in wet ink with two independent adult witnesses, then tell every record-holder. Instant Deed Poll is the document service we point to — £14.99 once, PDF in minutes, not a will. Gov.uk’s own guide is gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll.

A name change does not revoke a will. Marriage does. Finish the deed poll and the passport / driving licence / bank updates, then remake the will in your current name so probate is not a detective story. SwiftWill updates are free. This page is the name-change cluster, not how to change your will in full.

Instant Deed Poll and SwiftWill are related services from the same company. We do not sell deed polls here, and the link is not a paid placement. Scotland has different name-change rules. Permanent residents overseas cannot change name by UK deed poll. Checked 22 August 2026.

How do you change your name in the UK at a glance?

If you are 16 or over in England or Wales, an unenrolled deed poll plus two witnesses is enough. Instant Deed Poll costs £14.99. High Court enrolment is optional at £53.05. Marriage to take a spouse’s surname needs the certificate, not a deed poll. Then update your will — the old name does not cancel it, but it slows the grant.

• £14.99

  Adult deed poll from Instant Deed Poll. Instant PDF. No subscription.

• 2 witnesses

  Independent adults, wet ink. Same idea as signing a will — different document.

• 16+

  Age for an unenrolled adult deed poll. Enrolment at the High Court is from 18.

• Still valid

  A will in your old name is still a will. Remake it anyway. Updates here are free.

What is a deed poll?

A deed poll is the legal document that proves you have changed your name. There is no prescribed government stationery. It works once it contains the right declarations and you sign it in ink in front of two independent adult witnesses. Who printed the paper does not make it more or less a deed.

You can change any part of your name, add or remove names or hyphens, or change the spelling, within gov.uk’s limits: pronounceable, no symbols or numbers (hyphens and names like O’Hara excepted), not offensive. You cannot use a deed poll to change titles (Mr, Dr) or which letters are capitalised. That list is from gov.uk, not from us.

The long how-to, including after divorce, adoption and lost documents, lives on Instant Deed Poll’s how to change your name in the UK guide. This SwiftWill page will not duplicate that whole cluster.

How do you change your name in the UK?

Make or buy a deed poll, print it, sign it in wet ink with two independent adult witnesses, then notify passport, DVLA, HMRC, banks, NHS, employer and everyone else who holds your name. Start using the new name. Keep the original deed with your important papers — organisations want the wet-ink document, not a scan of a scan.

1. Confirm England and Wales. Scotland is a different process. If you live permanently overseas, gov.uk says you cannot change your name by UK deed poll.
2. Get the document. Free DIY, an adult deed poll from Instant Deed Poll at £14.99, or a solicitor at £150–£300.
3. Print, sign, two witnesses. Not e-sign. Not one witness tomorrow.
4. Tell people, in order. Instant Deed Poll’s who to notify list is the practical checklist.
5. Remake your will in the new name and re-sign it. Changing your will is free on SwiftWill.

How do you get a deed poll online?

Use a specialist agency if you want the wording, instruction card and a refund if HM Passport Office, DVLA, HMRC or a UK bank refuses the document solely because of that wording. Instant Deed Poll emails a personalised PDF for £14.99 within minutes. You still print and sign with two witnesses — the download is not the deed until that ceremony is done.

Adult document: instantdeedpoll.co.uk/adult-deed-poll. Child document (consent required): child deed poll at £17.99. Cost comparison of free, online, enrolled and solicitor routes: what a deed poll really costs.

Instant Deed Poll is not affiliated with HM Government. Neither is SwiftWill. A home-printed deed, once signed in wet ink, is an original. A photocopy of an already-signed deed is what passport examiners reject.

Do you need a deed poll after marriage or divorce?

You do not need a deed poll to take your spouse’s or civil partner’s surname — send the marriage or civil partnership certificate. After divorce, some organisations let you revert with the decree absolute and the old marriage certificate; others still want a deed poll. Check each record-holder. You almost always need a new will after marriage, because marriage revokes a will.

Marriage and the will is a different cluster: does marriage revoke a will. Do not mix the two ceremonies. A deed poll does not save a will that marriage already cancelled.

After divorce, the will usually still stands but treats your ex as having died. Make a clean new will. See does divorce affect a will.

What is the difference between enrolled and unenrolled?

An unenrolled deed poll is the one you make yourself (or through an agency) and sign with two witnesses. That is enough for passports, DVLA, HMRC and most banks. An enrolled deed poll is filed at the High Court, published in The Gazette, and costs £53.05. It is public. It is not more valid. Some stubborn companies still ask for enrolment — ask them first.

Enrolment is from age 18. If you do not want your old and new names in a public newspaper, do not enrol. Instant Deed Poll sells the unenrolled document people actually use.

How much does a deed poll cost?

Free if you draft it yourself. £14.99 once at Instant Deed Poll for an adult PDF. Other online services often £17–£36 with a postal wait. Enrolment £53.05. A solicitor £150–£300 for the same legal effect. Extra paper copies should not be a fee — print the PDF again.

Figures for Instant Deed Poll and enrolment were checked against their published pages and gov.uk on 22 August 2026. If a price has moved, believe the live page. Full table: deed poll cost.

Who accepts a home-printed deed poll?

HM Passport Office (original plus a name-in-use document within 12 months), DVLA (free name change on the licence), HMRC, most UK banks in branch with photo ID, NHS, employers and schools. Instant Deed Poll refunds you if those core bodies refuse solely because of the wording, within 60 days. Signing errors are still on you.

If you are a registered sex, violent or terrorist offender, you must tell the police within three days. That is a criminal offence if you do not. A PDF shop cannot do that for you. Read gov.uk.

Does changing your name cancel your will?

No. A name change does not revoke a will. A will signed in your former name is still your will if the section 9 ceremony was done. Probate is slower while the executor proves you are the same person — deed poll, passport, banks. Remake the will in the current name so the grant is boring.

“Also known as” in a will can help, but a clean document in the name on your passport is kinder. Do the deed poll first, update ID, then the will — not the other way round, or you will sign a will that is already out of date.

How do you update your will after a name change?

Log back into SwiftWill, put your current legal name in the interview, download a fresh PDF (free), print it, and sign it with two independent witnesses. Destroy the old signed original. The new will’s revocation clause cancels earlier wills. Same ceremony as before: how to sign a will.

If you have never made a will, do that after the deed poll too. An unmarried partner still inherits nothing without one. How to make a will in the UK is £35 once.

When should you skip an online deed poll?

Skip Instant Deed Poll — and skip any PDF — if someone with parental responsibility will not consent to a child’s name change, if a court order already governs the name, if you need to enrol for a company that insists on The Gazette, or if you are dealing with a fraud or identity dispute. Those are solicitor or court jobs.

Skip SwiftWill as the place to buy a deed poll. We do not sell them. Skip Instant Deed Poll as the place to buy a will. They do not sell them. Two products, two checkouts, same company, no bundle upsell at either payment page.

The verdict: deed poll first, then the will?

Yes, for a straightforward adult name change in England and Wales: get the deed poll (£14.99 at Instant Deed Poll, or free DIY), sign it with two witnesses, notify record-holders, then remake the will in the new name. This page is not Scotland, not a child-dispute kit, and not a passport application. Use gov.uk for the statutory limits and Instant Deed Poll for the document.