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Divorce and Separation | Marriage and Civil Partnerships
If you are considering changing your name as a result of a break-up of your relationship, you may not need a Deed Poll.
If your married name was exactly the same as your husband’s surname and your divorce has been finalised, and you have a decree absolute and you want to revert to your maiden name, you will not normally require a Deed Poll to change your records with all relevant bodies; you will generally have enough evidence if you can show your decree absolute, your original Marriage Certificate, your original Birth Certificate, and a signed statement that you are reverting to use of your maiden name for all purposes.
However, if your married surname was double-barrelled, or some amalgamation of your surnames, then you will need a Deed Poll to change your name back to your maiden name.
If you want to revert to using your maiden name prior to receiving your decree absolute, you can update your records by applying for a Deed Poll with us and following our procedure. If you do this, you should be aware that, until the date of your decree absolute, you must still state that you are married, for instance, on any applications for credit, loans or insurance.
If one of the documents specified above (original Marriage Certificate, original Birth Certificate, etc.) is missing, you can also change your name back to your maiden name by applying for a Deed Poll with us and following our procedure.
If you do not have your original Marriage or Birth Certificate, you can obtain a replacement from the General Register Office. The current fee for each Certificate is £9.25 and you can apply for them online.
If you are going through a divorce or have completed it, but do not want to revert to use of your maiden name, and would rather change your name to something new, you will need a Deed Poll.
If you want to simply revert to using Miss or Ms, you will not need a Deed Poll, as your title is not used as evidence of your identity. Your passport does not, in normal circumstances, state what your title is.
If you want to revert to using your maiden name prior to receiving your decree absolute, you can update your records by applying for a Deed Poll with us and following our procedure. If you go ahead and do this, you should be aware that, until the date of your decree absolute, you must still state that you are married, for instance, in any applications for credit, loans or insurance.
If you are going through a divorce or have completed it, but do not want to revert to use of your maiden name, and would rather change your name to something new, you will need a Deed Poll. If you want to simply revert to using Miss or Ms, you will not need a Deed Poll, as your title is not used as evidence of your identity. Your passport does not, in normal circumstances, state what your title is.
Yes, you can still change your name. You have the legal right to be known by the name you prefer irrespective of your marital status. You can change your name back to your maiden name or any other name even if you are not divorced/separated by applying for a Deed Poll with us.
You do not need a Deed Poll to simply change your surname from your maiden name to your husband’s surname, provided that you intend to simply adopt your husband’s surname, and not a double-barrelled surname or other amalgamation of your surnames. All you need to do is send your original Marriage Certificate and other relevant documents to record-holders as evidence of your change of surname and title. In most circumstances, HM Passport Office will not make a note of your change of title. However, if you would like bank cards and building society cards to record your change of title, you will need to ask them specifically to do so, when you notify them of your marriage and ask them to amend their records.
If you do not have your original Marriage Certificate, you can apply for a Deed Poll with us, and send the original Deed Poll (or a duplicate copy) to record-holders when you ask them to amend their records. Alternatively, you can obtain a replacement of your Marriage Certificate from the General Register Office. The current fee for any replacement Certificate is £9.25 and you can apply for them online at www.gro.gov.uk.
Yes, you can do that, and you will not need to apply for a Deed Poll to change your name and use your husband’s surname, as long as you are not changing your husband’s surname in any way. However, you will need your original Marriage Certificate to update your records with all relevant record-holders. If you intend to travel abroad, for instance, you will need to renew your passport. You can renew your passport by filling in the relevant application form and sending the specified documents and photographs to HM Passport Office. You will be able to state on the application form that you are continuing to use your maiden name professionally, and HM Passport Office will put an observation on your new passport to this effect.
If you do not have your original Marriage Certificate to send to record-holders, you can apply for a Deed Poll with us, and send the original Deed Poll (or a duplicate copy) to record-holders when you ask them to amend their records. Alternatively, you can obtain a replacement of your Marriage Certificate from the General Register Office. The current fee for any replacement Certificate is £9.25 and you can apply for them online at www.gro.gov.uk.
You will not need to apply for a Deed Poll if you simply want to take your husband’s surname instead of your current surname. As long as you have not changed your name since birth, all you will need is your original Marriage Certificate and original Birth Certificate to update your records. However, if you want to double-barrel your surnames or make any other change to your name, you will need to apply for a Deed Poll.
If you need a Deed Poll, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Poll with your original Birth and Marriage Certificates, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of your Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change of name.
You will need to apply for a Deed Poll, as there is not yet any gender-equality in this respect. Record-holders, including HM Passport Office, will not accept your Marriage Certificate as sufficient evidence of your change of name (although they would accept it if it were your wife who was changing her surname to yours). Once you have your Deed Poll, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Poll with your original Marriage and Birth Certificates, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of your Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change of name.
You will need to apply for a Deed Poll, as many record-holders, including HM Passport Office, will not accept your Marriage Certificate as sufficient evidence of your new middle name. Once you have your Deed Poll, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Poll with your original Marriage and Birth Certificates, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of your Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change of name.
You will need to apply for a Deed Poll and so will your husband, if he also intends to take this new surname. This is because many record-holders, including HM Passport Office, will not accept your Marriage Certificate as sufficient evidence of your name change(s). Once you have your Deed Poll(s), you should ensure that you keep your new original Deed Poll(s) with your original Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificate, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of each Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change(s) of name.
You will need to apply for a Deed Poll, as many record-holders, including HM Passport Office, will not accept your Marriage Certificate as sufficient evidence of your change of name. Once you have your Deed Poll, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Poll with your original Marriage and Birth Certificates, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of your Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change of name.
No, you will not need to apply for a Deed Poll, as long as you want to simply change your surname to be the same as your partner’s current surname, and this is reflected in your Marriage Certificate. If you wish to obtain a new passport, you will need to send your current passport, your original Marriage Certificate, and a letter outlining your required change of name, to HM Passport Office, along with any other documents specified by HM Passport Office. Other record-holders may not require a letter outlining your change of name, but if you have already obtained a new passport, in many cases a copy of your new passport, in addition to your Marriage Certificate, will be sufficient evidence of your change of name.
However, if you want to double-barrel your surnames or make any other change to your name, you will need to apply for a Deed Poll with us in order to provide all relevant record-holders with the necessary evidence of your change of name.
Yes, you will both need to apply for a Deed Poll in order to change your names. Once you have your Deed Polls, you will both need to send them, along with your original Marriage Certificate and other relevant documents, to all relevant record-holders, and ask them to update their records. Once you have your Deed Polls, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Polls with your original Birth Certificates and Marriage Certificate, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of each of your Deed Polls, so that you can both quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your changes of name.
Documents generally have to be “legalised” when they are used and must be recognised abroad. This most commonly applies to a Deed Poll when people are getting married abroad, or when foreign nationals who are living in the UK want subsequently to change the name in their foreign passport. “Legalisation” has to be carried out by the Foreign Office and they will only do so if the document has either been witnessed by a solicitor or notary public, or “certified.”
A “certified” copy is a photocopy of an original (or duplicate, if you order from us) that has been “certified” as a true copy of the original by a solicitor, notary public, Commissioner for Oaths, or Justice of the Peace. These parties will all charge a fee for “certifying” a Deed Poll, but the fees vary. A solicitor will generally charge between £5 and £15 to “certify” a document like a Deed Poll; a notary public will generally charge more.
For more information, please visit our “Certified, Legalised, and Duplicate Deed Poll Copies” page.
Yes, you can easily change your name by using your Civil Partnership Certificate, in the same way married people would use their Marriage Certificate, as long as the name change is to be a straightforward change. If, for instance, partners want to both take one of their surnames, it is possible to do this without applying for a Deed Poll, as long as you still have the original Civil Partnership Certificate. However, if the name change is more complicated, you will need a Deed Poll for both partners. If, for instance, the partners want to double-barrel their surnames, or make a new surname out of an amalgamation of both of their existing surnames, they will both need a Deed Poll.
Yes, you will both need to apply for a Deed Poll in order to change your names. Once you have your Deed Polls, you will both need to send them, along with your original Civil Partnership Certificate and other necessary documents to all relevant record-holders, and ask them to update their records. Once you have your Deed Polls, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Polls with your original Birth Certificates and Civil Partnership Certificate, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of each of your Deed Polls, so that you can both quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your changes of name.
You will need to apply for a Deed Poll to change your name back to your birth name. You will have to send your original Civil Partnership Certificate, the original Final Order of Dissolution (the equivalent of a “decree absolute” in divorces between married couples) and original Deed Poll, as well as your new original Deed Poll (or duplicate copy, if you apply with us), to record-holders as evidence of your changes of name. Once you have your new Deed Poll, you should ensure that you keep both of the original Deed Polls with your original Birth Certificate and Civil Partnership Certificate. We also advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of your new Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change of name.
If you have an official Final Order of Dissolution of your Civil Partnership (the equivalent of a “decree absolute” in divorces between married couples), and you did not need a Deed Poll to change your surname to your partner’s surname, you do not need a Deed Poll. You simply need to send your original Final Order and your original Civil Partnership Certificate to record-holders, asking them to amend their records and send any new documentation, if applicable. If, however, you did need a Deed Poll to change your name originally, you will need another Deed Poll to change your name back. If you need a Deed Poll, you should ensure that you keep the original Deed Polls with your original Birth Certificate, Final Order and Civil Partnership Certificate, and we advise that you order at least 10 duplicate copies of your new Deed Poll, so that you can quickly notify all relevant record-holders of your change of name. You should also be aware that, until your dissolution is complete, you should still state on any application forms for insurance, credit or other loan facilities, that you are married.
