Legally you must be 16 years of age or more to execute your own Deed Poll in the United Kingdom and over 18 years old in Northern Ireland.

Someone with parental responsibility can only override your wishes in exceptional circumstances and not just because they don’t agree with your choice.  If, however, there is a court order in force forbidding you from changing your name, you’ll have to wait until you are 18 years old.

In general, children under the age of 16 years (in the UK) and under the age of 18 years (in Northern Ireland) can have their name changed by anyone with parental responsibility for the child, provided everyone with parental responsibility agrees.

NameSwitch does not currently offer a Deed Poll service for anyone under the age of 18 (in either the UK or Northern Ireland). This is in line with our general terms & conditions of use.

When you complete your Deed Poll application with us, your ‘change effective date’ can be a date of your choosing - In the past, present or *near future. Many people like to align the effective date of their Deed Poll to a memorable date. Brides who make a maiden name a middle name, for example, often opt to use their wedding date as a change effective date. As your witness must actually witness you signing your Deed Poll and then sign it themselves, the ‘execution date’ is the date that you and your witness sign the Deed Poll.

Please note, companies can not accept any name change requests if either the ‘change effective date’ or ‘execution date’ is in the future.

It is best practice to have a UK national witness you signing (executing) your Deed Poll.

• They should be over 18, and have known you for several years
• They should not be related to you, nor live at the same address as you
• They should have an active or retired occupation
• They do not need to be a solicitor, doctor or public sector official.

Your witness will need see you signing your Deed Poll/s and then sign and date each of your Deed Poll/s themselves to confirm that they observed you signing the Deed Poll/s. They will also need to print their name and list their address and current/former occupation (if this hasn’t been entered during checkout and already printed on the Deed Polls).

You are entitled to register your Deed Poll and put your name on record with the Royal Courts of Justice. Applications can take many months to be processed. There is a fee of £49.32 payable if you choose to go down this route. For more information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll/enrol-a-deed-poll-with-the-courts

Please note, it is not a legal requirement (nor common practice) to register your Deed Poll. Doing so will not affect the legal status of your name in any way. Government bodies such as HM Passport Office do not require you to register your Deed Poll. They accept both enrolled and unenrolled deed polls.

Only 1% of deed polls are registered at the Royal Courts of Justice annually.

If you’re transgender and you want to change your name, you’ll need to change your name by Deed Poll.

If your change of name is stated on your Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) or a new birth certificate (for which a GRC is a prerequisite), then this will also prove your change of name, but you’ll generally need to change your name by Deed Poll first.

If you’re non-binary and you want to change your name, you’ll also need to change your name by Deed Poll.  Please bear in mind that UK law currently only recognises two legal genders (male and female). However, you have the option to request your title be recognised as Mx. Not all companies processes/policies accept this but many are starting to.

If you haven’t been issued a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)

If you haven’t been issued with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) then you’ll need to change your name by Deed Poll. It is quite common for a Deed Poll to be used, prior to applying for a GRC, as it is a key and symbolic sign that you are living in a new gender.

A Deed Poll will be enough to change your name in your passport.  However, if you want your passport to be in your new gender as well, HM Passport Office will need to see:

• Your Deed Poll, showing that you’ve changed your name to one that’s associated with your new gender
• Evidence showing that your change of gender is “likely to be permanent”.  This can be a report from a medical practitioner (such as your consultant or GP), or a chartered psychologist practicing in the field of gender dysphoria.

You don’t need a GRC to have your passport updated to show your new gender, and you don’t necessarily need to have had sex reassignment surgery.

If you want to change your title to one of the opposite gender, for example from Mr to Mrs/Miss or vice versa, you wouldn’t normally need a Deed Poll.  In general, you’re free to use any social title, and — assuming the new title is part of a change of gender — you simply need to inform record holders of the new title.  The important matter for most organisations is your change of gender.  HM Passport Office for example doesn’t list social titles in passports at all — it isn’t considered to be a legal part of your name.

We offer a special discount for the transgender community. Please get in touch with us thegirls@nameswitch.co.uk to find out more.