How to change name on passport in the UK — deed poll, costs and name-in-use evidence

To change name on passport, apply for a new British passport in the name you now use. Send your original signed [change of name deed](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-of-name-deed*) (also called an unenrolled deed poll) plus one name-in-use record. Adult online applications cost £102. There is no separate “name-change passport” product. Official overview: www.gov.uk/changing-passport-information

The name on the passport must match the name you book travel in. Do not book until you hold a valid book in that name if you need the new name on the ticket. The old passport stays valid in the old name until you replace it — so you can wait if you are not travelling soon.

If you still need the deed, start with a personalised [adult deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/adult-deed-poll*) PDF (typically £14.99 once) or Instant Deed Poll’s [free deed poll template](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/free-deed-poll-template*). Then follow [how to change name on passport](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-passport*) and the [who to notify](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/who-to-notify*) order.

Not sure which paper you need? Use Instant Deed Poll’s [which-document checker](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/which-document*). Marriage-certificate-only surname takes often skip the deed entirely.

Two things: proof the name has changed, and proof you use the new name. For most UK applications that is a wet-ink signed deed poll plus a bank statement, payslip, employer letter, utility bill or tax letter issued within the last 12 months. A valid UK driving licence can be older than 12 months if it was issued after the deed.

Send an original signed [deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk*) — never a photocopy of an already-signed deed as the “use” evidence. Print three or four blanks, sign each as an original, keep one at home, and post another with tracking. HMPO caseworker guidance treats unenrolled deed polls and change of name deeds as the same instrument.

One name-in-use document is enough for a typical UK application. International applications from some country groups can ask for more — read the form if you are applying from overseas. Fastest evidence: update the [driving licence](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-driving-licence*) first (free) so it doubles as photo ID for HMPO.

A change of name deed is HMPO’s name for an unenrolled [deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/what-is-a-deed-poll*). It must be dated, signed in your old and new names, and signed in wet ink. HMPO’s minimum is one witness; GOV.UK’s unenrolled example and most banks expect two independent adults who are not relatives, partners or housemates. Instant Deed Poll prints two witness blocks.

Officers are told to accept genuine online and home-printed deeds when execution is right — and not to comment on which company printed the paper. Rejections usually come from e-signatures, missing dates, one name only, related witnesses, or a photocopy of a signed deed. Partner explainer: [change of name deed](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-of-name-deed*).

Enrolment in The Gazette is not what makes HMPO say yes. Compare [enrolled vs unenrolled](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/enrolled-vs-unenrolled-deed-poll*) before you pay the court about £53.05.

Generate the declaration, print three or four copies, and sign in both names while two independent adults (18+) watch. Each signed printout is an original. Send one original with the passport application. Electronic signatures fail at HMPO and the DVLA. Timing of the PDF: [how long a deed poll takes](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/how-long-does-a-deed-poll-take*).

Instant Deed Poll emails a personalised [adult deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/adult-deed-poll*) in minutes for a one-time £14.99, with a witnessing card, 12-month re-downloads, and a wording-related refund if HMPO, DVLA, HMRC or a UK bank refuses solely because of the wording. It is not a solicitor and not the Passport Office.

The usual order after signing: free [licence update](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-driving-licence*), then passport, then bank, HMRC, employer and NHS. Full UK process: [how to change your name](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/how-to-change-your-name-uk*) and our deed poll name-change guide. Eligibility: [who can change their name](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/who-can-change-their-name*).

There is no extra HM Passport Office surcharge to change name on passport. You pay the normal new-passport fee, plus whatever you spent on the deed (often £0 DIY or around £14.99 for a personalised PDF). Adult standard 34-page is £102 online or £115.50 on paper; child is £66.50 online or £80 on paper — GOV.UK [passport fees](www.gov.uk/passport-fees), checked 13 August 2026.

Urgent Online Premium and 1-week Fast Track routes cost more — check gov.uk before you pay. Optional High Court enrolment is about £53.05 and is not required for HMPO. Market range for the deed itself: [deed poll cost](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/deed-poll-cost*).

The deed poll can be ready the same day you order and sign it. The passport is a new issue, so you wait for current HM Passport Office processing. Check times on GOV.UK before you book travel. Fast Track and Online Premium exist if you need the book sooner.

The bottleneck is almost never the PDF. It is name-in-use evidence (often the DVLA turnaround) and then HMPO’s queue. Sequence: [how long a deed poll takes](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/how-long-does-a-deed-poll-take*), then driving licence, then this application. If you can still travel in the old name, keep the current book and update after the trip.

Yes — to change name on passport with a printout you then sign in ink is an original. What HMPO rejects is a photocopy of an already-signed deed, an e-signature, a missing date, a deed signed in only one name, or doubts it is genuine. Caseworker guidance tells officers to accept genuine online and home-printed change of name deeds.

GOV.UK still warns that some other organisations may not like a deed you made yourself. For passports, the published test is execution, not whether you paid a company. Instant Deed Poll’s [change name on passport](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-passport*) guide and [acceptance-style refund](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/refund-policy*) cover wording refusals from HMPO, DVLA, HMRC and UK banks within 60 days.

If you lost the only signed original, reprint the PDF and sign a fresh original — do not pay an archive fee. Instant Deed Poll: [replace a lost deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/replace-lost-deed-poll*).

Update your driving licence first — the DVLA change is free, and a valid licence issued after the deed counts even if it is older than 12 months. Otherwise use a bank statement, employer letter or utility bill in the new name issued within the last 12 months. One piece is enough for a typical UK application.

HMPO does not need proof you have changed the name with every agency. Do not try to use a photocopy of the signed deed as name-in-use evidence. Full order: [who to notify](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/who-to-notify*). A [notification letter pack](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/notification-letter-pack*) (typically £9.95) or [name change pack](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/name-change-pack*) (£25) is optional if you want pre-filled letters.

If you claim Universal Credit, match the bank account name before the next payment — see [benefits name change](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-universal-credit-benefits*) and our Universal Credit answer.

If you took your spouse’s surname exactly as the marriage certificate shows, send that certificate — not a deed poll — when you change name on passport. HMPO can also issue a passport in that married name up to three months before the ceremony, with a form countersigned by your officiant. Civil partnership certificates work the same way for a simple surname take.

Double-barrels, blends, and first- or middle-name changes are not written as the new full name on the certificate, so those still need a [deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk*). Guides: [change name after marriage](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-after-marriage*), [civil partnership](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/civil-partnership-name-change*), [double-barrelled surname](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/double-barrelled-surname*), [change a middle name](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-middle-name*). After divorce or separation the evidence differs — [after divorce](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-after-divorce*), [after separation](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-after-separation*).

Yes, with a [child deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/child-deed-poll*) or other accepted evidence, plus consent from everyone who holds parental responsibility. A child standard 34-page passport is £66.50 online, with no extra name-change surcharge. If one parental-responsibility holder refuses, that is a court application, not a PDF.

From 16 the young person executes their own [adult deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/adult-deed-poll*). Under 16, HMPO looks at parental responsibility. Consent explainers: [parental responsibility](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/parental-responsibility-name-change*) and [father’s consent](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/fathers-consent-name-change*). Adoption certificates can already show the new name — [after adoption](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-after-adoption*). Our child walkthrough: changing a child’s name.

No. To change name on passport you do not need a Gazette entry. HMPO accepts unenrolled deed polls. Enrolment at the Royal Courts of Justice costs about £53.05 from age 18, publishes your details, and still requires name-in-use evidence. Skip it unless a named organisation has demanded the Gazette record in writing.

Around 98–99% of people never enrol. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can make an unenrolled deed; High Court enrolment is only from 18. Comparison: [enrolled vs unenrolled](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/enrolled-vs-unenrolled-deed-poll*).

Yes. A deed poll is England and Wales practice, but a British passport is a United Kingdom document. HM Passport Office accepts a correctly executed unenrolled [deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk*) from people living in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. You do not need a separate “England name change” product.

Scotland often also uses a [statutory declaration of name change](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/statutory-declaration-name-change*). Nation differences: Scotland and Northern Ireland. Eligibility: [who can change their name](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/who-can-change-their-name*). Trans applicants use the same unenrolled deed, not a different HMPO product — [trans name change UK](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/trans-name-change-uk*).

If you hold a non-British passport, that name and gender must match what you want on the British one — change the foreign passport first if they differ. Unexpired visas in the old British passport may become invalid; check with the issuing embassy. You do not need a countersignature for a name-only change.

You do need a countersignature if your appearance has changed so you cannot be recognised from the old photo. Fill in and sign the application in the name you want printed. A [deed poll](instantdeedpoll.co.uk*) does not change your birth certificate — [birth certificates](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/change-name-birth-certificate*). If names do not match other papers, see GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/changing-passport-information/names-dont-match-official-documents

The passport is only one record. After you change name on passport, work through bank, HMRC, employer, NHS, insurers and utilities. A deed poll does not rewrite a will — [make or remake the will](swiftwill.co.uk*) in the new name so probate is not delayed. Checklist: [who to notify](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/who-to-notify*).

Restricted names (titles used as forenames, unusable symbols) can still fail at HMPO even with a signed deed — [name restrictions](instantdeedpoll.co.uk/name-restrictions*). If an organisation wants a sworn statement instead of a deed, see deed poll vs statutory declaration.