There are a raft of reasons why you might want to change your name, but whatever your motivation might be, the main obstacle in this process is purely administrative. A legal name change for adults is a little easier than for kids, although most of the steps are the same. Here’s a simple explanation of what it takes.

Deed Poll

This is the option you’ll most likely have heard of already, and it’s applicable for adults and children alike. A deed poll is a legal document detailing your previous name and new name, following a standard legal template, signed and witnessed and then submitted to the Royal Courts of Justice, which puts your name change on the permanent public record in The Gazette.

Anyone over 18 can use a deed poll to change their name, and there’s even an unenrolled option that’s accepted by most institutions and doesn’t require court submission or the associated standard fee. However, for children, you’ll need consent from all parties with parental responsibility (PR). If one party doesn’t consent to the name change, you’ll have to apply to the Family Court for a Specific Issue Order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989. The court will make a ruling based on the child’s best interests. In either case, an approved child’s name change request must then be confirmed via an Enrolled Deed Poll through the Royal Courts of Justice to maintain a clear legal record.

Statutory Declaration of Name Change

Changing your name or your child’s name by Deed Poll is standard practice in England and Wales, but for residents of Scotland and anyone looking to have their name change recognised by foreign authorities, a statutory declaration name change document is the preferred legal route. It follows the Statutory Declarations Act of 1835 and must be witnessed by an authorised person like a solicitor, rather than having any member of the public eligible for witnessing duties.

A Statutory Declaration of Name Change is actually a weightier legal document because of the more stringent witness requirements and because it’s effectively an oath. This weight is why it’s preferred in many cases by authorities in other parts of the world, particularly if it has been notarised.

Legalising a name change document like this with an apostille will be necessary in the case that you want to ensure that governments and organisations in other countries accept it as legitimate. As well as being relevant for use in Scotland, it’s also a type of document that non-UK citizens can rely on for name-change purposes.

Other Considerations

While you can use a Deed Poll to change your name without enrolling it with the Royal Courts of Justice, it’s usually worth going this extra mile just so you’ve got the paperwork in place for any other official reasons you might be required to supply it. And if a Statutory Declaration of Name Change is necessary in your situation, then obviously this needs to be handled via the correct channels.

Paying a small amount extra to get a third-party provider involved in managing this process, regardless of the path you pick, makes sense. It’s a small price for peace of mind.

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