Passport office won’t issue my passport,help pls

[Christmaspug]

I’ve never really used my first name ,always used my middle name ,.on my wedding certificate the registrar put my middle name first as that’s what everyone calls me.
Passport office want proof of a name change from first name to middle name

Obviously I’ve not got that ,lots of people use their second name when they don’t like their first name,why would I change it officially as they are both my name.
I’m about to loose my £80 fee ,as this has been has been going backwards and forwards for some time ,
I’ve simply not got the proof they want ,
What on Earth can I do
I’m 46 always lived in uk and never had a passport before

If you want to use your given middle name as your first name go to a solicitor and spend some money to change your name by deed poll or statutory declaration. Keep a copy of it with your birth certificate so you have proof. That's exactly what I did many years ago. I'm known as a completely different name than what's on my birth certificate but I have to produce both my birth certificate and my statutory declaration documents when someone needs my birth certificate. My passport and all other documentation is in my new name.

Exactly. If you want to change your name you need to do it legally. Yes, you can be known as whatever you want (so long as you don't attempt to defraud people) but that doesn't mean you can put a random collection of names on official documents and hope for the best.

@lyralalala for you, above.

It feels odd that you could renounce formally and give it retrospective force ie ‘I hereby legally renonce . . and from this self determined date which is convenient to me because then it allows a legally binding register and certificate (which I signed at the time as being legally correct when I knew it wasn’t and despite all warnings to check it before signing) to be correct now to suit my not wanting a passport in my legal name’
Hmmmm

I'm now grateful my parents only gave me one name.

The passport office are saying your marriage certificate is wrong because it is wrong. It is not in your official name and therefore it’s validity is in question.

It is absolutely irrelevant that you have been called your middle name for 20 years +, or that you have used it for non essential documents.

The fact of the matter is that your first name is your legal official name, and it needs to be used on official documents like your passport, marriage certificate etc. until you get your name legally changed.

What’s the issue with having your passport in your legal name anyway? And yes, your legal official name is your first name middle name last name. Again, it’s irrelevant people have called you your middle name for years.

OR
You could just get a passport in the name that's on your birth certificate, book your tickets using that name and just get on with your life. Call yourself what you like, just so long as your tickets match your passport.

OP, are the passport office refusing to give you a passport in any name, or just in the name you want?

To get the passport, I'd be inclined to do a deed poll changing my name from the birth cert name to your chosen name (with your married surname). You might have to apply again for the passport and pay a second fee although I think that might depend on who you ask and what sort of day they're having!

Then, separately, I'd deal with the marriage cert - how long ago was the wedding?

Me too. If your end game is to end up with everything in new name then don’t get a passport in your current name.
Get your new name legally recognised.
Get a passport in that name. M certif deal with m certif.
HOWEVER
I’m slightly worried about yougov advice which clearly states you can’t ask for amendment to marriage registr /certif with docs which are dated after the reg/certificate. It’s because of this that you are asked to triple check everything before signing.

Because of this I’d talk to them (reg office - and not just local office you used but central customer support) first before doing anything. Also get their advice in writing/email.

I had similar 'fun' with the passport office - in the end they actually dictated what I needed to write in a statutory declaration, which I sent straight back and passport arrived without first name on. No solicitor involved!

I subsequently got married, but of course it was using my birth cert name. And so the next passport application was 'interesting' as I'd effectively gone back a step with names and hyphenated my surname as well! So I gave up and deed-polled my first name out of existence and got the surname I wanted.

Wish I'd done it years ago when I first left home. Would have made things so much easier!

good luck...

I wonder if you can get a passport in your birth name if you have officially changed your surname on marriage? I think sorting out the incorrect marriage certificate is the best way to go.

If the OP wants her new passport to be in her married name then she's stuck because the marriage certificate has the wrong name on it. What is needed is a corrected marriage certificate with her given first names on it. That will solve the passport issue. If the OP no longer wishes her actual first given name to be her name then she needs to legally change it - you don't need a deed poll - the gov.uk website has the info on how to do it. Once that has been done, she can apply for a passport in the name she wants to be known by. You can't retrospectively change you name though. As many pps have stated, it is the incorrect marriage certificate which is the problem.

By far the easiest thing to do is use your birth name as it was registered for everything legal and official and be known by your middle name.

We married with 3 weeks notice and had to apply for DH birth certificate to enable the marriage to go ahead. I already had mine.

So did you provide the birth certificate? Did you not spot the error? Or the registration?

Bloody hell I’m going off middle names by the minute !!!

But you must have a middle name so your mum can embarass you by shouting it at you in front of your mates, and for if you're ever up in front of the beak for sentencing "Norman Stanley Fletcher you have been found guilty…". Innit.

Like @Bluntness100 I also wonder if the marriage is legal and binding, and if the OP is even married at all. Also like @HeronLanyon I am struggling to get my head round the 'fact' that someone can change their name now and have it retrospective and change everything from the past.

Also, how and why did the registrar put the 'wrong' name on her marriage certificate? They don't make mistakes like that. They would have copied the name from her birth certificate. So it seems bizarre that this error occured.

@Christmaspug

As many posters have said, all you need to do, is to scrap this application (sorry you will lose the £80,) and then speak to the registrar, because if they did put your forename down wrong on your marriage certificate, then they need to rectify it, and re-issue the marriage certificate. Also, check your marriage is legal!

I am genuinely baffled as to why and how this happened though. Also, surely you must have looked at your marriage certificate, and seen it wasn't your proper given/birth name? How have you gone along with opening bank accounts/getting loans/mortgages?

Also have you never had anything official given to you, like a degree certificate? I can't believe, in 30 years, (since you became an adult,) that you have not had a single occasion where you have needed to use your official name - the one on your birth certificate.

But yeah, speak to the Registry Office. I would. Also, PLEASE tell me you haven't booked, and paid for your holiday before getting your passport!!!

Interestingly it is the first name only when you have first and middle names which is important - DP has travelled on a passport with his given name on it and tickets booked with just his first and surname many times. In fact, lots of online booking forms don't have a field for middle names.

surely you must have looked at your marriage certificate, and seen it wasn't your proper given/birth name?

From what OP has said, I'd imagine that she's grown up with the idea not to put too much stock in what the legal documentation says and instead use a different chosen name.

OP, I know they don't sound like they were great to you, but I'm still shocked that the adults around you changed your surname every time you were sent to live with different relatives.

Given that you probably have painful memories associated with name changes, I can see why that might have made it difficult for you to engage with the fact that the marriage certificate was not in your legal name, especially if it was in the name you wished was your legal name.

I still don't understand how the registrar got it wrong, though - what document were they referring to for the marriage cert?

I don't think there will be issue with the legality of the OP's wedding as she is not impersonating someone, it will be addressed an administrative error because the correct two people married each other.

The OP may not have used her birth certificate as proof of ID with the registrar. I suspect that is why she now has this problem.

I simply cannot understand why your first step isn’t to either a) apply for a retrospective deed poll name change or b) contact the registry office.

Your dogma about the fact you’ve used your given name in a different order for 20 years won’t get you a passport.

I can't believe, in 30 years, (since you became an adult,) that you have not had a single occasion where you have needed to use your official name - the one on your birth certificate

The only time I have ever had to show my birth certificate is when I got married.

As an aside I got married in a country where the custom is to add the suffix ova to women’s names. Therefore my marriage certificate says Flamingo Johnova rather than Flamingo John.
I got round this by changing my driving licence first as they were slacker than the passport office. Then used my driving licence to change my passport.
I now use my passport any time I need to prove my identity.

I’m not actually sure what my legal name is.

You could try getting a statutory declatation saying that fro. the age of 18 you have been known as Mary Jane Smith i stead of Jane Mary Smith

Im 4 years younger than you. I have also used a shortened version of my name that has appeared on many certificates but I always knew for official ones that I would put my proper name on there. Even my old doddery relatives that have always used their middle name use their official name on things. And yes years ago ID issues were more flexible than they are now but you need to sort this out to the satisfaction of the passport office as you will literally be going nowhere.

It’s not unusual to have to show your birth certificate, if you haven’t got a passport, to employers to evidence right to work in the UK.

I'm very surprised you managed to have your marriage certificate in your known name rather than your birth name! I was known by my step fathers name the majority of my life but I had to legally change it at 18 via deed poll. I had to provide that document when I registered to marry along with my birth certificate. They shouldn't just stick any old name on. It's a legal document.

Have you ever had a bank account?