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

Changing the marriage certificate won't help.

The OP has applied for a passport in the name of Jane Sarah Smith when legally she's called Sarah Jane Smith.

Changing the marriage cert to say Sarah Jane Smith will only make the problem worse.

@Christmaspug You need to speak to the passport office and ask if they'll accept a deed poll dated this week

If not ask if the application fee can be transferred to an application in your birth certificate name

I strongly suspect they'll say no. You'll have to redo the application. Either in your birth name or get a deed poll and then apply in your known as name

It used to be the case that being known as your middle name was easy to do, but with all the ID checks now things like passports and driving licenses need a clear document trail (I changed to my middle name at 14)

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.

You'll find that many of them just have a passport in their original name. You just have to remember when booking tickets

A quick google got this. Retroactive deed poll, online, around £10.

I didn’t get my marriage certificate changed ,as it’s in the same name order of my bills and bank accounts.
My morgage is in the same name as my marriage certificate too

You need to see a solicitor who deals with all of this.

You could be possibly committing fraud because you have given names which are not on your birth certificate.

It's YOUR BIRTH CERT THAT IS YOUR LEGAL NAME /IDENTITY - NOT A MARRIAGE CERT.

I’ve found bank statements and utility bills with the name I’ve applied for my passport in ,and in my married name ,
I’ve been using my name this way for 20 years ,so I didn’t expect a problem,hopefully this will be enough
Otherwise I will do a deed of name change.

OP, in everyday life you can use any name you like, provided it isn't with intent to commit fraud, but that won't be your legal name.

You must have opened your bank account/s when checks were less stringent, as today you would need to provide official ID bearing your legal name.

Your legal name is the one on your birth certificate, unless officially changed.

There's a useful rundown on the Net Lawman site, which seems reliable ww.netlawman.co.uk/ia/changing-name-passport

It says "If you apply for your first passport under the name by which you are known (and want on your passport), but that name is different to the one on your birth certificate, you should complete a deed of change of name as evidence of your name."

So as this is your first passport, you will need to complete a deed of change of name.

And I second the advice by a PP on checking the validity of your marriage certificate.

I’m even more confused now 😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥.
The passport office are saying my marriage certificate is wrong ,not me saying that .
I’ve gathered together everything official I’ve got in the name I’ve used for last 20 years ,I will send it of with another explanation ,and hope for the best .
Failing that I will see a solicitor

So basically you can't change your forename on a marriage certificate only a surname? That doesn't make sense. Why does a birth certificate trump a marriage certificate for forenames but not for a surname?

,it’s partly why I’ve never applied for a passport before

I suspect that the people who have passports in not-legal names or showing misspellings have had passports for ages. Over time the system has been tightened up considerably. When I applied for my first passport in the 80s (one of the old blue cardboard ones) my details were hand written into it. If you received a passport with your name stated as Jane when you were actually Jayne, it didn't matter as much as airline security just isn't what it is now.

Renewing an existing passport is a lot easier than applying for your first passport if you've never had one.

OP is legally ABC, she has married Mr X and and calls herself BAX rather than ABX. She has lots of non-official documentation in many different name combinations. The core issue is that her marriage certificate is wrong.

Start by correcting it then everything else will fall into place.

.

A marriage certificate is proof that you have changed your surname upon marriage.

However, your birth name is still on it so it's not "trumping" anything.

It's showing that you are legally married & can use that surname.

The passport office are saying my marriage certificate is wrong ,not me saying that

That;s because it IS wrong!! What is there to be confused about?

"The passport office are saying my marriage certificate is wrong ,not me saying that."

Well it is, as it doesn't match your birth certificate.

There's no way for them to know that both certificates belong to the same person.

Who signed your photos & what name for you did they use??!!

Op. What is the point sending off 20 years of ‘preferred name use documents’ ? So what !
Your birth certificate shows you as PugChristmas. All the docs in the world showing christmaspug wont change this ! Other than official change of name document.
That’s what they are asking for and that’s what you need to produce. That’s what you can’t produce.
Why can’t you just accept this ! Your 20 years of preference doesn’t trump the legal position !

The step dad issue isn’t adding to confusion as you didn’t legally change your surname to match his.

The passport office are correct, you told the registrar the wrong name, so the wrong name was written onto the certificate.

I changed my name as soon as I got citizenship, I was known by that name for quite a while. But I never pretended it was my legal name by using it on legal documents. I always used my legal name for legal documents or things that may require photo ID such as bank accounts etc. As soon as I completed my deedpoll everything was changed over to my new legal name.

FIL has dementia and has been admitted to hospital in the past. He is for all official purposes Robert William Smith, but has been known all his life as Bill.

He gets very distressed when carers/nurses call him Robert. Or Bob. Or Bobby. Because he doesn't know who they're talking about. Not the carers fault, they're not psychic. But another example of why it makes sense to sort it all out now.

Christmaspug assuming your marriage certificate does not list your name (prior to marriage) as it is on your birth certificate then it is incorrect as it doesn’t refer to you (n the legal sense) - it’s not rocket science and what you’ve referred to yourself as etc etc etc is neither here nor there - as I’ve said before you need to seek proper professional advice as to how best to sort this mess out.

Your marriage certificate IS wrong. The passport office are absolutely correct rejecting it.
There’s really nothing confusing here.

*The passport office are saying my marriage certificate is wrong ,not me saying that .
*
That's because it is wrongZ.

*I’ve gathered together everything official I’ve got in the name I’ve used for last 20 years ,I will send it of with another explanation ,and hope for the best .
*
This is a waste of time. The passport office are not asking for an explanation. They want absolute proof, that you have used the name for 20 years won't make a blind bit of difference.

Failing that I will see a solicitor

What on earth for?

It might be worth visiting the passport office in person. They actually misspelled my first name in my previous passport and said they couldn’t change it on my new one. It was something ridiculous like NtNtlie for Natalie (not my actual name). I didn’t change it at the time as I needed to see my dying GM overseas and no one ever noticed in the 10 years I had it.

I also needed my husbands surname removed from being tacked onto the end of mine.

After an argument they agreed to issue it in the name I wanted. Much easier in person though.

You could be possibly committing fraud because you have given names which are not on your birth certificate.

It's YOUR BIRTH CERT THAT IS YOUR LEGAL NAME /IDENTITY - NOT A MARRIAGE CERT.

That is not true

You can call yourself whatever you want as long as it is not with the intent to defraud

You just can't get a passport.

So basically you can't change your forename on a marriage certificate only a surname? That doesn't make sense. Why does a birth certificate trump a marriage certificate for forenames but not for a surname?

It makes complete sense

It shows that Mary Jane Smith has married a Mr Brown so can now be known as Mary Jane Brown if she wishes

Nothing in Mary Jane Smith marrying William Brown suggests that Mary Smith wants to be known as Jane Brown.

A spelling mistake and a different name entirely are not the same. OP would be wasting her time going to see them as she doesn't have the document they are asking for to back up the name. It's nothing like a spelling mistake correction.

You are adding far to much to this. It’s simple your passport reflects your birth certificate. The only document that can change this is a government issued one so either a marriage certificate to change your surname (and a divorce to change it back) or a name change deed for your first name. That is it. No amount of other documents in that name/other name changes makes any difference. Those are the documents that cannot be forged so those are the documents that the highest form of identity checker uses

pineapple hadn’t thought of that complication. Totally understandable and what a carry on ! Luckily my ma who went by her middle name and threw in her maiden name also as a middle name was meticulous about using her birth certificate/marriage/divorce compliant names on anything official. It made dealing with her estate so much easier than I feared. She also died without any dementia - thank god for every reason but also I know she would have kicked off if ‘wrong’ name used in innocent error.

I think you should try to get your marriage certificate issued correctly. Contract the registrar and see what they say. They were wrong to issue it like that.