Help - got myself in a pickle re deed poll

[StarDolphins]

on my DD’s (7) Birth cert she is Smith (ex’s name), I wanted her to be Jones (my name) or double barrel as compromise but he insisted I was being silly when registering so registered her as his name.

I then later changed it to Jones-Smith by deed poll but have never used this name (silly of me). Her passport has has smith.

it’s now time to renew her passport. Do I need to put it as he deed poll name or will her birth cert name be ok? Holiday is also just in smith. I could do with leaving as it is(just smith) but don’t want to get in trouble.

Really do make things complicated sometimes☹️ Can anyone help?

Has your ex agreed to the change of surname?

If you legally changed it by Deed poll, the passport needs to be exactly what you changed it to as that's the legal name, the previous name becomes useless.

Yes all agreed at the time & still
on good terms. I just don’t use this new double barrel name for her (although she knows it exists)

Oh crikey! What about school etc, can she just still use her birth cert name like she has been? I do t know how passport office would know it’s changed!

If your ex gave his consent to the change of name, and you have the documents to prove it, then you should apply for a passport in the new name. You will be asked to send the change of name deed, birth certificate and the letter of consent from the father when you apply for the passport renewal. She should really be using the name for everything (school, nhs, savings accounts etc)

You might run into problems at the airport though if the name on the booking is not the same as on the passport. You might want to get that amended before travel.

Don't fret, it's fairly straightforward (I've done it).

You have to change your child's name at school and GP surgery first, using the deedpoll cert as proof.

Then the school have to write a letter confirming this is the name your child is using at school.

Likewise, get some proof from GP that your child is registered/uses new name (my surgery also wrote me a letter).

When you submit new passport request, include deedpoll and letters from both school and GP (originals).

We had no queries or hold ups with passport office.

Many schools allow you to have a "known as" name, for general day to day communication but they still need to have her legal name. As mentioned above by another poster, if her passport has her old name on it, it's invalid and you likely won't be able to travel with it.

Do you want to use the name?

If so you'll have to put things into her 'new' name.

If you don't want to change it all now - or if she doesn't want to change her name - then just change it back.

If it helps - I changed my daughters surname on her birth certificate shortly after birth but the passport office said her passport (matching her original birth certificate) doesn't need to be updated until it actually expires. When you do eventually do that, you just need some proof, like the GP to have her as the updated name.

Hope that helps a little!

Thanks all. I’ve just asked her (although she 7 so doesn’t probably really know🤣) and she wants to stop using smith & prefers Smith-Jones so will have to contact school etc. I’ll come come across as some weird eccentric🤣

Her passport is up for renewal now so will have to change it & ring TUI. I make so much work for myself!

I’m not bothered now tbh, I was a bit more hormonal then but my DD said she likes both names so since I’ve changed it, I will just change atDrs, school etc. the dentist call her Smith-Jones so I must’ve registered her there with it!

Best to use official name to be safe, children often change names when parents divorce, remarry etc and in secondary it will also appear in exam certificates etc

Thank you @Mimami i will just start changing it at places now so I can then get her passport changed! Changing it at 7 is better than at 17 I guess!

UPDATE - she doesn’t want this double barrel name now so I will have to change it by deed pole back to her normal name on birth cert!😱 and obviously this will take time, can I just renew her passport knowing her name will be changed back before we go on holiday & start the deed pole process asap?

If she’s changed her mind in one day just hang fire.

When is your holiday and how soon do you have to have to renew the passport?

She can legally be Smith Jones, but stay known as Smith if she wants. Pain in the backside when she’s older though.

Check with the deed poll office as it may be different for a child, but as an adult if you’ve not used your deed poll you can just destroy it I believe.

Thank you. What a mess! We fly in July so a bit of time. As long as she can be just known as what she is now the same as her birth cert then I could just press on with changing her passport I guess. I will ring the deed poll office & see if they can advise.

I just don’t know how the passport ff would even know about the name change since she’s not been using it!

Ring the passport office - I found them incredibly helpful when I had 'what if' questions around a name not matching a birth certificate!

The jist was your passport is valid as is until it's expired.

You can just leave things as they are. There is no register of name change - all you have is a piece of paper you haven't used.

I'd just renew in the name on her birth certificate as it matches her current passport. If she wants to change her surname in the future then you have the paperwork to do that.

@daysfilledwithdappledlight what happens if passport doesn’t match birth certificate ? My daughters name on birth certificate is different to name on passport . On her first ever passport it was mis printed I think for example on birth certificate it says : Mary Jane & on her passport and first ever passport it was printed as first name : MaryJane surname: Jane . Any advice ?