Deed poll

[megan114]

Wanted to change my surname by deed poll but the gov website is so confusing! Downloaded all the forms so will get them printed and fill them out but does anyone know the steps to actually take?
Do I send off my completed forms along with the documents that are needed? Or separately?
I added a pic which confused me a little, exhibit A. They will need a copy of deed poll, but I won't have one at that point?
Also how do I pay, I understand I can do a cheque or postal order but would that also be sent along with forms and documents?
I'm embarrassed with how daft I sound but really am confused!🫠

I'm sorry but i don't quite understand what you're paying for, so apologies if I get this wrong.

You don't need to pay for a deedpoll unless you want to enrol with the courts.

Here's the main page for all you need to know about changing your name via deed poll on the gov.uk website.

https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll

Google 'Free deed poll', fill in your details, print it and there you are, done.

The first thing I used mine for was my passport, then I used my passport to back up anyone who thought my home deed poll wasn't official.

No need to enroll. It’s just as effective without enrolment.

I was thinking to do it for free, but people said it was quite a hassle when it came to changing their passport and their bank. Was it pretty straight forward for you?

I did look online at getting it done for free but a lot of people said the home office and banks don't look at it as official as they do for an enrolled one which is payed for so was hoping it could cut the hassle

My wife's son has an unrolled deed poll. It has never caused any problems. He has been able to get a bank account, passport and driving licence with it.

I did a free one a decade ago. The only place I had problems was the post office who DIDN'T check the paperwork when sending off my passport.

Driving licence, banks, work, solicitors, courts, US immigration, work, several DBS applications and never had a single query.

I used a free deed poll to change my name.

Government agencies (passport, driving licence and HMRC) were no issue at all. Do those as soon as possible. Having official ID in the new name makes all the difference.

A few places insisted on me showing them official ID to confirm my name change. Not how it's meant to be, but I went along with it to make life easier. Once I showed them my new passport/licence, there was no issue.

The one place that did have an issue with it was my mortgage provider. But that was a case of badly trained branch staff, so I just wrote a complaint to their head office and it was all changed.

The bank were a bit arsey with a friend of mine, but the passport was no problem at all. I did that first.

They can't really argue when you are holing your old and new passports showing a pic of you with different names.

I think it comes down to training, the passport office deal with this all the the time, a bank clark might have never seen one.

Oh no! They'd definitely accept free and unenrolled one. You can type one out yourself, sign it, get 2 people you know (not relatives) to sign it as witnesses and you're done.

Send to Home office first to change your name on your ID/passport, then use both the deedpoll and ID with new name as proof to other agencies. Some agencies don't even need Home Office ID as proof. Your deedpoll is enough but send it anyway.