Changing DC surname

[MiMiChuna]

I'm a LP.
DD1 is 15, no contact with her father in 13 yrs. His choice.
He is named on her birth certificate.
DD1 hates having his surname (we weren't married so mine is different).
For yrs DD1 has wanted to legally change her surname to mine. I thought she could do it at 18, more straightforward. However she really wants all her school certifications gcses etc without his surname on.
Can anyone else who is legally knowledgeable or been thru this advise on process, likely cost, timescale.
Also is there a central place to lodge her official name change paperwork? I changed mine at 18 for similar reasons, but I have 1 paper copy with no back up which worries me where do I stand if I loose it as certain places only accept the originals.
I know we'll need court permission too before I can change hers but not sure on process.
I will also change DD2 surname at the same time but their father chose not to go on her birth certificate so no court needed for DD2, however all other factors are the same.
Thanks for any advice.

[Cuckoochanel80]

No advice op but am in a similar situation with my daughter and wondering how best to go about this.

[prh47bridge]

She can change her name herself once she reaches 16. She doesn't have to wait until she is 18.

To change her name before then you need either the father's consent or a court order. You will need to contact the father before applying to the courts for a name change. Getting his consent is by far the quickest way of doing this. If she is sitting her GCSEs this summer, it is already too late to get a court order even if it is possible - the courts are reluctant to allow name changes.

You can enrol a change of name with the Royal Courts of Justice, but this is unnecessary (and not possible until she is 18 unless the father consents). A simple change of name deed is all that is needed. The government website gives recommended wording at Change your name by deed poll: Make your own deed poll - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

I'm not sure what places insist on the originals. Most will accept a photocopy or a certified copy. Indeed, my son (who changed his name this way) has never been asked to produce the original.

[CatCatCatCatCatCat]

I was told that no courts would agree to completely remove a surname and replace it with another (unless extreme abuse) being absent wouldn’t be a good enough reason.

[CatCatCatCatCatCat]

You will get double barrelled most likely so it will still be there but sounds like it’s too late now anyway so I would just wait till 16 she can do it herself.

[MiMiChuna]

@prh47bridge literally in this last week I had to produce my original name change copy for a dbs application. I also have been told by DVLA directly I have to send the original off to them to change my paper drivers license to a photocard one, even tho my paper one is in the same surname as I had to provide proof following the initial change nearly 30 yrs ago.
It happens.
I need to look into enrolling with the royal courts of justice tho, thanks, not aware of that.

[PleaseletitbeSpring]

My DD changed hers the day she was 16. It was in time to get the school to have her exam certificates awarded in her new name, even though she had finished exams and was waiting on the results.

[MiMiChuna]

@PleaseletitbeSpring this is really helpful. Thank you. How did you work it, did you have all the documents ready to go in advance and literally submit on her 16th birthday? And so from the moment turning 16 your DD could use her new name?
Do you know if you could apply for a passport the same day or did you have to wait for any official documents through? Does turning 16 mean PR permissuon not needed for travel abroad from that age? I've never been able to take my DDs abroad & this would be an epic 16th gift to plan for if it's all tied in with what she can do at that point.
Altho I've assumed your DD situation was the same as mine, but was it?

[MiMiChuna]

@CatCatCatCatCatCat

I was told that no courts would agree to completely remove a surname and replace it with another (unless extreme abuse) being absent wouldn’t be a good enough reason.

I was told differently altho this was about 10 yrs ago. I wa told in our case the father literally walked out of DD life overnight & never sought contact, moved 150 miles away. She was 1 year old. As such, she has no memories of him, no positive identity with him & if he challenged a name change in court he'd have no leg to stand on arguing that his name was critical & important for her identity. Her association with him is of abandonment & no love at all, there's nothing she wants reminding of him for. It's not positive for her to have his name or even neutral, it's harmful to her cos she feels branded by the person who has let her down the most in her life. So potentially damaging for mental health. I wish I'd dealt with this earlier in her life but the process has always felt overwhelming & I didn't appreciate how strong her feeling on it would become as she got oder rather than her assuming her own ownership of her surname.
i personally wouldn’t accept going thru courts to have double-barrelled for her as she'd still hate her name.

[PleaseletitbeSpring]

We had everything ready for her 16th birthday. She got a full passport as soon as she got the change of name deed and could travel with me as it’s an adult passport from 16. She changed her name to mine, my maiden name, so having the same names is easier as far as travel is concerned. As far as I can make out PR consent is irrelevant once using a full adult passport.

[MiMiChuna]

@PleaseletitbeSpring so helpful. Can I ask, did you use the enrolled deed poll route registered with the Royal courts of justice?
Does this mean there's a permanent record your DD can get copies of her names change if she lost any original paperwork? This is something that worries me for ID going forward as it's v easy to loose things or things can get damaged eg fire. Thinking of my DD's and my own 30+ yr old name change paperwork which isn't backed up anywhere.

[hedgehoglurker]

When is she 16? If it is before her exams, liaise with the school so that they are aware that she will be changing her name.

Follow Prh's knowledgeable advice on getting the change of name deed on her birthday. They've answered your questions with further info on enrolling the deed, but state it isn't necessary. Also, they've answered your question on changing before 16, but waiting until her birthday is simplest by far.

[CatCatCatCatCatCat]

@MiMiChuna

I was told differently altho this was about 10 yrs ago. I wa told in our case the father literally walked out of DD life overnight & never sought contact, moved 150 miles away. She was 1 year old. As such, she has no memories of him, no positive identity with him & if he challenged a name change in court he'd have no leg to stand on arguing that his name was critical & important for her identity. Her association with him is of abandonment & no love at all, there's nothing she wants reminding of him for. It's not positive for her to have his name or even neutral, it's harmful to her cos she feels branded by the person who has let her down the most in her life. So potentially damaging for mental health. I wish I'd dealt with this earlier in her life but the process has always felt overwhelming & I didn't appreciate how strong her feeling on it would become as she got oder rather than her assuming her own ownership of her surname.
i personally wouldn’t accept going thru courts to have double-barrelled for her as she'd still hate her name.

Sorry but if you were told that why didnt you do it at the time? I havent as i was told it wouldnt happen and that being absent is even more reason to keep the surname as it is the only link to the father

[prh47bridge]

@MiMiChuna

@prh47bridge literally in this last week I had to produce my original name change copy for a dbs application. I also have been told by DVLA directly I have to send the original off to them to change my paper drivers license to a photocard one, even tho my paper one is in the same surname as I had to provide proof following the initial change nearly 30 yrs ago.
It happens.
I need to look into enrolling with the royal courts of justice tho, thanks, not aware of that.

My son had to produce the deed when getting a passport. Having got that, he has never had to produce it since. DVLA accepted his passport as proof of identity and did not require anything else.

Whoever carried out your DBS check was wrong. A change of name deed is not one of the documents accepted for proving your identity, and it is not required under any circumstances. As long as your application showed your birth name, your current name and the date when you changed your name, and your birth certificate (if you used that as one of the documents) showed your birth name and other documents showed your current name, that is all that was required.

[PleaseletitbeSpring]

@MiMiChuna

@PleaseletitbeSpring so helpful. Can I ask, did you use the enrolled deed poll route registered with the Royal courts of justice?
Does this mean there's a permanent record your DD can get copies of her names change if she lost any original paperwork? This is something that worries me for ID going forward as it's v easy to loose things or things can get damaged eg fire. Thinking of my DD's and my own 30+ yr old name change paperwork which isn't backed up anywhere.

No. We didn’t go down that route. We just had a solicitor do it. She only needed it for her passport and has never needed proof since. She’s done two degrees and a master’s and got married, got a driving licence and never needed the change of name deed again.

[hedgehoglurker]

Also changed my son's name via a deed 15 years ago. We only had to produce the original for his new passport, which has been accepted as ID ever since. He is now an adult and never asked me for the original nor a copy.