Dd wants to change her name before her gcses

[fitforflighting]

So that her chosen surname is on her gcse certificates.
We have very little contact with exh. She hasn't seen him in years but he would refuse her.
She would turn 16 in March. Would that be in enough time before they subject them for gcse exams? Not sure how long in advance they inform the board who I taking the exams or how it works.

You need to speak to the Examinations Officer at her school, because they may be in the process of entering her for the exams now. So you'll need to let him/her know that you are considering this.

We had a similar issue with names on GCSE certificates and it was an almighty struggle to get the name we wanted.

I don't know anything about the legal process, but it would be worth talking to the school's exams officer to see if she can have her chosen name on her certificate whether or not it has all gone through at that time?
My understanding is you can use whatever name you like in your life as long as "there is no intent to deceive"

x-post!

There is no legal way your daughter can change her name before she is 18. However, she can start to use her chosen name whenever she wants so long as it isn't for fraudulent reasons. You and she need to formally tell the school in writing that as of (insert date) your daughter wishes to be known as such a name and this includes exam entries.

Thank you.
I know the legal process. As long as she is 16 she can just do it herself without permission.
I just needed to know when they entered. Thanks very much I will ask examination officer.

She doesn't want a nan she hates on certificates she has to have for life :(

I don't know if it does include exam entries. In my experience (which is only primary so I'm prepared to admit I'm wrong) pupils who go by another name have to use their official name on exam papers.

*name.
Xpost
Really Penfold? We have been told she can apply for her own deed poll at 16.

It seems that, if you are in the UK, you can change your name by deed poll if you are over 18. If you are under 18, you have to have the agreement of everyone with parental responsibility (does her father have this?) or with the consent of the court.

www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll/change-a-childs-name

I imagine a court would look favourably on a request to change the surname of a 16 year old who has had no contact with her father in years, but whether there is the time to do it before the application for her GCSEs goes in is another matter, which is why you need to speak to the Examinations Officer.

My DS has always been known by an abbreviation of his middle name. So let's say he's called David Peter Richard Smith but he's always been known as Pete Smith. Even though all his school records have him down as Pete Smith, the school was obliged to register him for his GCSEs as David Smith - a name he has never used! We had to push hard to get it re-registered and even then, the best we could agree was D. Peter R. Smith. It was simply impossible to get his "known by" name of Pete on the certificates, because that is not his legal name.

I honestly believe that you have to wait until your an 'adult' and no longer a 'minor' if you don't have both parents' permission www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll/change-a-childs-name unless you go the court order route.

If I've made a mistake I'm really sorry.

My DC are at school under a 'known by' name for the same reason as op - to be honest I don't think school (secondary) even have their official name!! I saw a solicitor about changing them officially but it was going to be a nightmare and she advised for kids to just do it themselves at 16.

I'm in Scotland do that may be different.

It is 16 rather than 18 for a name change.

Scotland is different to England & Wales.

I know it was some years ago. but I had a deed poll at 13

The exams officer will be entering pupils now for the summer exams and will have to use the current name on her birth certificate. I suspect March will be too late, I am afraid .

Our school has recently had a few cases where pupils want to change their surnames as they want to apply for MFL courses at top unis and don't want it to be obvious they are native speakers of said language. The aim is to change their surname to their Mother's English sounding name rather than Father's Russian/Spanish etc surname to fool the unis. Apparently this does work quite well. However it needs to be done well in advance of the exam periods.

Consent for name change is 16 except in certain circumstances these are where a residence order, special guardianship order or care order has been issued after 1 September 2009 and is still valid so basically unless the child is already under a court order of some sort they can change their name at 16 without parental consent or the permission of the court.

I think if people don't know the answer to this they shouldn't just speculate. OP I know exactly how your dd feels because I had the same problem in my GCSE year and my mum and I insisted the school change my name on their records so my exam certificates would be in the right name. Thank god I did. The next few years I had to produce those certificates repeatedly and I would have hated to have to explain my name over and over again.

'Legally' - the law isn't a tick box, there are no definite steps to changing a name. However, to ensure I had a piece of paper confirming that someone in authority had agreed to the change, I also asked my step-dad to adopt me and used the adoption certificate later to prove my name for the purpose of getting a passport and driving licence in the right name.

You can change exam entries up until the day of the exams but it gets progressively more expensive the closer you get. So even if school enter her and you want her name changed it would be possible but you might need to pay for the changes.

I changed my name by deed poll, but had to wait until my 18th birthday as before then I had to have my fathers consent and he would have refused.

All my gcse and college Certs are in my original name. My marraige certificate has both names which upset me.

I currently still have my married name, I divorced years ago but kept it for the children. I will complete my degree in 2018, and that will be in my married name - DP and I have plans to marry, but sadly it won't be before then, which means I'm stuck with it.

Four names by the time I'm 40. I'm collecting them

But to add, she will never be able to fully get away from her current surname.

On every form ever, passport, drivers, crb checks etc, you have to list previous names as well as current. Is pretty shit tbh.

The school has to put her legal name on the exam entries. It's very unlikely that you will be able to get a change through in time for the summer exam series.

It may be more straightforward in the future for her to present her qualifications with proof of her change of name. Get a couple of authenticated copies of the deed poll when you do get it to make this easier.

Just to add - if you and DD's father were married at the time of registering the birth, he theoretically has parental responsibility, and she'll need his permission too at 16.

Blue - it is possible to get away from the birth surname. I've got away from mine. It was changed when I was a child and then changed again when I got married. So now when I fill in forms, I put my married surname and when it asks for a maiden/previous name, I use the surname that I acquired as a child and never use my birth surname. Often it will only have space for one name anyway and I have not had to show my birth certificate for decades. It's part of the reason I really wanted to take dh name when got married - to fully shake off birth name.

You do not need a parents permission once you reach 16 except in circumstances listed in the post at 19.43.

I bow to the superior knowledge of Baronesss and Four as I don't have direct experience of this, but that isn't the guidance on gov.uk.