Guides and updates about changing your name by Deed Poll in the UK
The statutory declaration of name history is the document HMPO points to when no contemporaneous evidence of a name change exists. What it swears, why it is signed in the new name only, and how the 1835 Act formula works.
You became a different name years ago and never signed anything. Now the Passport Office wants evidence "from the time". Why a deed dated today fails, what a statutory declaration of name history does, and the evidence-of-use rule nobody warns you about.
Swearing a statutory declaration before a solicitor costs £5 - fixed by law since 1993. Drafting is where prices vary wildly. Here is the full 2026 cost breakdown, including the magistrates court route and realistic all-in totals.
A dropped apostrophe, a transliterated surname, an initial instead of a forename - when records disagree about your spelling, a sworn declaration states that every version refers to you. What it says, what it costs, and the one case it cannot fix.
Pensions, probate, property and old accounts often surface records in a maiden name. Here is when your marriage certificate is all you need - and when a sworn "one and the same person" declaration is the document that unblocks things.
If a deed poll website keeps taking a small monthly payment — often around £2.95 — you've almost certainly been enrolled in a subscription hidden in the checkout small print. Here's what the charge is, how to cancel it through the company or your bank, and how to pay for a name change once.
A simple 2026 guide to changing your name on your utility bills and household accounts — gas, electricity, water, broadband, mobile and your TV Licence. Most are free and done in minutes.
Most UK universities won’t reissue a degree certificate in a new name after graduation — but you can update your record with professional regulators. Here’s exactly how.