To change your surname (your last name) in the UK, you make a deed poll that states your old name and your new one, sign it in front of two adult witnesses, and show it to each organisation that holds your records. Nobody has to approve it. The change is legal from the day you sign.
In England and Wales you can, strictly, change your name just by starting to use a new one. Proving it is the hard part. Your bank, the Passport Office and the DVLA will each want a document showing the change, and a deed poll is the document they expect to see.
Do you need a deed poll to change your surname?
Not always. It depends on why the name is changing.
If you are taking your spouse's or civil partner's surname, your marriage or civil partnership certificate usually does the job on its own (see changing your name after marriage). Going back to a previous surname after a divorce is similar: many organisations accept your marriage certificate alongside the final order, though some still ask for a deed poll. Our guide to reverting to your maiden name covers which is which.
Everything else needs a deed poll. That includes a double-barrelled surname, because a marriage certificate never shows the combined name, as well as taking a partner's name without marrying, dropping a parent's surname, or picking a completely new one.
Get your deed poll in the next few minutes
Fill in the form, check the preview, pay once. Your PDF downloads straight away — one payment of £19.99, no account and nothing that renews.
How much does it cost to change your last name?
The name change itself is free. There is no government fee and nothing to register.
What costs money is the paperwork. A deed poll from this site is £19.99, a solicitor will usually charge £50 to £150 for the same document, and you can write your own for nothing if you get the wording right. After that, updating your driving licence with the DVLA is free, but a new passport is not, and it is usually the biggest single cost. We break it down document by document in the full cost of changing your name.
Can you change your surname to anything you like?
Very nearly. The Passport Office will not print numbers or symbols, apart from hyphens and apostrophes, and it can refuse a name it considers offensive. Past that, the choice is yours.
What a new surname cannot do is wipe the slate clean. A deed poll does not cancel debts or court orders, and organisations keep your old and new names linked. If you have a criminal record, it stays with you under the new name.
Changing a child's surname
A child's surname can also be changed by deed poll, but the rules are tighter. Everyone with parental responsibility normally has to agree, and if one parent objects the change needs a court order. Young people aged 16 or 17 can sign their own deed poll. This site makes deed polls for children as well, for the same £19.99.
Who to tell after you change your surname
Start with the documents you use as ID, which for most people means a passport and a driving licence. Then your bank, your employer and HMRC. The rest can follow at your own pace: GP, pension, council tax, the electoral register, utilities, insurers. There is no deadline, and the name change checklist lists every organisation worth contacting.
Only changing part of your name? The same deed poll handles a new first name or a new middle name.