If you have a student loan with the Student Loans Company (SLC), you should update your name after a deed poll to ensure your account and repayment records are accurate. The SLC links your loan account to your National Insurance number — which does not change — but the name associated with your account should reflect your current legal name to avoid discrepancies when HMRC reports your income and the SLC calculates repayments.
Updating your name with the SLC is straightforward. You can contact them through their online account portal or by phone (0300 100 0611 for English and Welsh graduates; separate numbers for Scottish students and postgraduates). They will ask you to provide a certified copy of your deed poll. Once updated, your account correspondence, repayment statements, and any communications from the SLC will be issued in your new name.
It is worth noting that if you are still a student, you should also notify your university's student records office of the name change at the same time — the two systems are separate and each will need to be updated independently. For recent graduates, updating the SLC is usually sufficient to keep loan records consistent with HMRC's records, but if you receive any discrepancy notices, contact the SLC directly.