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If you wish to change your name by deed poll, check your name change will be accepted by the following people:

• your employer
• any institute or professional body of which you are a member
• your country of origin, if you are a foreign national living in the UK
• the relevant authorities of the country in which you are living, if you are a UK national living overseas

Note: We no longer offer a change of name deed (Deed Poll) service for anyone under the age of 18.

Name restrictions

There are some restrictions about what you can change your name to and why. You may not change your name:

• in order to commit an illegal act such as fraud
• to something that is vulgar, offensive, blasphemous or unsuitable
• to imply or include a title such as Sir, Lord, Lady, Duke or Duchess
• to something that includes symbols or numbers

Documents required

When you phone to book your appointment with us you will be advised as to which documents you will need to bring to your appointment. All documents must be originals and not photocopies.

They may include one or more of the following:

• birth certificate showing the name which is to be changed
• passport
• marriage certificate
• decree absolute
• late spouse's death certificate

If you have married or entered into a civil partnership and decide to take the surname of your spouse, you do not have to complete an official change of name deed.

However, you should contact the passport office, and all other institutions such as banks, building societies and the DVLA to inform them that you have changed your name. Your marriage or civil partnership certificate is your proof of name change.

If you intend to be married abroad, overseas authorities will need to see both your passport and your birth certificate. If your passport and birth certificate show different names, you will need to prove that you have changed your name and that both documents relate to the same person. In these circumstances a change of name deed may be required.

If you have divorced or are widowed and you no longer want to be known by your former spouse's name, you have the option to revert to your previous name.

If you choose to change to a different name, or if an organisation requests it, you will need to complete an official change of name deed.
 

Changing your child's forename(s) within 12 months of the registration

A new or additional forename (or forenames) may be given to a child within 12 months after the registration of birth, whether in baptism or not may be recorded in the birth entry at any time after its completion.

A consideration fee of £44.00 is payable (an additional fee is also payable for a new birth certificate, if required).

Full details, including the relevant forms, are available from Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê×ÊÁÏͼ¿â Registration Services. Please call us on 01905 768181 or email: registeroffice@worcestershire.gov.uk.

Please note that it is not possible to change your child's surname by this method.

Changing your child's surname

You may be able to change your child's surname on the registration in certain circumstances:

Re-register a birth

A change of name deed (Deed Poll)

We no longer offer a change of name deed (Deed Poll) service for anyone under the age of 18.

The change of name deeds we issue are as legally valid as un-enrolled deeds issued by solicitors in England and Wales.

Exceptions to our guarantee

Our guarantee does not apply in the following situations:

• if you are a foreign national
• if your Deed Poll is not accepted by a government department, company or organisation outside the UK (British Embassies and British High Commissions overseas are considered part of the UK)
• if your Deed Poll for a child is not accepted because the record holder's parental consent requirements have not been met
• if a record holder is unable to enter your name correctly on their computer system; for example, because your name includes modified Latin characters or your forename or surname is too short
• if a record holder requires other documentary evidence that your name has been changed for "all purposes"
  • for example, some financial institutions and the General Medical Council will want to see your passport in your new name before they will recognise your new name
  • the UK Identity and Passport Service (and British Embassies and British High Commissions overseas) may require evidence that you are using your new name for all purposes by presenting them with two or three documents in your new name
• if you are detained under the Mental Health Act and your clinicians decide you do not have sufficient mental capacity to understand the significance and consequences of changing your name
• if the UK Identity and Passport Service (IPS) deem your new name to be in breach of their inappropriate and temporary name change policy
  • which states IPS will not issue a passport in a name they consider temporary or contains a political statement; a string of words that will not normally be considered a name, or a trademarked name

These are our fees:

• a single application is £50 (this includes indefinite storage in our secure vault)
• additional copies are £10 each

If you have been asked to make a payment, please use the link below.

When using the online system, please add the reference code you will have been sent via email before adding the payment option to the basket.