What is different in Scotland#
Two things, and they are often confused.
The evidence of a change is the same. A deed poll is a document you sign in front of witnesses declaring the change of name, and it proves the change in Scotland as it does anywhere else in the UK. HM Passport Office and DVLA are UK-wide bodies and accept one wherever you were born. A statutory declaration, a sworn statement made in front of a solicitor or notary, does the same job and is the more traditional Scottish document. Neither is registered anywhere on its own.
The record is what differs. In England and Wales a birth certificate is never amended for a later change of name. In Scotland, if your birth was registered there, National Records of Scotland can record the change against your birth entry, so that new copies of your birth certificate show your new name alongside your previous one. That is a record, not a requirement: NRS's own guidance says it costs £40, plus £10 for each additional family member applying at the same time, and nothing obliges you to do it. The birth certificate checker sets the Scottish record beside the other UK registers.
GOV.UK's deed poll guide points people born in Scotland to these different rules, which is where the idea that "deed polls do not work in Scotland" comes from. They do; the NRS record is an extra, available only to people whose births are registered in Scotland.
Changing your name as an adult#
From 16 you decide for yourself, without anyone's agreement, and there is no need to give a reason.
- Make the evidence. A deed poll, signed in front of two independent adult witnesses, or a statutory declaration sworn before a solicitor or notary. Ours is £18.50, posted the same working day to any UK address, and is accepted by HM Passport Office, DVLA and Scottish organisations alike.
- Record it with NRS, if you want to. Only if your birth was registered in Scotland. NRS records a change of forename once and a change of surname up to three times, with at least five years between surname changes, and it does not record a change made on marriage, divorce or civil partnership, because the certificate already evidences those. You apply by post on NRS's form for anyone aged 16 or over, signed by hand; the form itself is the application and does not ask for a deed poll or statutory declaration. NRS aims to email you within 20 days to confirm the details and ask for payment, and within 15 working days of payment to confirm the change, after which you can order new certificates showing both names. NRS does not send a replacement certificate automatically.
- Tell the organisations that hold your records, in the same order as anywhere else: the ones that produce a document in your new name first, then passport and licence, then the rest. Who to tell, and in what order.
Changing a child's name#
A child under 16 cannot change their own name. A parent applies on the child's behalf. Scots law lets each parent with parental rights act alone, but a parent making a major decision must give the child the chance to give their views and, where practicable, take account of the other parent's; in practice National Records of Scotland and HM Passport Office both want everyone who holds parental rights and responsibilities to agree. Scots law uses that phrase where England uses "parental responsibility", and GOV.UK notes that Scotland has its own rules on who holds it. Where the parents cannot agree, the decision is one for the sheriff court, not for a deed poll. Changing a child's name covers the rest of the process, most of which is the same across the UK.
Where the child's birth was registered in Scotland, a parent can also apply to NRS to record the change against the birth entry, on NRS's forms for children. A child under 16 can have one change of forename and one change of surname recorded. A young person of 16 or 17 applies for themselves, on the adult form.
Born in Scotland, living elsewhere#
You can still record a change with NRS: the record follows the birth entry, not your address, and you apply by post on the same form. Once it is recorded, the new birth certificate showing both names is evidence of the change in its own right: HM Passport Office's guidance tells its staff they must accept a Scottish birth certificate as evidence of a change of name. A deed poll is the quicker route if you need evidence straight away, because the NRS record takes some weeks. The organisations that hold your records are told in exactly the same way as for anyone else.
Born elsewhere, living in Scotland#
A deed poll or statutory declaration is your evidence, and it works with every Scottish organisation and every UK-wide one. The NRS record is not available, because your birth entry is not in the Scottish register; if you were born in England or Wales, the General Register Office does not record changes of name at all, and if you were born in Northern Ireland, the General Register Office for Northern Ireland can record one on similar terms to NRS. Can I change the name on my birth certificate? covers each register.
What HM Passport Office and DVLA want#
The same as for anyone else in the UK. HM Passport Office asks for the original deed poll, or the statutory declaration, and one document showing you already use the new name; a change of name means a new passport, £102 online. DVLA changes the name on a driving licence free, on form D1 from a Post Office, sent with the licence and the original evidence. An NRS record is not required by either. If you have one, HM Passport Office's guidance says its staff must accept the new Scottish birth certificate, showing both names, as evidence of the change.
The statutory declaration, if you choose that route#
A statutory declaration is a written statement that you declare to be true in front of a person authorised to take declarations: a solicitor, a notary public or a justice of the peace. For a change of name it states the name you were born with, the name you have adopted, and that you will use the new name for all purposes. The person taking the declaration signs and stamps it, and usually charges a small fee. It does the same job as a deed poll for every organisation, including HM Passport Office, whose guidance accepts a statutory declaration as evidence of a change of name. Neither document needs the other; choose whichever is easier to arrange.
Statutory declarations of name change covers who can take one and what it costs.
Marriage, civil partnership and divorce in Scotland#
The same as elsewhere in the UK for the evidence: the marriage or civil partnership certificate is enough to take a spouse's surname (changing your name after marriage), and the certificate with the decree of divorce or dissolution evidences a return to a former name. NRS says its change of name service cannot be used for a change on marriage, divorce or civil partnership, because the certificate already records the link between the names. A first name changed at the same time is a separate change, evidenced by a deed poll or statutory declaration, and that part can be recorded with NRS if your birth is registered there.
What NRS asks you to send#
The signed application form (NRS has one for anyone aged 16 or over, and separate forms for children), sent by post, with an email address for all correspondence. NRS does not take online applications, and its form does not ask for a deed poll or statutory declaration. The fee, £40 plus £10 for each additional family member applying at the same time, is paid once NRS emails you instructions. NRS does not send a replacement birth certificate automatically; once the change is recorded, you order new certificates, which show both names.
Enrolment does not apply#
Enrolling a deed poll with the High Court is an England and Wales procedure, run by the Royal Courts of Justice in London; Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have procedures of their own. There is no Scottish equivalent, and there is no need for one: the NRS record is the Scottish way of putting a change of name on an official register, and it is optional.
