For children under 16 · free to use
A free deed poll for a child under 16
Make a deed poll to change your child’s name, ready to print or download. It’s signed by the people with parental responsibility, in front of two adult witnesses.
Your deed poll is ready
Check every name is spelt correctly, then download the PDF or print it.
We’ll send it once, with the PDF attached. No newsletters, no follow-ups.
Before you sign
- Print it on plain white A4. If you’ll send it to a few places at once, print two or three: each signed and witnessed copy is an original.
- Ask two adults who aren’t related to you and don’t live with you to be your witnesses.
- While they watch, sign where it shows each name. The witnesses then sign and add their own details.
Prefer it checked, printed and posted to you? changeyourname.co.uk does that as a paid service.
Who has to agree
Everyone with parental responsibility for the child has to agree to the new name, and they’re the ones who make and sign the deed poll. In England and Wales:
- the child’s birth mother always has parental responsibility, unless a court has removed it
- a father has it if the two of them were married, or civil partners, when the child was born
- an unmarried father has it if he’s named on the birth certificate and the birth was registered on or after 1 December 2003
- other people can have it through a court order or a parental responsibility agreement
If two of you share parental responsibility, choose “Two of us” and you’ll both sign. If you’re the only person who has it, choose “Only me” and tick to confirm. Please only do that if it’s true: the Passport Office and others can check, and a change made without everyone’s agreement can be overturned.
If someone doesn’t agree
Try to settle it between you first, perhaps with help from a family mediator. If that doesn’t work, the parent who wants the change can ask the family court to decide, using form C100 to apply for a specific issue order. The court decides on what’s best for the child.
The Passport Office won’t accept a child’s change of name unless everyone with parental responsibility has agreed, or a court has allowed it, so a deed poll signed by only one parent when two share responsibility won’t get you a passport in the new name.
Children aged 16 and 17
From 16, a young person can make their own deed poll using the form for adults and sign it themselves. Their parents don’t have to sign or agree.
The child’s own view
There’s no age at which a younger child has to give permission, but it makes sense to talk it through once they’re old enough to have an opinion. If a disagreement ever went to court, an older child’s wishes would carry real weight, and a child who likes their new name is far more likely to use it.
After it’s signed
Tell the child’s school, nursery or childminder, their GP and their dentist. If you get Child Benefit, let the Child Benefit Office know too.
For a passport in the new name, the Passport Office will want the signed deed poll, proof that everyone with parental responsibility agrees, and a document showing the child already uses the name, such as a letter from their school or GP. The full list of who to tell
Last reviewed 28 October 2026