Signing your deed poll and choosing witnesses
Your deed poll takes effect when you sign it in front of witnesses. It only takes a few minutes, but it’s the step most likely to go slightly wrong, so here’s how to get it right first time.
Last reviewed 28 October 2026
Before you sign
- Print it on plain white A4. Ordinary printer paper is fine. There’s no special paper in the rules, though black ink copies and scans best.
- Check every name and the address. If you spot a mistake, make a new one rather than correcting it by hand. Crossings-out make organisations wary.
- Print enough copies. Each copy that’s signed and witnessed on the day is an original. If you’ll be sending it to several places at once, two or three originals save a lot of waiting.
- Have a pen ready. Every signature has to be handwritten in ink. A typed, printed or digital signature won’t be accepted.
- Keep it flat and unlaminated. DVLA, for one, asks people not to send laminated certificates.
Who can be a witness
You need two witnesses, both aged 18 or over. That’s what GOV.UK’s guidance asks for. The Passport Office itself only insists on one, but two keeps everyone happy.
The safest choice is someone who:
- isn’t a close relative or your partner
- doesn’t live at your address
- is happy to write their name and address on the document
Friends, neighbours and people you work with are all fine. A witness doesn’t need to be a solicitor, a doctor or anyone official, and doesn’t need to have known you for a set number of years. They’re simply confirming that they watched you sign.
How to sign it, step by step
- Get everyone together in the same place at the same time. The witnesses need to actually see you sign.
- If the date isn’t printed on it, write in the date you’re signing.
- Sign above “Signature in my new name”, using the signature you’ll use from now on.
- Sign above “Signature in my former name”, the way you’ve always signed.
- Each witness signs in their own section and prints their full name and address.
- If you printed more than one, sign each copy the same way while everyone is still there.
That’s it. Your deed poll is now in force, and you can start using your new name.
Signing a child’s deed poll
The person or people with parental responsibility sign where their names are printed, in the same way, with the same two witnesses watching. The child doesn’t need to sign.
Your new signature
Your new signature can be anything you like, but it helps if it looks settled, because it’ll go on your passport, your bank card and everything else from now on. Practise it a few times before the day. Your old signature is just your usual one, so organisations can match it to what they already have.
Mistakes that get deed polls sent back
- Signed in only one name. It needs both your new and your old signature.
- No witness, or a witness who didn’t write their name and address.
- A witness who is a close relative or lives with you, which some organisations won’t accept.
- No date, or a date that isn’t the day it was signed.
- A photocopy or scan sent in place of the original.
- Handwritten corrections.
- A typed or digital signature.
If any of these has already happened, see what to do if it’s rejected.
Keeping it safe
Keep your originals flat and dry, with your birth certificate and passport. When an organisation asks for an original, use a tracked postal service, and keep a note of where each copy has gone. That’s why it’s worth signing a few originals on the day.