Child Deed Poll

Names of minors (under 16) can also be changed by a Deed Poll.

Child Deed Poll is a legal document that proves a change of name of a child. The document will show your child's new and former names. It must be signed by all those who have parental responsibility for the child concerned, i.e. the mother and/or the father. A comprehensive guide will be provided.

We guarantee that all UK public and private organisations will accept our Deed Poll or your money back! 

The online process is simple and takes few minutes to complete. We will post your Deed Poll the next working day by recorded delivery in a board-backed envelope.

To change your child's name by a Deed Poll, you must have full parental responsibility. If the child's mother and father both have parental responsibility, then they both need to agree on the change of name. You can select who has parental responsibility when you Apply, and our team will draft the Deed Poll accordingly.

If you have sole parental responsibility, you do not need anyone else's consent to change your child's name.

When a married couple has a child together, they both have parental responsibility. If the couple gets divorced, their joint parental responsibility continues, and both must agree on the change of name of their child.

If both parents have parental responsibility, but permission cannot be obtained from one of them, because they refuse to consent, or their whereabouts are unknown, then a specific court order needs to be obtained.

In the UK, the mother has parental responsibility at the child's birth. However, the law relating to the father's rights vary according to where and when the birth was registered.

England and Wales:

The father has parental responsibility if he was married to the mother at the time of the child's birth. An unmarried father will not have parental responsibility unless he is named on the birth certificate (from 1st December 2003 onwards), has a parental responsibility agreement with the mother or has a court order.

Northern Ireland:

The father has parental responsibility if he was married to the mother at the time of the child's birth. If a father marries the mother after the child's birth, he has parental responsibility if he lives in Northern Ireland at the time of the marriage. An unmarried father will not have parental responsibility unless he is named on the birth certificate (from 15th April 2002 onwards).

Scotland:

The father has parental responsibility if he's married to the mother when the child is conceived, or marries her at any point afterwards. An unmarried father has parental responsibility if he's named on the child's birth certificate (from 4th May 2006 onwards).