Updating your records and documents using the NotifyService™
Notice: We have decided to discontinue the NotifyService™, although we will continue to maintain the service for existing customers (and obviously continue to support and advise those customers).
Therefore the NotifyService™ is no longer available as an option in the application form.
We will nevertheless continue to help and support all our customers, after they have signed their deed poll, to update their documents and records into their new name — and all customers will continue to get —
- personalised guidance on how to update your official documents and records, and a check-list of organisations to contact
- a personally written cover letter to send to record holders
- for child applications, letters of consent and a cover letter justifying who has parental responsibility for your child — and who has to give their consent by law
You’re also welcome, of course, to phone or e-mail us with any questions you may have, or for legal or practical advice about how to change your name or how to use your deed poll.
We are also looking at releasing some parts of the NotifyService™ on our website in the near future as free services open to everyone.
Changing your name consists of two important steps —
- signing your deed poll document
- updating all your records and official documents to be in your new name
We’re the only deed poll service in the U.K. that also provides a notify service to help you with this second step — the task of updating all your records and official documents to be in your new name.
How the NotifyService™ works
For each service / organisation you want to update with your new name (e.g. your driving licence, or National Insurance records) there’ll be a certain process that has to be followed.
In each case, we know exactly what that process is, and we actively help you complete it (for each service / organisation) as quickly and easily as possible.
You simply need to log in to your NotifyService™ account, select the service you want to update, and then we’ll guide you through it.
How we help you update your records
Submit your details electronically
With some services (e.g. HMRC, TV Licensing) your records can be updated electronically, meaning we can securely submit your change of name details to that organisation, on your behalf. You’ll then get a confirmation from the organisation directly.
Generate pre-filled forms / paperwork
For other services (e.g. the electoral roll, HM Land Registry) you’ll need to complete certain forms or other paperwork, and then post them to that organisation.
We’ll automatically generate these forms as pre-filled PDF documents, ready for you to print out, sign, and send.
Show you exactly how to fill in (paper) forms
To update your driving licence or V5C vehicle registration certificate, you’ll need to fill in a (paper) application form and post it to DVLA. For your driving licence, we’ll order the right application form for you (DVLA will post it to you for free).
(To update your V5C you’d need to use a part of your existing V5C, which you should already have — although we’ll give you instructions in case you’ve lost or damaged it.)
In each case, we’ll show you, step-by-step, exactly how to fill in the whole form (with pictures, showing the correctly filled-in data).
Submit your passport application
We can securely submit your passport application details to HM Passport Office electronically, on your behalf. HM Passport Office will generate a declaration form which you’ll need to sign and send back to them, along with your deed poll and other supporting documents.
Generate fully typed-up cover letters
For any service or organisation which doesn’t have an application form (or other formal procedure) for updating your records (e.g. council tax, or private organisations and companies), we’ll generate a fully typed-up cover letter, ready to print out, sign, and send (with your deed poll).
An example: updating your driving licence
To renew your driving licence in your new name, for example, it would be like this —
1.
First, you’d need to log in to your NotifyService™ account, and choose the service / organisation you want to update (that is, your driving licence) —
2.
Then you’d choose the application form you need —
We’ll order your chosen form for you. (DVLA will post it to you for free.)
3.
We’ll show you, step-by-step, exactly how to fill in every section of the form (showing pictures of the form, filled in with the correct data) —
We work out what kind of application you need to make, and from that, we can tell you which sections you must fill in, and which ones can be left blank, and so on.
It often happens that your address might need updating (at the same time), or you might have lost your licence, or you might need to exchange a foreign licence — we take all these kinds of things into account too, and give you the right instructions.
4.
We’ll tell you —
- where to post your form
- what other documents you need to send
- what fee you need to send to DVLA, if any (renewing your licence is usually free though)
What organisations we support
At present we cover the most essential government services in England & Wales (or the U.K. as a whole), including —
- passport (HM Passport Office)
- driving licence (DVLA)
- V5C vehicle registration (DVLA)
- registration of land / property (HM Land Registry)
- income tax and National Insurance records (HMRC)
- Government Gateway account
- Child Benefit
- tax credits and benefits provided by HMRC or DWP
- benefits provided by your council
- council tax
- state pension (Pension Service)
- TV licence
- electoral roll
For any other service / organisation, we’ll generate a fully typed-up cover letter which you can send with your deed poll, to tell them about your change of name.
If you hold a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), you’ll also need to update your BRP to be in your new name. However this is not included in the NotifyService™ — you’d need to apply yourself, although we can certainly help you by answering any questions that you may have about it.
Limitations to the service
The NotifyService™ is currently only available to people who —
- are aged 16 or over
- are living in England & Wales
- apply online for a deed poll with us
At present, we only support official organisations which cover England & Wales (such as DVLA and HM Land Registry) or the U.K. as a whole (such as HM Passport Office and HMRC).
Thus we do not support services such as —
- the Northern Ireland DVA
- land registration in Scotland (Registers of Scotland)
- land registration in Northern Ireland (Land & Property Services)
How we handle your data
Security of your data
We take security very seriously. We use a layered approach to security (also called “defence in depth”) — meaning we combine many different practices at different levels to secure your data and mitigate threats.
This includes —
- strong encryption techniques (including AES-256
and RSA (with 4096-bit keys) where appropriate)
- strong password / pass-phrase policies
- use of secure (HTTPS) connections at all times
- exclusive use of the TLS encryption protocol (instead of the now-deprecated SSL)
- use of Extended Validation (EV) digital (TLS / SSL) certificates
- maintenance of server security (it’s our policy to always have a minimum A grade from Qualys SSL Labs — you can check this for yourself)
- destroying data after it’s been used and is no longer needed
We will never pass on your data to any 3rd party unless you specifically instruct us to (through your use of the NotifyService™), or we’re required to by law.
How long we keep your data
We keep data for as long as it’s needed (in order to update your records) — and then we carefully destroy it.
Destroying data after it’s been used is one part of mitigating the threat of it being stolen or lost. Destroying your data is not a simple matter, and (as with our approach to security generally) we take it very seriously.
Prices
For a single application, the NotifyService™ is £ 28.00.
If there is more than one person applying at the same time, we charge —
- £ 28.00 for the first applicant
- £ 4.00 for any subsequent applicants