Telling organisations about your name change

Who you need to tell

When you change your name, you must tell everyone who holds a record of your details that you have changed your name.  If you deliberately fail to do so, you may be committing fraud.

Government bodies such as HM Passport Office will want to see your original deed poll, as will banks and other financial institutions, but most other organisations will accept a photocopy.

If you need to renew your passport, it is advisable to do this first, because your passport can be used as evidence of your name change for most other organisations, instead of your deed poll.

Organisations or people you should contact (with links to the relevant pages where possible) typically include:

  • current employer, and former employers where you have a pension
  • pension providers
  • Pension Service ↗ — to update your state pension records
  • school / college / university
  • landlord
  • HM Passport Office — to renew your passport
  • DVLA ↗ — to update your driving licence, vehicle registration certificate (V5C), and V750/V778 certificates (for unused personalised registration numbers)
  • HMRC ↗ (Inland Revenue) — to update your income income tax, tax credits, National Insurance, and Government Gateway ↗ records
  • Department of Work and Pensions ↗ (DWP) — for certain benefits, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Child Benefit Office ↗, if you’ve changed either you or your child’s name, and you’re claiming Child Benefit
  • HM Land Registry ↗, if you own land or property in England & Wales
  • Registers of Scotland ↗, if you own land or property in Scotland
  • Land & Property Services ↗ (LPS), if you own land or property in Northern Ireland
  • GP (who will update your NHS records for you)
  • dentist
  • any other healthcare professionals or clinics you go to
  • European Health Insurance Card ↗ (EHIC)
  • local council — for matters such as council tax, housing benefit and social services
  • electoral registration office at your local council (you shouldn’t just wait for an election to do this — or it may affect your credit rating)
  • utility companies (water, electricity, gas)
  • telephone company
  • mobile telephone company
  • Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  • TV Licensing ↗ — to update your TV Licence
  • banks / building society / credit card companies
  • mortgage provider
  • Student Loans Company ↗
  • any individual or company you’ve had loans from, or you owe money to
  • Child Trust Fund ↗ account provider
  • National Savings & Investments ↗, for example if you hold Premium Bonds
  • investment companies
  • companies you have shares in, share registrars, your CREST sponsor (e.g. your bank / stockbroker)
  • insurance companies (e.g. car, medical, life, household, endowments, buildings)
  • motoring organisations, e.g. AA, RAC
  • trade unions, and professional bodies you belong to
  • clubs, societies and associations
  • General Medical Council ↗, if you’re a doctor listed on the Medical Register — in which case you should complete either the GMC's online change of name form ↗ or paper change of name form ↗.  (Note that the GMC normally insists on seeing your passport in your old name and your updated passport in your new name — a deed poll isn’t sufficient evidence of your name change.)
  • General Pharmaceutical Council ↗, if you’re a registered pharmacist or pharmacy technician in Great Britain, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands — in which case you should complete the GPhC’s change of details form ↗
  • local library services

  • the police, in the following cases:

    • there are any criminal proceedings against you
    • you’re on the Violent and Sex Offender Register ↗ (ViSOR) — in which case you must notify the police within 3 days of the change of name — failure to do so is a criminal offence
  • your Offender Manager (or Probation Officer, in Northern Ireland), if you’re on probation
  • your Social Worker, if you’re serving a Community Payback Order (Scotland only)
  • your Official Receiver (and trustee, if applicable), and anyone you do business with, if you’re an undischarged bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order

  • U.K. Visas & Immigration ↗ (which is part of the Home Office), in the following cases:

    • you’ve applied for asylum, and you’re awaiting an outcome, in which case you should tell your Case Owner
    • you hold a Biometric Residence Permit — in which case you should complete form TOC (if you have “limited leave to remain”) or NTL (if you have “indefinite leave to remain”)
    • you hold a travel document issued by the Home Office — in which case you should complete form TD112 ↗

Organisations you may or may not need to tell

Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly Criminal Records Bureau)

You don't need to inform the Disclosure and Barring Service if you change your name, even if you've applied for a DBS check in the past (formerly called a CRB check).  However if you need to apply for another DBS check after changing your name, then at that point you’ll have to provide details of any changes of name.

Credit reference agencies

There are three credit reference agencies in the U.K. (Callcredit ↗, Equifax ↗  and Experian ↗), who may or may not hold information about you and your credit history.

You don’t normally need to tell these agencies about your change of name.  They should update their records automatically, to reflect your new name, once you start using it across your documents and records.

Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) holds records of most people in the U.K. (and of anyone who’s lived and worked in the U.K. in the past).

You don’t need to tell DWP just to update your National Insurance records.  You only need to tell HMRC, who will tell DWP on your behalf.

However you’ll need to tell DWP if you claim a State Pension or benefits from them, such as —