Introduction

In England and Wales any person can legally change their name to whatever he chooses simply by using the new name and through usage - in fact it is only by reputation and usage that a name can be changed. Change of name documents that are prepared are merely evidencing a change of name. The law does not prescribe any such legal procedure in order to validate a change name, however, any major organisation such as a bank or government department is unlikely to accept your word that you have by usage changed your name and will want to have some documentary evidence. Hence the need for a Change of Name Deed, Deed Poll, Statutory Declaration or other legal document as evidence. These are the different names for basically the same document which evidences a change of name.  

With a legal change of name document you can change your tax records, medical records, bank accounts, credit cards, driving licence, and passport etc. The process of changing the name is easy and is simply a matter of informing the relevant bodies and supplying your change of name document. Please note that a birth or marriage certificate cannot be changed.  

As long as you do not intend to do so for a fraudulent reason a person is free to change their name for whatever reason to whatever they desire and there is no legal limitation as to the number of times that a name can be changed. It is possible to change the forename, surname, or both or rearrange, add or remove names.