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N

Name

Your name, meaning your family name/surname is your personal property and Social Services cannot change it, unless they get permission from your parents, or if you are in care, from the courts.

Sometimes you may be confused or not happy with your name.

If you are over 16 years old:

• you can change your name legally by a process called Deed Poll, or by a Statutory Declaration.
• a solicitor could advise you about this and tell you whether you would have to pay for it.
• you may be able to get legal aid, which means that you would not have to pay. However, if you did want to find out more information about changing your name, you should try talking to your social worker first. Your social worker would talk with you about the reasons you might want to do this so that they could help you make sure this was what you really wanted to do.

If you are under 16  years old:

If you feel strongly that you want to change your name, it is still possible, but you will need the help of your social worker. You will usually need permission from your parents, but if they wont give it then an application can be made to the court.

If you did not want to change your name officially by Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration you can decide to call yourself by a different name without making it official, and you can use this name for almost anything. However, you might have to produce evidence that the change has been made for all purposes. For example, when you apply for a passport you might be asked for evidence of your new name. So changing your name officially might be easier in the end.

If you use a new name for fraud purposes for example to avoid paying income tax, or to try and claim benefits for which you are not entitled, you may be committing a criminal offence.

If you change your name:

• all official records or documents will need to be adjusted and all organisations, doctors, schools, banks, etc that you deal with will need to be informed of a change of name.
• it may be that they will require evidence of a formal name change document like a Statutory Declaration.

If you are adopted, your name will change legally and so does your birth certificate, and other documents.