A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention. It is, strictly speaking, not a contract because it binds only one party and expresses an intention instead of a promise.
For the sake of simplicity, we refer to name change documents as a deed polls throughout this website.
Formal registration of the deed poll with the UK government is not a legal requirement and 99% of deed poll documents are not registered.
If you do want the deed poll registered, it is called enrolment and the document is lodged at the High Court of Justice and placed on a deed poll register. The enrolment of the deed is then announced in The London Gazette.
The register of deed polls is searchable.
In England and Wales and Northern Ireland a name change by deed poll will never change your name of your birth certificate, you are simply now known by a new name and you may be required to produce your birth certificate and deed poll when changing your name with some Government department or official bodies.
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