Name change guide

A guide to changing your name because it's an administrative hassle and I wish I had some shortcuts

View the Project on GitHub DuffleOne/name-change

UK Passport

Needs

The government website is pretty accurate here so I’ll just paste that here, accurate as of Oct 2021.

Send one of the following when you apply for a passport:

  • a Gender Recognition Certificate
  • a new birth or adoption certificate showing your acquired gender
  • a letter from your doctor or medical consultant confirming your change of gender is likely to be permanent

If you’re sending a letter from your doctor or medical consultant and you’re changing your name, you’ll also need to supply both of the following:

  • evidence of your change of name (such as a deed poll)
  • evidence that you’re using your new name (for example a payslip, or a letter from your local council)

What they don’t tell you about:

Introduction

This one is a doozy, it is where I tripped up. But it can be done. The pay off is incredible though when you get a passport in your hands with your name in it!

I changed my name and gender at once, so I cannot comment for doing it in two stages or if that is possible.

Also, if you have a gender recognition certificate already, wow, I’m jealous, you’ll find this easy. For everyone else, here is what I had and it worked:

I found I could not apply online either, I had to do it in-person. If you find a way to do it online, do share! 😊

Application process

  1. Pick up an application form from your local post office
  2. Fill in the form at home
  3. Collect your various supporting documents
  4. Visit the passport office website and arrange an in-person appointment
  5. Attend the appointment in-person
  6. Wait for the passport to arrive in the post

Sounds simple, but those supporting documents can be tricky.

Stage 1

I’m going to use emoji to depict which box I ticked hehe, but I did this as advised with a black biro. I ticked both new name and new photo as I at this time had started HRT and it’d been a while since my last photo, my hair length alone had changed significanty.

Stage 2

Fill this entire section in (I know I’ve left it blank, only because I don’t want to fill in any real details). What I want to highlight here is where and how to enter your new and old names.

In this exampe, Mr John Edward Smith is changing her name to Miss Jane Edie Smith. Tick for your chosen title, and enter your new surname and first and middle names as directed. In the “Maiden or all previous names” field, enter your name with your lastname first, then first and middle. It is weird as it’s not reversed, it’s kinda jumbled.

Tick for your gender, not your assigned gender at birth.

Stage 3

Here, enter your old passport number. Tick for ‘Yes’. You can leave Section 3c blank.

Stage 4

This one is tricky, because I did not know this information myself and had to get my parents to help. If you have an odd relationship with your parents, then maybe a grandparent can help? Or if you’re not comfortable sharing this step with them, get them to fill it in first before the rest, saying you’re just renewing the photo alone, then fill your own part later.

I personally filled this section in, but in the “Get it right” section, it would seem like it could be skipped? It doesn’t ask you to fill it in for an application for a photo or name change. If you don’t have an easy ability to get these details for your parents, try skipping it. 🤷‍♀️

For section 5, fill that in as you need. As a British citizen at birth, I ticked “No” and left the rest blank.

I left section 6, 7, and 8 blank.

Drop your signature in section 9! Leave the name field below blank.

If you also had new photos taken, even if you look similar, I would get them signed. It may be over the top but if you feel as attached to getting a form of ID with your new name on it, leave nothing to chance. Finding a counter-signaturtory is tricky, I used my boss at work. Only one of the two photos should be signed.

Your signatory must fill in section 10 themselves with their details.

Additional information available here:

Supporting documents

Deed poll

Check out the page linked for more information, but this one is simple thankfully. Just use one of the original documents you’ve made and be sure to include it as a supporting document.

Proof of name usage

Here I used a payslip from work, this one can be tricky for some who are not out at work yet. But if you’ve signed a deed poll, you should inform your work place about your new legal name. Thankfully my workplace was able to update my name with our third-party payslip service and they issued a new payslip using my new name.

Your proof document must have all name elements on it. First, middle name(s) and last name(s). This is what tripped me up the first time. Ensure that if you’re changing your middle name, it must be present on the document!

Letter from a medical consultant

This one was tricky as I couldn’t convince my GP to issue this letter by themselves, especially as they were not really involved in any part of my transition. They do have a shared-care agreement with another clinic, but their involvement is relatively limited.

I did thankfully have another therapist who referred me to the transgender clinic. I reached out to their office and they issued a set of letters to my GP, the passport office, and the DVLA for use in applications! All saying they say my gender change is likely permanent. Incredible. I printed that letter out and put it straight into the application packet.

If you have not consulted a therapist yet about your transition, you may struggle here. I would recommend trying your GP if possible, even if you’re not keen to medically transition in any way. A specialist therapist in the field of gender identity can be absurdly expensive, and a barrier to entry here. 😭