You can change your child’s name at any time — so long as they are under the age of 16 years. You don’t have to have a valid reason, but everyone with parental responsibility must agree to the change.
The process of changing a child’s name is just the same as for an adult, so for more general information you should look at our advice on how to change your name.
Note that young people over the age of 16 can change their own name by deed poll — they don’t need the consent of anyone with parental responsibility. This doesn’t apply if there is a court order still in force forbidding the change of name.
Note: The rest of this page is about who has to give their consent to change a child’s name. There is a lot of information, and the rules about who has parental responsibility are quite complex.
For most people, we recommend you just go ahead and fill in the application form. The form will work out who has to give consent to change your child’s name. The information you fill in will then also be checked by a deed poll officer.
To change a child’s name by deed poll, everyone with parental responsibility for the child must agree to the change of name in writing. Official bodies will insist on seeing this written consent (as well as the deed poll) when you update the child’s records.
Alternatively, you can make a statutory declaration confirming that everyone with parental responsibility has agreed to the change of name. However this is only possible if there are no court orders in force concerning the child — otherwise, you must have everyone’s written consent. Note that making a false statutory declaration is a criminal offence.
If you cannot get everybody’s consent, then you will have to get a court order permitting the change of name — typically a Specific Issue Order.
It is good practice to get the consent of all the child’s parents even if one of the parents doesn’t have parental responsibility. In cases where a dispute reaches the courts, the court tends to particularly resist changes of surname — it is considered to be an important link of identity to the child’s father (or mother, as the case may be). There have been cases where a child’s father has obtained a court order to reverse a change of surname even without having parental responsibility for the child. For more information, see below about changing a child’s surname when the father doesn’t have parental responsibility.
If your child is resident in Scotland, it is enough that one person with parental responsibilities gives their consent to the change of name, but that person must make a written statement that they have consulted everyone else with parental responsibilities about the change, as far as practical, and taken their views into account. Official bodies will insist on seeing this written statement (as well as the deed poll) when you update the child’s records.
When it comes to child law, the terms mother and father do not necessarily refer to the natural (biological) mother and father. When the law talks about the parents of a child, it always means the legal parents, unless it’s written explicitly otherwise.
Since 6th April 2009, it is possible for a woman to be named the second parent of a child, instead of a father.
Whether or not someone is recognised as the mother, father or second parent of a child implies nothing about whether that parent has parental responsibility — these are separate issues.
For the purposes of this site, mother and father are normally taken to mean the legal mother and father, which are defined as follows:
The mother is defined to be the woman who gives birth to the child. Even in the case of a surrogate mother, the woman who gives birth is recognised to be the legal mother at the time of the child’s birth.
Note that in the case of a surrogacy arrangement, the commissioning parents — the couple who arranged for the surrogate mother to carry a child for them — need to apply to the courts for a Parental Order that allows them to re-register the birth and be named as the child’s parents.
The father or second parent is defined as follows:
Parental responsibility (or in Scotland, parental responsibilities and rights) is defined as:
all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property
Parental responsibility gives an individual legal rights in respect of the child. More than one person may hold parental responsibility for a child, and they will not lose that parental responsibility because some other person subsequently acquires parental responsibility for the child.
To change a child’s name, you need the consent of all people with parental responsibility, or a court order permitting the change of name.
A child’s mother automatically acquires parental responsibility at birth.
If the parents were married at the time of birth, then the father acquires parental responsibility at the same time as the mother. The father can acquire parental responsibility in other ways, but the precise rules depend on where the birth was registered:
A child’s father acquires parental responsibility in any of the following cases:
A child’s father acquires parental responsibility in any of the following cases:
A child’s father acquires parental responsibility in any of the following cases:
A child’s father acquires parental responsibility in any of the following cases:
If the child was born outside the U.K., but is now resident in the U.K., a child’s father has parental responsibility under the same rules as though the child were born in England.
If the child has a second female parent, then she has parental responsibility if:
and for births registered in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, if:
Note that this assumes the second female parent is recognised as a second parent according to the definition above. If the mother was married at the time of birth, or at any time since the birth, then her husband will be presumed to be the father.
If a child has been adopted, all parents named on the adoption certificate have parental responsibility. Anyone who had parental responsibility for the child prior to adoption loses their parental responsibility upon adoption.
A guardian (or testamentary guardian) is someone who has been appointed to have parental responsibility of a child on the death of a parent (or guardian). A guardian can be appointed by any parent with parental responsibility, another guardian, or a special guardian in the event of their own death. Guardians can also be appointed by the court in certain situations.
For children resident in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (at the time of the guardian’s appointment), the guardian will not always have parental responsibility for the child. A guardian only acquires parental responsibility in one of the following cases:
For children resident in Scotland (at the time of the guardian’s appointment), the guardian acquires parental responsibility on the death of the parent, even if there is another parent or guardian with parental responsibility still available.
If a special guardian has been appointed for a child, the special guardian has parental responsibility as long as the Special Guardianship Order is in force. The special guardian can exercise parental responsibility to the exclusion of all others with parental responsibility (including parents and holders of Residence Orders) except for another special guardian.
To change the child’s forenames, all special guardians of the child must give their consent; no-one else with parental responsibility need give consent.
However, to change the surname of the child, every person who has parental responsibility must give their written consent, or the court must give their leave.
A father who doesn’t have parental responsibility can obtain it by:
Note that this applies both to the legal father, and to the natural (biological) father where no other man has been recognised as the legal father.
For a child born as a result of fertility treatment at a licensed clinic, where:
then the second parent can obtain parental responsibility by:
A father who is not married to his child’s mother can obtain parental responsibility by:
If a child’s parent already has parental responsibility, and they are married or in a civil partnership with someone else — that is, the child’s step-mother or step-father — then the step-parent can obtain parental responsibility by:
Note that in the past it was much more common for step-parents to apply to adopt their step-child. The law was changed in 2002 to allow step-parents to get parental responsibility much more easily — that is, through an agreement with the other parents, or by a court order.
Note that in the past it was much more common for step-parents to apply to adopt their step-child. The law was changed in 2002 to allow step-parents to get parental responsibility much more easily — that is, through an agreement with the other parents, or by a court order.
Adopting your step-child is generally more difficult to do. The court will only agree to it if they believe it is in the best interests of the child. Normally you would need the consent of everyone with parental responsibility — including the other birth parent — but the court may decide to award the adoption regardless, if it is in the best interests of the child.
Adopting your step-child does not affect your spouse’s parental responsibility. After the adoption, you would have joint parental responsibility. However, the child’s other birth parent (and anyone else with parental responsibility) would lose their parental responsibility. It also cancels out any existing orders, such as Contact Orders, Residence Orders, and Special Guardianship Orders.
Adopting your step-child does not affect your spouse’s parental responsibility. After the adoption, you would have joint parental responsibility. However, the child’s other birth parent (and anyone else with parental responsibility) would lose their parental responsibility. It also cancels out any existing orders, such as Contact Orders, Residence Orders, and Special Guardianship Orders.
Other people can obtain parental responsibility of a child by:
The following groups of people will not have normally have parental responsibility unless they have acquired parental responsibility in some other way:
Parental responsibility cannot be given up, transferred, or delegated to anyone else. Parental responsibility is lost only when:
Parental responsibility is not lost solely because:
If you want to remove someone’s parental responsibility, you should apply to the court for a Specific Issue Order. This application can only be made by someone who has parental responsibility, or the child themself (if they are considered mature enough by the court). However, parental responsibility is only revoked in exceptional circumstances — you will have to show that it is in the best interests of the child. Absence of contact is not thought to be a good enough reason on its own to remove parental responsibility.
Anyone can apply to the court for a for a Declaration of Parentage, provided that they have sufficient personal interest in the outcome, but this does not guarantee any decision about parental responsibility.
One common situation is when a child’s legal father has parental responsibility, but he is not the natural (biological) father. If the mother wants to change the child’s name in this sort of case, the "wrong" father will nevertheless need to give his consent, even if his non-paternity is proven by a DNA test. A person can only lose parental responsibility by order of the court.
Note that if the birth certificate is corrected to remove the wrong father’s details — and even if the natural father’s details are later added — the originally registered father will not lose his parental responsibility. It must be removed by a court.
According to the law, you must obtain the consent of everyone with parental responsibility to change a child’s surname. All official bodies will insist on having consent from everybody in writing. If you have a passport issued in the new surname and the IPS discovers that a person with parental responsibility has not given their consent, they will reclaim your passport.
If you want to change your child’s surname against the wishes of someone else with parental responsibility, you should obtain a court order — normally a Specific Issue Order (although any order that deals with the issue of permitting the change of name is acceptable). Official bodies will accept the court order in place of the consent.
In the past, people have been more relaxed about changing the surname of a child, but since a notable court case in 1997, the courts have been very reluctant to allow a change of surname. In law, a child’s change of surname is fundamental and no official body should allow a child to be known by a new name without the consent of every person with parental responsibility.
On considering cases to do with changes of name the court will always consider the welfare of the child to be the most important matter. Therefore it will listen carefully to the views and wishes of the child when making a decision (taking into account the age and the circumstances of the child). However, even when the child themself is in favour of a change of surname, the court tends to resist consenting to such a change because:
In particular, it is thought that changing a child’s surname just so that it is the same as the mother’s (or father’s) is not thought to be a good enough reason on its own. If you want to apply for a court order, bear in mind that you are more likely to be successful if you request to double-barrel your own surname to the child’s existing surname, because you will not break the link of identity to the other parent.
It is quite common for an unmarried mother to change her child’s name by deed poll and then for the father later to obtain a parental responsibility order. In this case, at the time the deed poll was executed, the mother was the only one with parental responsibility and therefore the change of name is valid. If the father wants to revert the name, and the mother doesn’t consent, the father would have to obtain a Specific Issue Order. However, it is quite likely that the court will agree with the father in this sort of case.
If you choose to enrol your deed poll through the Supreme Court, you are allowed to do so without the consent of everyone with parental responsibility, but you must give reasons as to why you are unable to get consent. Then the Judge will make a decision on whether to allow the change. Thus an enrolled deed poll is acceptable evidence of a name change without need for further proof of consent, because it has already been approved by the court. However, the Supreme Court won’t necessarily be any easier to persuade than any other court, so you shouldn’t see this as a way around the problem.
If you want to change your child’s name, and the child’s father doesn’t have parental responsibility, it is good practice to contact the father for his views and try to get his consent anyway, even though you are not legally obliged to. This is especially so if:
There have been cases where a child’s father has obtained a court order to reverse a change of surname even without having parental responsibility for the child. In cases concerning children, the courts consider the child’s welfare to be the most important matter, and if the court doesn’t consider a change of name clearly to be in the child’s best interests, it will probably revert the decision.
If you want to reduce the risk of the father attempting to revert a change of surname, think about:
If your child is resident in Scotland, you do not need to have the consent of everybody with parental responsibilities — it is enough that one person with parental responsibilities gives their consent, but that person must consult everyone else with parental responsibilities, as far as practical, and take their views into account. They should make a written statement that they have done this, and official bodies should insist on seeing the statement before accepting the change of name.
In law, changes to a child’s forenames are not protected to the same extent as the surname — the forenames are thought to be less concrete and less fundamental. Certain official bodies will require that you get consent from everyone with parental responsibility, and this is certainly the policy of the Identity & Passport Service. However, other bodies (for example, schools and doctors) will not be so strict, and it is acceptable to give different names to those bodies from what is listed in the birth register (provided of course that it is not for a fraudulent purpose).
To have your child’s forenames changed on their passport against the wishes of someone else with parental responsibility, the rules are the same as with changing the surname — you will need to obtain a court order — normally a Specific Issue Order. The only exception is in the case of a minor change of spelling (for example, changing Leslie to Lesley), where it should be enough to have the consent of only one person with parental responsibility.
Note that the law on changing a child’s forenames is not so clear as it is for surnames, because the rules are largely based on common law (law based on legal precedent), and because far fewer disputes reach the courts over a child’s forenames than they do over the surname.
If you do take a dispute over a child’s forenames to court, the court will take the same approach as with the surname — it will consider what is best for the child’s welfare above anything else. However:
In practice, though, disputes over a child’s forenames rarely reach the courts, for exactly these reasons — it’s generally more likely to be something that parents can agree about, and even if it isn’t, it doesn’t make much difference in everyday life because in practice people can largely call themselves whatever they like.
If your child is resident in Scotland, the same rules apply as for changing the surname — the consent of one person with parental responsibilities is enough so long as they have consulted everyone else with parental responsibilities, as far as practical, and taken their views into account.
