How long after marriage should you change your name?

There's no single deadline for most of it. Passports and driving licences are on your own timetable: you can keep travelling on your current passport after the wedding, and keep driving while your licence is changed. The one with a penalty is your car's log book: you can be fined up to £1,000 for not telling DVLA. Order official copies of your marriage certificate in the first week or two, then work down the list over one to three months.

What documents do I need to change my name after marriage?

Your marriage certificate, as an official copy: some offices keep it for weeks, so order a few. For a passport you send your current passport with it. For your driving licence you send Form D1, your licence and your original marriage certificate (no photocopies, and not laminated); in Northern Ireland it's Form DL1 to the DVA. If you own a home in England or Wales, HM Land Registry wants an official copy with Form AP1.

Is it illegal not to change your name after marriage?

No. Changing your name is your choice, and nothing on the pages we checked makes you. If you keep your name, there's nothing to change at HM Passport Office or DVLA: your records stay as they are, and you book travel in the name on your passport. Marriage Allowance is still worth a look.

In what order should I change my name?

Official copies of your marriage certificate first, because most offices want one. If you're merging your surnames into one word, a deed poll comes next. Then your passport, after your honeymoon if you're flying, then your driving licence, HMRC, the electoral register and the rest. Optional ones like your car's log book and Land Registry come last.

Can I travel on my old passport after the wedding?

Yes. You can keep travelling on your current passport after the wedding: carry your marriage certificate and check the rules of the country you're visiting. Once you send it off for a new one, you can't use it until the new one arrives. Or apply up to 3 months before the wedding on form PD2 for a passport in your new name that can't be used until the wedding day.

Do I need a deed poll to double-barrel?

No. Double-barrelling with a space or a hyphen works with your marriage certificate. A surname merged into one word needs a deed poll: you can make one yourself, signed in front of 2 witnesses, or enrol one at the High Court for £53.05. Keeping your current surname as a middle name needs a statutory declaration or a deed poll as well.

Do I have to change my name after marriage?

No. You can take your partner's surname, double-barrel, combine your surnames, move your surname to your middle name, or keep your name. The checklist fits each choice, and you can leave it on "Not sure yet" for now: if you decide later, your marriage certificate still works.

Is changing my name different in Scotland or Northern Ireland?

A little. Official copies come from different offices. England and Wales: £12.50 a copy from the General Register Office or the register office where you married. Scotland: £12 for the first copy and £10 for each extra, from ScotlandsPeople. Northern Ireland: £15 for the first copy and £8 for each extra, from GRONI. In Northern Ireland your driving licence goes to the DVA instead of DVLA, and the Land Registry step is for England and Wales only.

Changing your name after marriage

The steps in order for where you live, with the free official forms. Tick them off, keep your honeymoon travel safe and print the list.

The two of you

First person's name (optional)

Second person's name (optional)

Wedding date (optional)

Sets the before-the-wedding steps and any legal deadline.

Where you married (optional)

Your copies of the certificate come from here. Leave it blank if it's where you live.

Whose list is this?

Pick once. You can look at your partner's list any time.

Where you live

Your driving licence follows where you live: DVLA, or the DVA in Northern Ireland.

What you're doing with your name

Your honeymoon

So the passport step waits until you're home, and your flights are booked in the right name. Leave it blank if you haven't booked yet.

Say what you're doing with your name to see your steps.

0 of 0 done

After the wedding, in order

No steps to show yet for this choice.

Everyone else

Most want to see your marriage certificate. Add the ones you use.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and the official page has the final word.

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We never ask for a National Insurance, passport or account number, and never charge for a form.

How to use the name change checklist in 5 steps

Choose where you live. Pick England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Your driving licence follows where you live: DVLA, or the DVA in Northern Ireland.
Say what you're doing with your name. Take your partner's surname, double-barrel, combine your surnames, move your surname to your middle name, or keep yours. The list fits your choice.
Add your honeymoon dates. Optional. The passport step waits until you're home, and the checklist tells you which name to book your flights in.
Work down the list. Order copies of your marriage certificate first, then your passport and driving licence. Mark each step sent, waiting or done.
Print it or keep it. Print the checklist, or sign in to keep it and share it with your partner. Nothing is filed for you, and we never ask for a National Insurance number.

Why the order matters

Most offices want an official copy of your marriage certificate, so that comes first. If you're merging your surnames into one word, a deed poll comes next. Your passport follows, after your honeymoon if you're flying. Then your driving licence, HMRC and the electoral register, and the rest.

Do it out of order and you can end up waiting on one office that is waiting on another. The checklist keeps the steps in order for where you live, and holds back any step that has to wait.

The honeymoon rule

Book your flights in the name on the passport you'll carry. You can keep travelling on your current passport after the wedding: carry your marriage certificate, and check the rules of the country you're visiting. Change your passport after you're home.

Want a passport in your new name before the wedding? Up to 3 months before the ceremony you can apply on form PD2, signed by your registrar or minister. It can't be used until the wedding day, and your current passport is cancelled when the new one is issued, so there are no trips abroad in between, and your honeymoon flights must be in your new name. The passport guide has the details, and what to do about ESTA if you're flying to the US.

Official copies of your marriage certificate

Most offices want an official copy, and some keep it for weeks, so a few copies let steps run side by side. Where you married decides where copies come from:

Marriage certificate copies by UK nation
Where you married	Order from	First copy	Each extra copy	Official page
England	the General Register Office (GRO), or the register office where you married	£12.50	£12.50	Official page
Wales	the General Register Office (GRO), or the register office where you married	£12.50	£12.50	Official page
Scotland	ScotlandsPeople (National Records of Scotland)	£12	£10	Official pageNational Records of Scotland consulted on new fees in 2026, so these may change.
Northern Ireland	the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI)	£15	£8	Official page

If you married in one UK nation and live in another, your copies come from where you married, and your driving licence follows where you live. Married abroad? Order copies from the office that issued your certificate, and leave where you married blank in the checklist.

Deed poll, double-barrelling and your surname as a middle name

Double-barrelling with a space or a hyphen works with your marriage certificate: no deed poll is needed, and neither is one to take your partner's surname.

A surname made by merging both into one word needs more than your marriage certificate: HM Passport Office asks for a change of name deed (a deed poll). You can make one yourself, using GOV.UK's wording and signed in front of 2 witnesses aged 18 or over, or enrol one at the High Court, which can take several months. Some organisations only accept an enrolled one.

HM Passport Office treats keeping your current surname as a middle name as a change of name, and doesn't accept the marriage certificate alone for it: it asks for a statutory declaration or a deed poll as well.

Official page · HM Passport Office guidance

Keeping your name

Nothing to change at HM Passport Office or DVLA. A few things still help:

Book travel in the name on your passport.
If one of you earns under the Personal Allowance and the other pays basic-rate tax, the lower earner can transfer £1,260 of their allowance, cutting the other's tax by up to £252 a year. You can backdate a claim. Official page

Using your current name at work

You can keep using your current name at work while you change it legally. HMRC still needs your new name once you change it:

Tell HMRC online or in the HMRC app if you're paid through PAYE or get a pension; if you do Self Assessment, it's updated too. You'll need your National Insurance number (keep it to yourself: we never ask for it). Child Benefit is told separately.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Most of the list is the same across the UK. Certificate copies and the driving licence are where it differs.

The land register step (Form AP1 to HM Land Registry) is for homes in England and Wales only, so it doesn't apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Scotland

Copies of your marriage certificate come from ScotlandsPeople (National Records of Scotland): £12 for the first copy and £10 for each extra. National Records of Scotland consulted on new fees in 2026, so these may change. Your driving licence is still with DVLA.

Official page

Northern Ireland

Copies come from the General Register Office for Northern Ireland (GRONI): £15 for the first copy and £8 for each extra. In Northern Ireland, send form DL1 to the DVA with your licence and your marriage certificate (no photocopies). It's free. You must give up your licence and apply for a new one straight away; allow six weeks for it to arrive. You can usually keep driving meanwhile.

Official page · Driving licence

Changing your name years later

Your marriage certificate still works, however long ago you married. Going back to a birth name after a divorce is a different process, and this checklist doesn't cover it.

Passport guide

Passport name change guide

Frequently asked questions

How long after marriage should you change your name?: There's no single deadline for most of it. Passports and driving licences are on your own timetable: you can keep travelling on your current passport after the wedding, and keep driving while your licence is changed. The one with a penalty is your car's log book: you can be fined up to £1,000 for not telling DVLA. Order official copies of your marriage certificate in the first week or two, then work down the list over one to three months.
What documents do I need to change my name after marriage?: Your marriage certificate, as an official copy: some offices keep it for weeks, so order a few. For a passport you send your current passport with it. For your driving licence you send Form D1, your licence and your original marriage certificate (no photocopies, and not laminated); in Northern Ireland it's Form DL1 to the DVA. If you own a home in England or Wales, HM Land Registry wants an official copy with Form AP1.
Is it illegal not to change your name after marriage?: No. Changing your name is your choice, and nothing on the pages we checked makes you. If you keep your name, there's nothing to change at HM Passport Office or DVLA: your records stay as they are, and you book travel in the name on your passport. Marriage Allowance is still worth a look.
In what order should I change my name?: Official copies of your marriage certificate first, because most offices want one. If you're merging your surnames into one word, a deed poll comes next. Then your passport, after your honeymoon if you're flying, then your driving licence, HMRC, the electoral register and the rest. Optional ones like your car's log book and Land Registry come last.
Can I travel on my old passport after the wedding?: Yes. You can keep travelling on your current passport after the wedding: carry your marriage certificate and check the rules of the country you're visiting. Once you send it off for a new one, you can't use it until the new one arrives. Or apply up to 3 months before the wedding on form PD2 for a passport in your new name that can't be used until the wedding day.
Do I need a deed poll to double-barrel?: No. Double-barrelling with a space or a hyphen works with your marriage certificate. A surname merged into one word needs a deed poll: you can make one yourself, signed in front of 2 witnesses, or enrol one at the High Court for £53.05. Keeping your current surname as a middle name needs a statutory declaration or a deed poll as well.
Do I have to change my name after marriage?: No. You can take your partner's surname, double-barrel, combine your surnames, move your surname to your middle name, or keep your name. The checklist fits each choice, and you can leave it on "Not sure yet" for now: if you decide later, your marriage certificate still works.
Is changing my name different in Scotland or Northern Ireland?: A little. Official copies come from different offices. England and Wales: £12.50 a copy from the General Register Office or the register office where you married. Scotland: £12 for the first copy and £10 for each extra, from ScotlandsPeople. Northern Ireland: £15 for the first copy and £8 for each extra, from GRONI. In Northern Ireland your driving licence goes to the DVA instead of DVLA, and the Land Registry step is for England and Wales only.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and the official page has the final word. Checked 16 October 2026.

Wedding ChecklistEnter your date and see every step in order, from the venue to giving notice at the register office. Tick things off, add your own, print it.