My brother aged 29 is applying for his first passport, and needs advice?

Question

he was born and registered in his family birth name, the same as my sisters & I, then when he was aged 9 our mother remarried and added her new husbands name to ours, never doing this legally, just she said she could, so our names where changed that way, at 16, i went back to my birth name, my brother kept his until a few years ago, his driving licience is in his birthname, now he wants a passport but has been told as he has two names can be difficult, he has been known by both, he has been told to change his name by deed poll to his birthname, in order to get his passport in his birthname, is this right?, he never legally changed his name in the first place

Answer 1

The name on his birth certificate is the one that is needed, this document will need to be sent with the form and payment.  Don't know who told him to change his name by deed poll, but they are wrong.  You can use any name you like with friends and family etc., but when it comes to filling in official forms, you have to use your birth name.

Answer 2

He needs to change the name on his driving licence.

Obtain his original birth certificate and send that in to the DVLA explaining the circumstances.

This may affect his credit rating etc, so he will also need to change the name that his household bills, council tax et al are in.

It really might be easier to change his name by deed poll and then everything changes.

I suspect that he'll suffer administrative problems for a while though.

Answer 3

The passport contact number on the forms or website are a good place for advice.  They were friendly and helpful when I had a query.

Answer 4

Doesn't sound correct.  should be able to get a passport with his birth certificate which should have the name he wants right?

Answer 5

His passport will probably be issued under the name on his birth certificate unless he has another official document to show his name as been changed. Deed poll is probably a good idea if he wants to use a different name. :-)

Answer 6

Try looking on the Passport Office website to see if your question is answered on there, if not there is an e-mail section where you can contact them with a question.  I've used it and they were very quick with their reply.  At least then you will know that you have the correct answer.  Good luck

Answer 7

He needs to get a copy of his birth certificate from the place he was registered as a baby. send this with his passport application.

Answer 8

The best thing would be is phone them or check out the web site. It should go on what is says on his birth certificate.

Answer 9

If you changed your name by deed poll there shouldn't be a problem when I was a child my name was changed by deed poll then back to my birth name a year later when my mum and her husband split up because he was alcoholic bully and I never had a problem getting a passport however this could of been because I was a child applying for a passport at the time.

Answer 10

Are you British? I get the feeling that your family lives in the UK by the use of the words "deed poll".

What's happening is that the passport office won't issue him a passport if your brother has a confusion over his identity. Most countries go by the birth certificate (if you're born in the country of your nationality, and then citizenship certificate if you naturalized there).

What your brother is being asked is to do a deed poll to legally merge the two names and have them recognised offically as the same person.

After the deed poll is done he will have have to legally change all documents to the new name (there usually is a clause stating that you are no longer allowed to use the old names and the new one is the one you want to be known as).

The Brits can be a bit harsh. When I got married they wanted proof of the change of name (how I aquired it) and then they wanted ID in the new name.

Edited to add:

She may have not done it legally because she couldn't. For a minor requiring a change of name usually both parents need to give consent (if there are two parents listed on the birth certificate). If not, a court order is be required to override parental consent unless one of the parents is deceased (although I'm not sure if this also applies to UK law as this is directly in accordance to Australian law).

If I were you I would tell your brother to get the deed poll change of name to make sure he is officially recognised in his birth name and to ensure no confusion in his identity. (He is currently at risk of committing fraud because he's using two names).

I would also contact the passport office in regards to yourself and your sister and see if they will accept  your situation and see if you require a change of name via deed poll for future reference if either of you decide to get a passport.