Changing Your Name in Ireland: Deed Poll, Fees and What It Does Not Cover

Irish law does not set out how to change your name. In practice that means you can change the name you commonly use simply by using a new one, and a deed poll exists to give you written proof of the change rather than to authorise it.

That distinction explains most of the confusion around the subject, including the biggest surprise on this page: according to Citizens Information, the Passport Service does not accept deed polls at all. This guide covers the three routes to a name change, the deed poll process and its fees, what a deed poll does not do to your birth certificate, changing a child's name, and legal recognition of your preferred gender.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page is general legal information for the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice.

The three ways your name can change

Citizens Information puts the underlying rule directly: because Irish law does not prescribe a method, you can change the name you commonly use by simply using a new name, but you may have difficulty proving it to public and private bodies without an official document referring to the change. A deed poll is that document.

Enrolment is a separate step again. The Courts Service states that there is no automatic requirement to enrol a deed poll, as it generally has the same effect unenrolled, but that some institutions will only accept an enrolled one, and that enrolment puts your name change on a publicly accessible record known as the Deed Poll Register. That was still the position in the Courts Service deed poll guidance when this page was checked on 20 July 2026.

How to change your name by deed poll

Complete the deed poll form in front of a witness aged at least 18, entering your old name exactly as it appears on your birth certificate, including all middle names. Citizens Information adds that you sign in both your old and your new name.

Photocopies of your birth certificate, photo identification and any supporting documents must be certified by An Garda Síochána, a practising solicitor or a Commissioner for Oaths; uncertified copies and originals are not accepted. The witness who saw you sign then swears an Affidavit of Attesting Witness before a solicitor or Commissioner for Oaths, for which there is a fee at no fixed rate.

Pay the stamp duty, complete the Request to Enrol form if you are enrolling, and lodge the papers in person by appointment at the Central Office of the High Court or by post to Four Courts, Inns Quay, Dublin 7.

The Change of Name Licence

If you live in Ireland and are not a citizen of the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you must obtain a Change of Name Licence from Immigration Service Delivery before enrolling a deed poll. The fee is €13, and the original licence must be included with your deed poll documents.

Citizens Information attributes the requirement to the Aliens Act 1935 and exempts British citizens and children under 18, while the Courts Service phrases the exemption as covering EEA and UK citizens. Read together: EEA and UK nationals do not need a licence, under 18s do not need one, and everyone else does.

Passports: a deed poll is not enough

This is the point that most often catches people out after they have paid for a deed poll. According to Citizens Information, the Passport Service does not accept deed polls to change the name on an Irish passport.

What Citizens Information does set out is the route for reverting to a pre-marriage or pre-civil-partnership name. You apply for a new passport through Passport Online and submit your previous passport, your birth certificate, your original marriage or civil partnership certificate, and a judicial separation order, separation agreement or divorce decree certified by a solicitor or by the court. Only where those documents cannot be produced does it say you must instead show proof of usage, meaning two official documents showing that you have been using the pre-marriage name for two years.

That two year proof of usage rule is therefore a fallback within the revert route, not a general rule for every passport name change. Citizens Information does not set out an equivalent published route for a name adopted purely by deed poll, so ask the Passport Service what it will accept before you pay for one.

The rules above are attributed to Citizens Information rather than presented as verified departmental policy, because the Department of Foreign Affairs pages could not be read directly. Check the current requirements with the Passport Service before paying for a deed poll.

Driving licence

The following is drawn from Citizens Information rather than from the National Driver Licence Service site, which could not be read directly.

You are not legally required to update your licence when you change your name, though it is sensible to do so. Applications are made online or in person by appointment at an NDLS centre, no photographs or application form are needed, and there is no fee to amend personal details unless the licence is also due for renewal or has been lost, stolen or damaged. The updated licence keeps the same expiry date.

Applying online requires proof of your PPS number and a verified MyGovID, and Citizens Information notes you must already have updated your name with the Department of Social Protection, which is why it is sensible to start there. In person, a change of name after marriage is evidenced by the original civil certificate.

A deed poll does not change your birth certificate

The Register of Births is largely fixed once a birth has been registered, and this is the second common misconception on the subject. A birth must be registered within three months, and in some circumstances there is up to 12 months to do so, but that 12 months is a registration deadline, not a window for changing a name. The surname registered is normally the surname of one or both parents, and Citizens Information says that a surname other than that of either or both parents can only be used if you apply to the Registrar General or a Superintendent Registrar to assign it.

After registration, a child's surname cannot be changed unless the birth is being re-registered at a later date, for example to include the father's details, in which case it can be changed at the request of both parents and there is no fee. A forename is more flexible: parents can apply through the local Civil Registration Office to have one registered, added or changed, for €5, supported by original documentary evidence that the child has been using it.

Everything else, for adults and children alike, is done by deed poll or common usage, and neither alters the birth entry.

Changing a child's name

A child aged 14 to 17 executes the deed poll themselves, but needs the consent of both parents, and a court order may be needed where a parent's consent is not available. For a child under 14, one parent executes it with the consent of the other; if the second parent does not consent, the first must ask the District Court to make an order removing the need for that consent.

Both routes require certified photocopies of the child's birth certificate and of one parent's photo identification, an Affidavit of Attesting Witness, and a Supplemental Affidavit. Stamp duty comes to €80 in total.

In practice the consent requirement tracks guardianship, and unmarried fathers in Ireland are not automatically guardians, so check the guardianship position before assuming who must consent.

Marriage, separation and divorce

You do not have to change your name when you marry. If you do, you do not need a deed poll: most organisations accept your marriage certificate as proof. As Citizens Information puts it, you earn your name by use and repute.

After a separation or divorce you can change back to your pre-marriage name, but there is no single switch: you contact each organisation separately and requirements differ. You will usually need valid photo identification and certified evidence of your previous name, and often a certified copy of your separation agreement or divorce decree. For a Public Services Card, Citizens Information indicates you can submit divorce, dissolution or legal separation documents, or solicitor correspondence showing the process has been initiated.

The process for ending a marriage is covered in divorce in Ireland, and the alternatives in separation agreements and judicial separation.

Legal recognition of your preferred gender

The Gender Recognition Act 2015 has been in operation since September 2015. Anyone over 18 can apply, and a 16 or 17 year old can apply but must first obtain an exemption from the Circuit Family Court. Application is not possible under 16. The application is made on Form GRC 1 with a Statutory Declaration, and there is no charge. The certificate can also state a new name, and once it issues you can apply for a revised birth certificate. Recognition is not retrospective.

One live practice point matters here. Citizens Information notes that the current GRC 1 form still asks for evidence of use and repute over two years, or an enrolled deed poll, where the applicant wants a different name on the certificate, but that the form is under review and that proof is no longer required. The printed form is therefore out of date, so check the current position with the Gender Recognition Section.

If you are cohabiting rather than married, note that no legal mechanism gives you a partner's surname; see rights of cohabiting couples in Ireland. Our other Irish guides are on the Ireland law hub.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information about the law of the Republic of Ireland and is not legal advice. The passport and driving licence rules described here are drawn from Citizens Information, and requirements set by the Passport Service, the National Driver Licence Service and the Department of Social Protection can change, so confirm the current position with the relevant body. For advice on your own circumstances, or on a disputed child name change, speak to a solicitor. The Courts Service publishes the deed poll forms and guidance at courts.ie.