You can change your child's name at any moment as long as they are under 16 years old. You don't need a good reason to approve the alteration; everyone with parental responsibility must agree. Adolescents who are 16 to 17 years old should use an adult deed poll to change their name on their own, albeit in certain cases, they will need consent from all parents who have parental authority over them. A youngster can change their name in the same way an adult does.
Getting permission to rename your child
Before a child's name can be changed by a deed poll, each parent who is accountable for the child must give their written agreement. Authorities will request to see this written authorization 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. But only if there aren't any pending court orders involving the child; otherwise, each parent's written assent is needed. Remember that making a false statutory declaration is against the law. If you cannot get everyone to agree, you will need to get a court order approving the name change.
It’s good practice to get the consent of all the child’s parents even if one of the parents doesn’t have parental responsibility. Changing a person's surname is usually frowned upon by the court when a dispute reaches that stage since it is viewed as an important identity identifier that links the child to their father or mother, depending on the circumstances. There have been cases where a court order has been obtained by a child's father, who does not have parental responsibility over the child, to reverse a change of surname.
If your child is resident in Scotland, it’s enough that one person with parental responsibilities and rights gives their consent to the change of name, but that person must make a written statement that they have consulted everyone else with responsibilities and rights about the change, as far as practical, and taken views into account, as well as the child themself taking into account their maturity. Authorities will ask to see this Children’s deed poll application statement as well as the deed poll when you update the child's records. If you believe that you should not consult the other parent, you can ask the court for an order permitting the name change, which is usually known as a Specific Issue Order.
