A statutory declaration is a signed statement made by virtue of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 before an officer authorised to administer an oath, such as a justice of the peace, Commissioner for Oaths or a solicitor with a practising certificate. It has the same effect as a sworn document (an Affidavit).
Using for change of name
A Statutory Declaration of name change (sometimes referred to as a Stat Dec) can be used as a legal document of change of name. It must be accepted by any organisation, who cannot refuse legally to not acknowledge the change of name. Therefore it would, for example, be illegal for a bank to refuse to issue a new bank card/cheque book or change the account details of a transitioning trans person once presented with a legal Stat Dec.
A Stat Dec cannot be used to attempt to imply or assume rank or title, such that you would not be allowed to change your name to ‘Commodore Smith’. However other names such as Elton Hercules John and Jonny’s Carpet Depot Are Fascist Bastards would be accepted.
See Also
- Name Change
- Changing HM Revenue & Customs Records
- DWP Records Change
- Changing NHS Medical Card
- UK Statutory Declaration
- UK Driving Licences
Latest comments