Deed Poll

A Deed Poll does not automatically change the name of your child in the Singapore Government’s official records. Once you have signed a Deed Poll in our office, we advise that you notify the relevant authorities and/or relevant organisations (eg. ICA, schools) for this name change.

If your child does not have an NRIC or Singapore Identity Card yet, it is good practice for the parents to do the following:

1. change the name of your child in the Passport or apply for a new Passport for the child and the new name will be updated at ICA records; or
2. go to Registry of Birth at ICA to update the name with the Deed Poll (note that if your child is above 1 year old, you can’t change their name in the Birth Certificate, but just ICA’s record).

If your child has an NRIC or Singapore Identity Card, then you should attend ICA to change his/her name within 28 days from the date of the Deed Poll.

The child does not need to attend our office (but is required to attend the ICA). Only the parents (one or both as the case may be) need to attend, and he/she/they has/have to bring along the child’s birth certificate and NRIC (if available), and his/her/their own identity document (IC or Passport).

Even though you may have sole custody of the child, you should still seek the consent of the other parent for his/her consent unless he/she has died or is not contactable despite reasonable efforts.

For minors below 21 years of age, the Deed Poll must be executed by at least one parent. It is strongly advised that both parents sign the Deed Poll to avoid any complications

To be consistent with the name in your IC, you should change the name in your Passport. You can do so at ICA after you have changed your name in your IC. We strongly advise you to update the name in your Passport before you book your travel ticket or travel overseas. However, if in doubt, please contact the ICA directly.

If you are an adult or a minor with an IC, the adult or minor (assisted by parents) should change the name of his/her IC/NRIC at the ICA within 28 days from the date of the Deed Poll.

You may approach our office to obtain a certified true copy of your Deed Poll by a lawyer. Please note that this would incur an additional cost.

If you are an adult, you may change your surname with a Deed Poll. For a minor (below 21), the parent should obtain the consent of the other parent of the child prior to changing the surname of the child.

If you are currently overseas and intend to return to Singapore soon, you may apply for a Deed Poll via our online submission form first, and inform us of your intended date of return. However, if you are unable to return to Singapore to change your name, a deed poll may be executed with a foreign lawyer.

After you have completed your deed poll submission you need to bring certain documents with you to sign the deed poll in the presence of one of our lawyers.

Over 21 years old - please bring either your NRIC, Passport, NS Green IC or Singapore Blue Identity Card.

Under 21 years old - please bring your own NRIC or Passport [both parents] and your child's original Birth Certificate. In cases where the original birth certificate is not in English, you will need to bring both the original and a certified true copy of an English translated version. If you do not have a certified true copy, please get in touch - we do offer this service for an additional fee.

If you are not clear on any of the information above, please don't hesitate to contact us.

If you complete your deed poll submission via our simple form we are able to process your deed poll for $40 [if over 21] and $70 [if under 21]. We charge slightly extra for under 21 due to the additional work required. Based on our market research we believe our prices are the lowest in Singapore. We've achieved this through leveraging technology to streamline the process, not reduce the quality of our work or service to you.

Yes, you definitely can request to have your name changed via a deed poll, but you will need your parents to both sign the document on your behalf. It is always advisable to ensure both parents sign the deed poll to reduce the risk of disputes or to increase the likelihood that the ICA will reject your application. Generally, it is only where one parent has passed away or a parent has sole custody can the deed poll be valid with only one parent’s signature.

We’d recommend contacting the ICA directly if you need further advice on this particular area.

Firstly, it’s important to note that a deed poll is not the appropriate document to change your religion, race or other particulars. This should be done by contacting the ICA directly, or you may contact us if you need any advice. It would be common to have your deed poll application rejected if your name request matched any of the below items:

1. If your name change could be deemed vulgar or offensive.
2. If your name strongly resembled that of a famous politician.
3. If your name attempted to apply honorary titles such as Datuk or Sir.
4. If your name includes Chinese characters which cannot be identified in any Chinese dictionary recognised by the registrar.

There are many things you can change/adjust within your name via the deed poll, these typically include:

(1) Adding, deleting, or modifying the Chinese or Tamil characters in your name;

(2) Adding, deleting, or modifying the punctuation in your name (eg. Audrey See-Toh);

(3) Adding, deleting, or modifying your English/Western/Christian name (you can have an English name, such as John, without being Christian);

(4) Adding, deleting, or modifying your Hanyu Pinyin name (eg. Chen Shu Ling);

(5) Changing the order of the words in your name (eg. Albert Ong Li Ming instead of Ong Li Ming Albert);

(6) Correcting misspelled names;

(7) Inserting married names; and

(8) Inserting Baptism or religious names;