Changing your name means you have to update all your official documents and records to show your new name, e.g. passport, driver's licence, bank accounts, insurance policies, voter's registration, etc. To do this they'll need evidence of your change of name. A statutory declaration is a formal document confirming that you are changing your name and will only use your new name(s) in future. Institutions should accept a statutory declaration as evidence of your name change.

To use this document you must be 16 or over, and must have it signed by a Notary Public.

Note that you don't need to use this document if:

• you want to update your birth certificate (apply direct to the National Records of Scotland instead)
• your name has changed following marriage/civil partnership or divorce/dissolution