Section 10 of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 provides that an applicant for a gender recognition certificate shall furnish among other items, the forename and surname by which he or she wishes to be known and proof of his or her identity.
Where a person notifies my Department of a change of name they are required to provide proof of the new name through either, evidence of "use and repute" or, a deed poll enrolled in the High Court. This information is required to authenticate and maintain the person’s public service identity and applies to all name changes including where a person applies for a gender recognition certificate.
Acceptable evidence of use and repute is satisfied by the provision of two documents that shows the person is using the new name, such as a driver's licence, college identification card, school report, pay slip, utility bills, bank statements or official correspondence from a public or private sector organisation for at least 2 years prior to applying for a name change.
As an alternative the person may provide a deed poll in the new name, which has been enrolled in the High Court. Enrolling the deed poll in the High Court ensures that a record of the change of name is preserved for future identification and a certified copy of the original enrolled deed poll can be obtained, if required.
Should the customer not wish to enrol the deed poll, my Department will require evidence of use and repute over two years.
