The Enforcement Section deals with application for enforcement orders and proceedings, such as Charging Orders, Third Party Debt Orders or Orders for Debtor to Attend Court. It also deals with the process of checking and issuing High Court Writs and miscellaneous enforcements. These can come from High Court cases or from County Court cases that have been transferred up for Enforcement only.

The section is also responsible for enrolment of change of name by deed poll, registration of bills of sale, book debts, provisional damages, arbitration awards and the listing of oral examinations.

Deed Polls

If you wish to legally change your name, or your children's names, you can use the Deed Poll process, which has been used by hundreds of thousands of people for over 150 years.

By Deed Poll, you can officially change any part or all of your name. For example, you can change your forenames, surname (or both), add names, remove names, change the spelling of your names or rearrange your existing names. You can change your name by Deed Poll as often as you want, at any time and for any reason provided it is not for deceptive or fraudulent purposes.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no central register of name changes in the United Kingdom. Deed Polls are not registered anywhere unless they are "enrolled" i.e. lodged for safe keeping, in the Close Rolls of the Chancery (from 1851 to 1902) and from 1903, in the Enrolment Books of the Supreme Court of Judicature, which is located within the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London.

Enrolling a Deed Poll provides a public record of a person's name change and since 1914 the details of the name change are published in either the London Gazette or Belfast Gazette.

Deed Polls that have been enrolled at the Royal Courts of Justice in London remain with us for five to ten years after which (and going back to 1851), they can be found at the National Archives which is located at Kew in Richmond, Surrey.

The National Archive catalogue lists the registers that have already been transferred to Kew and it is recommended that the catalogue be checked by anyone wanting to access them before travelling to Kew.

For further information about enrolling a Deed Poll, and sample forms, please read the Deed Poll guide:

Deed Poll guide

Forms

Claim forms can be downloaded from Form Finder. You will be able to complete some of them online, but you will need to print them off and post them in to us.

Fees

Cheques, postal orders and bankers drafts should be made payable to HM Courts & Tribunals Service.

More information on Court fees.

Contact Details

QB Enforcment Section
Room E15-17
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
DX 44450 Strand

Telephone:  020 7947 6221 / 6224
Fax: 0870 324 0024
Email: QBEnforcement@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk