Deed polls are no longer registered by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria (BDM).
Deed poll was used in Victoria until October 1986 to change a person's name. A solicitor drew up the deed, and then lodged it with the Registrar-General's Office. After October 1986, deed poll was replaced by the name change registration process, which we use today.
To change your name
To change your own name, see Change your name.
To change your child's name, see Change your child's name.
To get a copy of your deed poll certificate
Before 1986
If you changed your name by deed poll before 1986, you can get a copy of your deed poll certificate on BDM certificate paper (suitable for legal purposes).
To do this, please contact us.
While BDM holds many Victorian deed poll records, not all were correctly lodged by solicitors or transferred to us. If we can't find a record of yours, you may need to Change your name.
Some organisations don't accept a deed poll certificate as proof of a name change (even on BDM certificate paper) in which case, you may need to Change your name.
Post 1986
Some firms continued to issue deed poll certificates post 1986. These were illegal and weren't registered with BDM. You will need to apply to Change your name.
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