📞 +44 (0)20 3538 2848|✉ [email protected]|Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00|💬 WhatsApp|📍 City of London EC2V 5AE
Get a Quote
微信/WhatsApp 咨询
🪪 Name discrepancy · identity declarations

Same Person Declaration
Notarised & Apostilled
City of London

An overseas bank, land registry or probate office has stopped your case because your name is spelled differently on two documents. A same person declaration — also called an affidavit of one and the same person — is the sworn statement that fixes it. We draft it, arrange the notary, obtain the FCDO apostille and get it back to you. Fixed £295, all in.

FCDO-registered agent
£295 all-inclusive
About one week
Notary arranged UK-wide
See what’s included 📞 +44 (0)20 3538 2848

Get a free quote

We reply within the hour on working days

Send my enquiry →

No obligation. Fixed price confirmed in writing before you send anything.

📌 One declaration usually covers every version of your name
You rarely need a separate document for each mismatch. A single properly-drafted declaration can list your Chinese name and its romanisation, your maiden and married surname, and a middle name that appears on some records but not others — provided each variant is evidenced. Send us everything you have and we will tell you whether one declaration will do.
When this is needed

Situations that call for a same person declaration

The pattern is almost always the same: an overseas authority holds a record in one name, your current passport says something slightly different, and nobody will proceed until the gap is explained on paper. These are the cases we handle most.

🏠
Selling or transferring property abroad
The title deed or land registry record carries the name you held when you bought it. Your passport now shows a different spelling, a married surname, or a romanised form. The registry will not complete the transfer until the two are formally linked.
Usually needed
Title deedCurrent passportOld passport or ID
⚖️
Inheritance, probate and estates
You are named as a beneficiary under one spelling, but you are claiming under another. Overseas probate offices and notaries treat this as a genuine identity question and will pause the estate until it is resolved.
Usually needed
Will or estate papersBirth certificatePassport
🏦
Overseas bank and pension accounts
An account opened years ago under a former name now fails the bank’s identity checks. This blocks withdrawals, closures and pension claims, and banks are rarely willing to accept an informal explanation.
Usually needed
Account detailsBoth name documents
💍
Marriage, divorce and deed poll changes
Your degree certificate, professional registration or older records still carry your maiden name. A marriage certificate or deed poll proves the change, but overseas bodies often want a sworn declaration tying the whole chain together in one document.
Usually needed
Marriage certificateDeed poll
🎓
Degrees, visas and professional registration
Universities, immigration authorities and licensing bodies compare your qualification against your passport character by character. Any difference — even a missing middle name or a hyphen — can stall an application.
Usually needed
Degree certificatePassport
🌏
Romanisation and transliteration differences
Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Thai and Cyrillic names can be romanised several defensible ways, and different officials at different times chose differently. Pinyin, Wade–Giles, Cantonese and Hong Kong spellings of one name are a very common source of mismatch.
Usually needed
Every document affected
Pricing

Same person declaration — fixed, all-inclusive

One price covering drafting, the notary, the FCDO apostille and the £40 government fee. Nothing is added later.

All-inclusive
Same Person Declaration
Drafted, sworn before a notary, apostilled by the FCDO
£295
 all in
What’s included
  • ✓ Declaration drafted and sent to you to approve
  • ✓ Notary public appointment — London or near you
  • ✓ Notarisation and notarial seal
  • ✓ FCDO apostille, including the £40 government fee
  • ✓ Tracked return delivery or collection
Start my declaration →

⏱ Around one week from signing

Need embassy legalisation on top for the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, or a certified translation? Ask for a combined quote.

The process

Four steps from enquiry to apostilled declaration

1
Send us what you have
Email or WhatsApp scans of every document showing a different version of your name, plus any letter or checklist from the overseas authority. We confirm a fixed quote the same working day and tell you if we think you have been asked for the wrong thing.
2
We draft the declaration
We write the wording to suit the authority receiving it, setting out each name variant and the document it appears on. You see the draft and approve it before anything is signed.
3
You sign in front of a notary
Sign at our City of London office, or at a notary public local to you anywhere in the UK. The notary verifies your identity, witnesses your signature and applies their seal.
4
FCDO apostille, then back to you
We submit the notarised declaration to the FCDO, collect the apostille and return the completed document by tracked courier — typically within a week of signing.
Before you start

Four things worth knowing

Ask the receiving authority what they actually want
“Same person declaration”, “affidavit of one and the same person” and “name discrepancy declaration” usually mean the same thing, but occasionally an authority wants something narrower — a statutory declaration in a set form, or a court-issued document. A single email to them before you instruct anyone can save a fortnight.
Apostille or embassy legalisation depends on the country
For Hague Convention countries — which since November 2023 includes mainland China — a notarised declaration plus an FCDO apostille is enough. For the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and other non-Hague states, embassy legalisation is needed after the apostille.
Declarations can have a shelf life
Many overseas banks, registries and notaries will only accept a declaration issued within the last three to six months. If your overseas matter is likely to drag on, it is often better to start the declaration once the timetable is clear rather than months in advance.
Bring the originals into the chain
A declaration is far more likely to be accepted when each name variant is backed by a document the authority can check — an old passport, a birth certificate, a marriage certificate or a deed poll. Photocopies alone are sometimes challenged.
What to send us

Documents we normally need

Scans are fine to get started — we only need originals at the notary appointment.

Your current passport
The photo page, showing the name exactly as it is spelled today.
Every other name document
Old or foreign passports, national ID cards, birth certificate, marriage certificate, deed poll — anything carrying a different version of your name.
The overseas record causing the problem
The title deed, bank statement, estate paperwork, degree certificate or pension record that triggered the request.
Any instruction you have been given
A letter, email or checklist from the overseas authority. This is the single most useful thing you can send — it tells us exactly how to word the declaration.
The destination country
This determines whether an apostille alone is sufficient, or embassy legalisation is needed as well.
Your deadline, if you have one
Tell us early. Completion times can often be compressed if we know from the start.
Why Legalisation.Services

Handled end to end, from one office

FCDO-registered, Guildhall Yard
We attend the FCDO in person every working day from our office at Blackwell House, Guildhall Yard, EC2V 5AE — your document is not sitting in a postal queue.
Drafting is part of the service
Most notaries will witness a declaration you bring them but will not write it. We draft it, which is where these cases usually go wrong.
One fixed price
£295 covers drafting, the notary, the FCDO fee and return delivery. You are not billed separately for each stage.
Bilingual English and Chinese
For matters in mainland China we work in both languages and can arrange certified translation alongside the notarisation and apostille.
Common questions

Same person declarations — your questions answered

It is a sworn written statement confirming that two or more different versions of a name — different spellings, a maiden and married surname, a Chinese name and its romanisation, or a name with and without a middle name — all belong to the same individual. It is also called an affidavit of one and the same person, a name discrepancy declaration, or a statutory declaration of identity.
Most often when an overseas authority refuses to act because your name is written differently on two documents. Common triggers are selling or transferring property abroad, claiming an inheritance or estate, opening or closing a foreign bank account, claiming a pension, applying for a visa or citizenship, and enrolling with a professional body or university overseas.
£295 all-inclusive. That covers drafting the declaration, the notary public's fee, the FCDO apostille and tracked return delivery. There are no separate government fees to pay on top. If you need several declarations or additional certified copies, tell us and we will quote before starting.
Typically about a week from the day you sign. Drafting takes one working day, notarisation is by appointment, and the FCDO apostille takes a few working days. If your deadline is tighter, say so at the quote stage — we can often compress this.
It depends on the destination. For countries in the Hague Apostille Convention — which since November 2023 includes mainland China — a notarised declaration plus an FCDO apostille is sufficient. For non-Hague countries such as the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, the declaration needs the apostille and then embassy legalisation on top.
You need to sign in front of a notary public, but that does not have to be in London. We can arrange a notary near you anywhere in the UK, or you can come to our City of London office. Everything after signing is handled by us.
No provider can guarantee acceptance, because the receiving authority decides. What we can do is draft the wording to match what that authority normally asks for, and tell you in advance if we think what you have been asked for will not do the job. If you have a letter or checklist from the overseas body, send it with your enquiry.
Yes. For documents going to mainland China we work bilingually and can arrange certified translation alongside the notarisation and apostille. Our Chinese-language page for this service covers the mainland China process in detail.
🇨🇳 Handling a matter in mainland China?
We have a dedicated Chinese-language page covering the mainland China process in detail — property transfer, bank accounts, inheritance and the Hague Convention position since November 2023. 同一人声明公证认证 — 中文页面 →

Related services: notarisation and certification · power of attorney notarisation · birth certificate apostille · all apostille & legalisation services · FAQ

Get started

Ready to sort the name mismatch out?

Free quote, no obligation. Fixed £295 all-inclusive, usually complete in about a week.

Get my free quote 📞 Call us
📞 +44 (0)20 3538 2848