Procedure for changing or adding a property name
If you wish to change the name of your property, or add an official 'alias name' to your property you must use the following procedure and you should note that The Royal Mail does not accept name changes from anyone other than a Council.
To request a change to a property name, the owner must complete the relevant application form, supply a location plan and pay the appropriate fee.
To make an application, you can complete the application online or by filling in the relevant application form (Appendix B).
Requests can only be accepted from the owners of properties and not tenants.
All applications must be accompanied by a site location plan - this should be at a minimum scale of 1:2500 and should contain sufficient detail to accurately locate the property.
All applications must be accompanied by the fee of £25.00 per property.
The Council cannot formally change a property name where the property is in the process of being purchased, that is, until exchange of contracts has been completed, although the Council can give guidance on the acceptability of a chosen name change, in principle, before exchange of contracts.
A check is made by the Council to ensure there are no other properties in the locality with the same name. Under no circumstances will the Council allow a replicated house name in the same postal area; the SNN Case Manager can refuse such names. The Council also strongly recommends against using similar sounding names, although we will not refuse these requests. The Royal Mail cannot guarantee mail delivery if the Council's advice is ignored.
Under no circumstances will the Council allow a name that is offensive, or can be construed as offensive.
If the property already has a house number, it is not permitted to replace the number with a name. However the Council will allow you to add an 'alias name' to the address. The name will be held by the Royal Mail on their 'alias file' and will not form part of the official address. The alias name can only be used with the property number, not as a replacement of it.
Once all the checks have been satisfactorily completed and the necessary fees received the Council will change the name of the property and advise the relevant parties detailed on Appendix A.
Some external parties, especially national institutions which can receive hundred of updates a day, can take several months to update their records.
The Council will then confirm the new official postal address in writing to the owner of the property.