LOC023 form: statement that changing a child's name is in their best interests
Form LOC023 is the suggested form of affidavit of best interest: a sworn statement by the child's parent showing the court that changing the child's name is in their best interests. It goes with the deed poll (LOC022) and the statutory declaration (LOC024).
Fill in the LOC023 form with Wren
How Wren helps with the LOC023
Official forms are written for lawyers. With Wren you do not have to decode this one on your own, and you still follow the court’s procedure.
- Plain questions, one at a timeEach part of the LOC023 becomes short questions in everyday words. Answer at your own pace and come back to it.
- Help beside each questionWhat the question is asking and what the official guidance says about it, in plain English.
- The official form, filled inYour answers go into the official LOC023. You check it, sign it and send it yourself. Nothing goes to the court for you.
- What comes next, kept with your caseWhat usually happens after you send it, with the dates worked out from the published rules.
Time and money
- On your own
- A day or more
- With Wren
- About an hour for most forms
- Solicitor for this form
- £740 to £1,2403 to 5 hours
A solicitor’s time for the LOC023 can run to £1,240. With Wren it is part of £19.99 a month, and it takes about an hour for most forms rather than a day or more.
Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.
Key facts
- Official title
- Affidavit (statement) of best interest for a child deed poll: form LOC023
- Edition
- 01.26 (1 page)Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Sworn in front of
- A solicitor, a commissioner for oaths or an officer of the court authorised to administer oathsSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Your own format
- Allowed, if it includes the words I [your name and address] state on oath, followed by your statementSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Exhibits
- A death certificate, final order or consent where the form says they apply, each with a cover sheetSource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who uses the LOC023
The child's parent, or a person with parental responsibility. GOV.UK says there is no set format, so someone the suggested form does not fit can write their own statement, as long as it is sworn.
When it is used
With every application to enrol a child's change of name, whether by post or online.
Before you start
- The child's full new name and full old name, as on the deed poll and birth certificate.
- The date of any marriage or civil partnership you are relying on, and the person's name.
- Any final order, death certificate or written consent that applies.
- A short, factual reason why the change is in the child's best interests.
How to fill in the LOC023
Open each part for what it asks and how to answer it. In Wren, each part is a few plain questions, and your answers fill in the form.
You
Your name and address, and whether you are the child's mother or father.
The child
The child's new name, old name and age.
Marriage or civil partnership
Only if it applies: the date, the person's name, and whether the child is your child or your child together.
The reason
Why changing the child's name is in their best interests. If an ex-partner's consent cannot be provided, the form says to give the reason here.
Swearing it
You swear the affidavit and sign it in front of the authorised person, who completes their details.
Prepare your LOC023 with Wren Family
Wren Family turns official forms into short, plain-English questions you can answer at your own pace. You check everything before you send it: nothing goes to the court for you.
Get startedFree for 14 days, no card. Then £19.99 a month, with your money back within 14 days if it’s not right.
What happens after you send it
GOV.UK says all applications to change a child's name are referred to a judge for permission to enrol.
Common mistakes
- Signing before you are in front of the authorised person.
- Leaving out an ex-partner's consent without explaining why.
- Forgetting the cover sheet (LOC028) for each exhibit.
Common questions
Can the same person witness this and the statutory declaration?
Yes. GOV.UK says the same solicitor, commissioner for oaths or officer of the court can witness both.
Where these facts come from
These are the official rules and pages this page is based on. They are listed so you can check a detail for yourself; you do not need them to use Wren. They are outside Wren and open in a new tab.