Deed poll

Deed poll is a legal and formal contract binding only to a single person. The most common form is a name change through a Deed of Change of Name.

The name deed is common to signed written agreements. Poll is an archaic legal term referring to documents with straight edges; these distinguished a deed binding only one person from one affecting more than a single person (an indenture, with indented or otherwise shaped edges - relating back to when the agreement was written out repeatedly on a single sheet for each party and then irregularly torn so each party had a document with a unique tear to discourage forgery).