Recently while working in HMPO I dealt with an application for a child's change of name. To do this all of the correct documentation and consent from the child's father was required. I had examined the application and it appeared there was no evidence of the father giving consent. At this point I contacted the mother by phone to advise that to proceed she would have to provide a letter of consent from the child's father, failing that a court order would be required to continue. The mother had advised me that the father was not part of their lives any more. I reiterated that I would be unable to proceed without the proper documentation and if she was unable to provide it that we could issue the passport in the child's birth name. The mother stated she could try to get a letter through the father's brother and would be in touch. I received a letter that appeared to be signed by the father consenting to the change of name however I would need further evidence that the consent was genuine. I called the mother again and explained this. The mother had managed to then get a photograph of the father's driving licence. At this point I compared the father's signature on the driving licence against the signature on the letter, there were a few similarities but it was not a favourable match . Due to this I made the decision to refer the application for enhanced checks.