Name Change Procedure in India | Name Change Process

The Film Industry Legend ‘Amitabh Bachchan‘ changed his name. Yes, you read it right. After appearing with his original name ‘Amitabh Srivastav‘ in Saat Hindustani. Which is his first film that turned out to be unsuccessful. He decided to make some changes to his name. Not just celebrities but you can also change your name but the name change process in India is a bit tricky depending on your situation. To make you understand the procedure of name change, we have tried to cover each aspect of name change.

Major Reasons for the Change of Name

In India, it’s common for people to change their names due to various reasons. It might be numerology, astrology, or luck factor. Some, might not like their name or get inspired to call by some other name.

1. Due to Marriage: Women mostly change their Surname/Name after Marriage and this is one of the most common reasons for change of name.
2. Due to Divorce: Name Change After Divorce, the female applicant generally prefers to use their Maiden Name.
3. Astrological Reasons: People prefer changing the spelling of their name or changing the entire name due to Astrological and numerological reasons. 
4. Religious Conversions: If the Religion has been converted then people usually prefer changing their old religion name.
5. Change of Gender: After changing the gender, people prefer changing their names.
6. Dislike Current Name: If the person is not liking his/her name then they’re free to change it as per their choice.

Criteria of Changing Name in India

There are few criterias that you need to fulfill in order to change your name legally in India.

1. The Person should be 18(+).
2. For Minor’s name change, only guardians or parents can apply.
3. The Person should have a valid reason for Name change.
4. The Person should have a valid government ID proof.

Name Change Process in India

So, if you are 18(+) and need to change your name. Then you have to know the name change procedure. All, you have to follow 3 basic steps which we going to discuss below.

Step 1: Affidavit of Change of Name

The First Step is to Create an Affidavit for a Change of Name. The Affidavit should be printed on a 10 or 20-value Stamp paper and should be duly Notarized by the Notary Public; The stamp value should be used as prescribed by the concerned State government however most of the Affidavits get executed on a 10-value stamp paper and considered Legally valid.

The Affidavit must include the details below:

1. The Affidavit should be declared by the Old Name of the Applicant (known as Deponent).

NOTE: Applicant is not eligible to declare the Affidavit or any sort of Legal Document with the New name until the Gazette Notification for Name Change is published.

2. Details about the New Name should be mentioned. 
3. Father’s Name of the Applicant or the Name of the Husband (if the Applicant is a married female and has a valid ID proof with the Spouse Name).
4. Residential Address to be mentioned as per the Aadhaar Card, if Applicant holds 2 addresses i.e. Current Address and Permanent Address then both can also be mentioned.
5.  Reason for Change of Name to be mentioned. For ex: Astrological, Numerological, or any other. Mentioning reason is not mandatory until and unless one is changing the Surname.
6. Declaration stating that the facts in the Affidavit are true.
7. Signature of the Deponent.

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NOTE: We have given the details and the format for a Name Change Affidavit for Major, however, there are several other types of Name Change affidavits like Name Change of Minor, Name Correction, Surname Change after Marriage, and a few others.

Step 2: Newspaper Publication

After the first step, the second in the name change process is Newspaper Publication for Change of Name. Publish the Advertisement in two local leading newspapers of the State i.e. one in the Local Newspaper where the applicant belongs and one in the English leading newspaper and preserve at least 4-5 original copies of the Newspaper.

An important point that must be included in the details for Newspaper Publication for Change of Name:

1. Old Name
2. New Name
3. Father’s/Husband’s Name
4. Full Address
5. Declaring the Change in Name

Points to be remembered as per the Central Gazette for Newspaper publication:

1. Newspaper should be submitted in Original, Photocopy of the Newspaper or the Print shall be not accepted.
2. At least 1 Newspaper needs to be submitted along with the other Documents of the Name Change Application.
3. The Advertisement should not be cut off from the Newspaper, The Applicant needs to submit the First Main Page of the Newspaper and that particular page on which the Advertisement has been published while highlighting the Ad Text.
4. In the case of the Name Change of a Minor, mentioning the Age of the Minor as well as using the word “Minor” is mandatory; for reference please check the below sample. 
5. In the case of the Name Change after Marriage, mentioning the Father as well as the Husband’s name is mandatory.
6. If the Applicant is holding different names then mentioning all the Names while using “alias” is mandatory.

Before publishing the name change advertisement in a newspaper, always check the content of the advertisement and ensure that the above-mentioned points are correct and accurate. Below, are a few samples of advertisements in newspapers for a change of name:

Step 3: Publication in the Official Gazette of India

After that, the final step in the name change procedure is the Publication of the Change of Name in the Gazette of India. Publish Notification in the Gazette of India (Central Gazette) shall be done by submitting an Application along with the Payment receipt of the Required fees (payable online).

Prepare and send the following documents to the Department of Publication for publishing Notification of Change of Name :

• Request Letter along with the List of the Enclosed Documents.
• Name Change Affidavit duly Notarized (Original).
• Newspaper Publication (Original).
• Self-attested ID proofs reflecting the Old Name (If having more than one old name(s) then attach ID proofs reflecting all the names). Gazette accepts only Government ID proof like Aadhaar, PAN Card, Driving License, and others; Bank Passbooks, LIC Documents, and school Documents shall not be accepted as proof of Old Name.
• The payment receipt needs to be attached. Please note that the Fees need to be Payable at the Bharatkosh Website. The Fee details for Publication are as below:
  • For Name Change of Minor Child – Rs. 1,700/-
  • Name Change for Major/Govt. Employee – Rs. 1,100/-
  • For Indian Living Abroad – Rs. 3,500/-

Please refer to our below Video to learn How to Make the Payment for Gazette Notification:

• Two Passport-size photographs duly affixed under the Specimen and the Cross-signature of the Applicant. Below is the format of the Specimen for your reference:

• Two Hard Copies of Specimen of Name Change duly filled as per the prescribed format. Below is the format of the Specimen for your reference:

• Soft Copy of Specimen in a Compact Disc (C.D)

In a Soft Copy, remove the Signature and Witness Column from the Format of Specimen. Then, copy the Word File into the C.D

• A Certificate duly signed by the Applicant declaring or stating that the content of the hard copy and soft copy that the applicant is providing is the same. Below is the Format of the Certificate for your reference:

For Govt. employees working with the Central Government. They will be required to submit a Deed for change of name in accordance with the Ministry of Home Affairs 0. M. No. 190016 / 1 / 87-Estt. dated 12/03/1987. In the case of Indians who are living abroad. They have to submit a deed duly attested by the respective Indian Embassy / Indian High Commission, in original to this Department.

Mode of Submitting the Application

There are Two Modes of submitting the application; The First one is while visiting personally to the Gazette Office; Visiting Hours are: 10 am to 1 pm & 2 pm – 4 pm (Operational: Mon-Sat) and the Second one is to Post/Courier the Documents at their Address; you can use any normal courier service to courier the Documents.

If the Notification is urgent for you then we suggest opting for the First method i.e. while visiting personally as in this method Gazette takes less time for the publication as compared to the second method.

Central Gazette is located at Controller of Publication, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-54.

After following all these steps, download the Notification from the e-gazette website egazette.gov.in

The Notification gets published on each Saturday of every month.

Once the Notification gets published, Kindly download it and also take multiple printouts, and provide them to the Department where you want to change your name. Then, you can easily change your name in all the Documents.

You may refer to our Blog To learn How to Download Name Change Notification

Points to Remember While Submitting Documents to the Gazette of India

 Points that an applicant should keep in mind to get the Name Change process done in Central Gazette –

• The Documents that the applicant is enclosing should be at most One Year. Otherwise, they will not be acceptable to the Department of Publication.
• The Documents should be in a prescribed proforma provided by the Department of Publication. The Signatures in those documents should be from Old Name Only.
• Gazette do not accept the Applications pertaining Name Change/Correction in LIC Documents, Share Certificates & Property Documents.
• Pay the Publication Fee appropriately as fixed by the Department and make sure to take a Clear Print-out of the Payment receipt.
• Publish the Notification in the Central Gazette. It holds more power and better recognition as compared to the Notification of State Gazette.\