Following are 3 major steps to get your name officially changed in India.
1) Affidavit.
2)Notification in the Newspapers.
3)Notification in the Central or State Official Gazette.
1) Affidavit
2)Notification in the Newspapers.
3)Notification in the Central or State Official Gazette.
1)AFFIDAVIT is the first step in legal name change procedure.
1) The first thing to do to get your changed is to get an Affidavit made by Notary or an Advocate.
2) The Notary will provide with the stamp paper on which the affidavit for the name change is to be made.
3)After you get the Stamp paper, provide the following details
a) Current name and the New name you wish to seek.
b)Current Address.
c)Reason for the name change.
4) When the Affidavit gets printed on the stamp paper, it has to be signed by 2 witnesses. Legally it has to be signed by 2 officers of Gazette rank along with their rubber stamp.
A Married woman has to provide following details for the name change procedure.
a)Her old name along with her Father’s name and address.
b) Her new name along with her Husband’s name and address.
c)Her Marriage date.
For an employee of Central Government, name change procedure should be done in the lieu of Ministry of Home Affairs O.M. No.- 190016/1/87-Estt. Dated 12.3.1987.
An overseas Indian has to submit a deed of stating the name change form, signed by Indian High Commission Office or Indian Embassy to the Controller of Publication.
Affidavit carries both your names ( old and new). It has to be preserved as it may be needed in future legal formalities.
2) NOTIFICATION IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
A notification or advertisement has to be given regarding the name change in 2 local news papers out of which 1 should be in the regional language of the state. The other Notification should be published in an English daily newspaper.
Following details have to be provided in the news papers-
a) New name
b)Old name
c)date of birth
d)address.
3) NOTIFICATION IN THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE
Publishing the name change in the official Gazette is mandatory only for those who are Government employees for others its optional. This notification can be published in Central as well as State Gazette as applicable for the respective servants.The Central and State Official Gazettes are published once in a month.
Documents needed for a Gazette Notification.
a) Along with the affidavit, an application (deed for name change form) has to be submitted to the Controller of Publication.
b) A Declaration letter stating the reasons to change the name.
c)Original copies of the Newspaper in which notification of the name change was published along with the date.
d) 2 photographs for a smooth procedure.
e) Address and Identity proofs. The address should be the same as mentioned in the affidavit and newspapers.
The office of the Publication Department will send the information of the copies of the Gazette on which the notification of the name change appeared.
Once your new name gets published in the Central or State Official Gazette, it assures that your name has legally changed.
These copies have to be preserved for future.
However, because these gazettes are published once in a month it may take upto 3 months for the procedure of the name change to complete