How to Change Name Legally in India (2026) Guide

Video guide

Watch: How to Change Your Name in India

A quick walkthrough of the affidavit, the gazette office and how to change or correct your name legally in India.

In this video, the YourDoorstep team explains how to change your name legally in India: the documents you need, the real fees, and how we handle the whole process at your doorstep.

Changing your name is a big step. Maybe you just got married, you are fixing a spelling mistake that follows you across every document, you converted to a new faith, or you simply want a name that fits you better. Whatever the reason, India has one clear, legally recognised path to a new name that works from every state: an affidavit, one newspaper notice, and a gazette notification. This guide walks through every step in plain words, quoting the Department of Publication's own guidelines rather than other blogs, and it is honest about the parts nobody likes to say out loud: there is no published timeline, no agent may file the Central Gazette for you, and roughly half the states have no gazette route of their own.

Quick Answer

To change your name legally in India, follow three steps. Make a notarised affidavit stating your old and new name, publish the change in one daily newspaper, then file for a gazette notification: either your state's own gazette where one exists (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and a few more) or the Central Gazette of India, open to everyone. The Central fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors on BharatKosh, the file goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi, by post or in person in your own name, and the Central office publishes no timeline. The published PDF is your proof, and since April 2026 the passport rules name it expressly.

Definition: A gazette notification is an official notice published in a Government Gazette (Part IV of the Gazette of India, or the relevant Part of a State Gazette) that turns your name change into a public, legally recognised record, accepted by the passport office, banks, UIDAI and government departments across the country.

India name change at a glance

Steps: Affidavit → newspaper ad → gazette notification
Routes: Central Gazette (everyone) or your State Gazette (about half the states)
Central fee: Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor (BharatKosh)
Realistic total: About Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,000 doing it yourself (Central route)
Time: No published Central timeline; Part IV prints weekly. Haryana (15 days) and West Bengal (7 days) publish deadlines
Newspaper: One daily local newspaper (any language)

Key takeaways

Changing your name legally in India takes three steps: affidavit, newspaper ad, gazette notification.
The Central Gazette (Gazette of India, Part IV) is open to residents of every state and recognised on sight by every office and embassy. State gazettes are equally lawful where they exist, and the passport rules accept both.
One newspaper, not two. The Department of Publication asks for "one of the daily local leading newspapers"; two cuttings are only the passport office's alternative to a gazette.
Central Gazette fee: Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor; Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 if you live abroad; Rs 250 extra only for a change-of-religion name. Non-refundable, on BharatKosh. Doing it yourself costs about Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,000 all in.
About half the states run a citizen route of their own (Gujarat online for Rs 300 with no newspaper; Haryana on Saral with a 15-day deadline; West Bengal online, 7 days; Maharashtra, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan online; Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Puducherry on paper). Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab and most of the Northeast have none, so their residents use the Central Gazette.
The Central Gazette office is the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, behind Delhi Vidhan Sabha metro, Delhi-110054. You post the file or hand it in yourself: the Department's rule is "personally or by Post/Courier only", and agents and advocates are expressly not permitted to submit.
Since 1 October 2015 the Gazette of India is digital only, downloaded free from egazette.gov.in; nothing is posted or emailed to you.
Nobody publishes a Central timeline and there is no Tatkal gazette; Part IV prints weekly and your notice appears once the Department clears the file.
A birth certificate spelling fix goes through the local Registrar (RBD Act), not the gazette.

First things first

Is a Gazette Notification Mandatory for a Name Change?

No statute makes it compulsory for a private citizen, and the courts have said the right to your name flows from Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21. In practice, though, the gazette is the one document every office accepts without argument. The passport instruction booklet lists "clippings of two local newspapers or the Gazette notification" as proof of a major name change, and since the MEA memorandum of April 2026 it names the Gazette of India expressly; UIDAI accepts it and requires it once you have used up your two Aadhaar name updates; banks, universities and school boards treat it as final; embassies ask for it.

For central government employees it is compulsory: the DoPT Office Memorandum of 12 March 1987 requires a deed, a newspaper notice and publication in the Gazette of India at the employee's own expense. Our honest advice for everyone else: if your new name touches a passport, PAN, bank, board certificate or job record, do the gazette from the start, so no office can question it later.

The choice that confuses everyone

State Gazette vs Central Gazette: Which One Should You Use?

India has two kinds of gazettes. The Central Gazette, the Gazette of India, is run by the Department of Publication in Delhi and is open to every resident of every state. Separately, about half the states run a citizen change-of-name route in their own State Gazette. Both are lawful public notices; the differences are fee, paperwork, speed and how instantly an office outside your state recognises the document.

How to change your name legally in India: affidavit, one newspaper notice and gazette notification, then Aadhaar, PAN and passport updates

Point	State Gazette	Central Gazette of India
Run by	Each state's printing and stationery department (where a citizen route exists at all)	Department of Publication, Government of India, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054
Who can apply	Residents of that state (Haryana also its government employees)	Every Indian resident and Indians abroad, no state restriction
Fee	From Rs 50 (Andhra Pradesh, last published figure), Rs 135 (Puducherry) and Rs 300 (Gujarat) to Rs 1,100 (Haryana, West Bengal)	Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor; Rs 3,500 / Rs 5,100 abroad; Rs 250 extra for a change-of-religion name
Newspaper	Varies: none in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Telangana; one in Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, Chandigarh	One daily local leading newspaper
Timeline	Some states publish one: Haryana 15 days, West Bengal 7 days, Tamil Nadu next Wednesday, Puducherry 3 weeks	None published; Part IV prints weekly
Passport	Accepted: "Gazette notification of the concerned State Government" is in the instruction booklet	Accepted: named expressly by the MEA memorandum of April 2026
Best for	State records, boards and offices; anyone who wants a deadline or a lower fee	Visas, embassies, employers outside your state, anyone in a state with no route

The state-wise picture

The state picture varies a lot, and this is where most guides go silent or guess. We checked every state portal we could reach; the full table is in the next section.

States with a real online route

Gujarat (Rs 300, no newspaper), Maharashtra (DGPS via Aaple Sarkar), Haryana (Saral portal, Rs 1,100, 15-day deadline), West Bengal (Kolkata Gazette Part II, Rs 1,100, 7 days), Kerala (COMPOSE portal), Odisha (e-Gazette), Rajasthan (REAMS e-gazette module) and Chhattisgarh (Sewa Setu).

States with a paper route

Tamil Nadu (Chennai counter, Rs 750 English or Rs 150 Tamil), Telangana (Hyderabad, Rs 375 DD), Andhra Pradesh (Vijayawada), Assam (Guwahati, Rs 240), Puducherry (Rs 135), Chandigarh UT and Madhya Pradesh (prescribed format at the Bhopal press).

Central Gazette only

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and most of the Northeast publish no citizen route; Karnataka and Punjab print name changes only for their own government servants. Goa is different again: a court route under its own Act since December 2022, open only to those born and registered in Goa with a Goa-born parent or grandparent; everyone else in Goa uses the Central Gazette.

The simple rule: the Central Gazette works for everyone, everywhere. If your name needs to travel beyond your state, onto a visa or to an employer elsewhere, choose it so no office ever asks you to repeat the process. If your records are in your state and your state has a route with a deadline or a lower fee, the state gazette is equally lawful and often quicker. The passport office accepts either.

Verified, state by state

Which States Have Their Own Name Change Gazette Route? (2026 Table)

Checked against each state's own portal or printing department in August 2026. Where a fee or timeline is "not published", no official figure exists online and you should treat any number you see elsewhere as a guess. Every state also has the Central Gazette.

State / UT	Own citizen route?	How	Fee	Newspaper	Published timeline
Andhra Pradesh	Yes (Part II, Vijayawada)	Paper to the Commissioner of Printing; apegazette.cgg.gov.in is read-only	Last published: Rs 50 weekly / Rs 375 Extraordinary; confirm	Not on the state forms	None published
Arunachal Pradesh	Notices issued through the Deputy Commissioner (Part I)	Paper	Not published	Not published	None published
Assam	Yes	Paper at the Directorate of Printing & Stationery, Guwahati	Rs 240 via e-GRAS	One	None published
Bihar	No citizen route published	Use the Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Chandigarh (UT)	Yes (UT e-Gazette)	Paper application and declaration form	Not published	One national newspaper, original	None published
Chhattisgarh	Yes ("Ordinary Gazette Notification for Name Change")	Online via Sewa Setu / Lok Seva Kendra	Shown on the portal	Not published	None published
Delhi	No state route	Central Gazette (the office is in Delhi)	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Goa	Court route, not a gazette application	Civil Judge Junior Division under the Goa Change of Name and Surname Act (since 25 Dec 2022)	Court fee	Publication as ordered	Court timetable
Gujarat	Yes	Online	Rs 300	None	Weekly issue
Haryana	Yes (Part III)	Online on Saral or at a Saral Kendra; originals posted to Panchkula	Rs 1,100 adult / Rs 1,700 minor (+Rs 50 at a Kendra)	One, not older than 6 months	15 days from fee (Right to Service)
Himachal Pradesh	No citizen route published	Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Jammu & Kashmir	Not published	Central Gazette in practice	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Jharkhand	No citizen route published	Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Karnataka	Government servants only (1967 Rules)	Citizens use the Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Kerala	Yes	Online on the Printing Department's COMPOSE portal	Shown on the portal	Not published	None published
Madhya Pradesh	Prescribed format for Rajpatra Part 3(1)	Paper at the Government Press, Bhopal	Not published online	Not published	None published
Maharashtra	Yes (Government Gazette Part II)	Online via DGPS / Aaple Sarkar	Rs 522.47 (Rs 272.47 backward classes), per the DGPS manual	Not required by the manual	None published
Odisha	Yes ("Change of Name/Surname")	Online on egazette.odisha.gov.in	Shown on the portal	Not published	None published
Puducherry	Yes	Paper at the Government Central Press, Thattanchavady	Rs 135 up to 120 words	Not required	Within three weeks
Punjab	Government servants only	Citizens use the Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Rajasthan	Yes (citizen user)	Online on the REAMS e-gazette module	Shown on the portal; refunded if rejected	Not mentioned	None published
Tamil Nadu	Yes (Part VI, Section 4)	Paper at the Commissionerate of Stationery & Printing, Chennai	Rs 750 (English) / Rs 150 (Tamil)	Not required	Published the following Wednesday
Telangana	Yes	Paper to the Commissioner of Printing, Hyderabad; forms on tggazette.cgg.gov.in	Rs 375 by DD	None (Annexure-II from the MRO instead)	None published
Uttar Pradesh	No citizen route (the gazette's Private category is empty)	Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
Uttarakhand	Not published	Central Gazette in practice	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None
West Bengal	Yes (Kolkata Gazette Part II)	Online on wbgazettepart2.in	Rs 1,100	One, plus an affidavit attested by a first-class Judicial Magistrate	Within 7 days of application
Northeast (Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim)	No published state procedure	Central Gazette	Rs 1,100 (Central)	One	None

Two patterns are worth noticing. The states that publish a deadline (Haryana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry) are the ones whose route is worth choosing for speed, and the states whose portals look like an application but are not (Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh) are the ones where most agent sites get it wrong. Click a state for its full guide.

Infographic: how to change your name legally in India, the three steps, Central Gazette versus State Gazette, states with no citizen route, verified fees and common myths — The Indian name-change process at a glance: three steps, two gazettes and the verified fees. Click to open full size.

Where to file

Where Is the Gazette Office in India?

The Central Gazette file goes to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, behind Delhi Vidhan Sabha metro station, Delhi-110054 (public dealing 10 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4 PM on working days). The published notice is downloaded free from egazette.gov.in. There is no other Central office anywhere in India, and no online application: the Department accepts the file "personally or by Post/Courier only".

Watch out for a common error: many websites print this address with a state name attached, like "Civil Lines, Bihar-110054" or "Civil Lines, Maharashtra-110054". Those are broken addresses. 110054 is a Delhi pincode, and the Central Gazette office is in Delhi only.

Good news

Can You Change Your Name Without Going Anywhere?

Yes. A legal name change in India runs on paperwork, not office visits. There is no name change office you must line up at in your city, and the only place the Central file must physically reach is the Department of Publication in Delhi, by post or courier.

One honest note about the "we file it for you" promise on most agent sites. The Department's guideline says: "Application either submitted personally or sent by Post/Courier only will be entertained. No other channel is permissible viz Agents, Advocates, etc." So what a good consultant actually does is everything around the filing: draft the affidavit in gazette wording, arrange the notary, book the one newspaper ad in your state's language, pay BharatKosh under the right head, type the proforma and prepare the CD, and pack the file so that the only thing left is your signature and the post office. That is what we do from anywhere in India, and we track Part IV each week until your notice appears and send you the PDF. Whether you are in Kochi, Guwahati, Srinagar or abroad, the process is the same.

The process

The 3 Legal Steps

Every legal name change through the Central Gazette follows the same three steps, in this order.

1

Make the affidavit

A short legal statement on stamp paper with your old name, new name, address, father's or husband's name, and the reason, signed before a notary.

2

Publish in one newspaper

Announce the change in one daily that circulates where you live, in any language. This is a public notice, so anyone can object.

3

Get the gazette

Post the file, in your own name, to the Department of Publication, Delhi (or apply on your state's route). Your notice is printed in Part IV of the Gazette of India, and you download the PDF.

Step 1: Make the name change affidavit

An affidavit is a short legal statement on non-judicial stamp paper; the stamp duty on an affidavit is Rs 10 in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and several other states, higher elsewhere (Maharashtra charges Rs 500 since October 2024, Karnataka Rs 100), and vendors often issue Rs 20 to Rs 100 e-stamps where the duty is Rs 10. It lists your old name, new name, address, father's or husband's name, and the reason for the change. For the Central Gazette you sign it in front of a Notary Public; a few state routes ask for a First Class Magistrate or Tehsildar instead (Haryana, West Bengal). Write every name fully expanded, with no initials, because that is the form the passport office and the gazette will print. This document is the foundation of the whole file, so every detail must be exact, and the Department will not accept it if it is more than a year old when the file arrives.

Step 2: Publish the change in one newspaper

The Department of Publication's guideline asks for the change to be advertised in "one of the daily local leading newspapers"; it must be a daily; weeklies are not accepted. One paper, any language, is the rule; the "one English plus one regional" formula on most websites is not in any government document. Where does it come from? The passport office, whose booklet accepts "clippings of two local newspapers" as an alternative to a gazette, and its specimen affidavit talks about one paper at your present address and one at your permanent address, a geographic split, not a language split. With a gazette in hand you need neither cutting. The ad should carry your old name, new name, father's or husband's name, address, and the affidavit date, in exactly the affidavit's spelling. Keep the full original newspaper page, not just the cut-out advert. A cutting where the date cannot be read is treated as invalid. Indicative classified rates in the metros run from about Rs 300 (Hindi dailies) to Rs 950 (The Times of India) for a minimum-size ad.

Step 3: Get the gazette notification

Pay the fee first on BharatKosh (Department of Publication, Gazette notification): Rs 1,100 for an adult, Rs 1,700 for a minor, Rs 3,500 or Rs 5,100 if you live abroad, plus Rs 250 if the new name signals a change of religion. Then the complete file goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054. Per the Department's own enclosure list it contains: an undertaking signed by the applicant, the original newspaper page, the prescribed proforma in duplicate, typed, signed by the applicant and two witnesses, a CD with the print matter in MS Word "without witness portion", two self-attested passport photographs and a photocopy of ID proof, a certificate signed by you declaring that the hard copy and the soft copy are the same, a request letter, and the fee receipt. Nothing may be older than one year, the documents are not returned, and the file must be posted or handed in by you. Your notice is printed in Part IV of the Gazette of India, which is published weekly. You then download the PDF from egazette.gov.in. Since 1 October 2015 the gazette is digital only, and the downloaded copy needs no further certification.

A quick note on order: some sites list the newspaper ad before the affidavit. In real practice the affidavit comes first, because both the newspaper ad and the gazette file copy their details from it.

What other guides get wrong

Name Change in India: Myths vs Facts

We read the twenty pages that rank for this topic against the Department of Publication's guidelines, the passport instruction booklet and the state portals. Fifteen of the twenty state a two-newspaper rule; none quote the rule that bars agents from filing; none know the April 2026 passport memorandum. These are the claims that fall apart.

What you will read elsewhere	What the official source says
"Publish in two newspapers, one English and one regional"	"One of the daily local leading newspapers" (Department of Publication). Two cuttings are only the passport office's alternative to a gazette, and its split is present address plus permanent address, not English plus vernacular.
"Our agents file the gazette for you" / "representation at the gazette office"	"Application either submitted personally or sent by Post/Courier only will be entertained. No other channel is permissible viz Agents, Advocates, etc."
"Gazette fee Rs 700 to 900" / "Rs 2,500 to 5,000" / "NRI fee Rs 7,500 to 9,000"	Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor; Rs 3,500 adult and Rs 5,100 minor from abroad; Rs 250 extra only for a change-of-religion name. Non-refundable, on BharatKosh; demand drafts and cash are no longer taken.
"Rs 250 per extra alias"	The Rs 250 is the change-of-religion surcharge. The Department's fee table lists no alias fee.
"30 to 45 days" / "2 to 4 weeks" / "Tatkal gazette in 3 days" / "expedited within 2 weeks"	The Department publishes no timeline and offers no urgent service. Part IV prints weekly and your notice appears once the file is cleared. Only some state routes have a published deadline (Haryana 15 days, West Bengal 7 days, Tamil Nadu the next Wednesday, Puducherry about three weeks).
"Upload your affidavit on the e-Gazette portal and pay online"	No such Central portal exists. egazette.gov.in only publishes; BharatKosh only takes the fee; the application itself travels by post or in person.
"The gazette copy is posted to your address" / "emailed as original"	Printing and sale of hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015. You download the PDF yourself, free, and it needs no certification.
"A State Gazette is not accepted for the passport or Aadhaar"	The passport booklet lists "the Gazette notification of the concerned State Government"; the April 2026 memorandum added the Gazette of India alongside it. UIDAI accepts a gazette notification from a State or Union Government.
"Civil Lines, Bihar-110054" / "Civil Lines, Noida-110054" / "Noida Government Press"	Find-and-replace errors. 110054 is a Delhi PIN and the only Central office is Civil Lines, Delhi.
"The affidavit must be under six months old"	The Department's rule is one year: "The documents must not be older than one year." (Haryana's state route separately wants a newspaper notice under six months.)
"Witnesses must be gazetted officers"	The proforma needs the signatures of two witnesses with their names and addresses; no rank is prescribed.
"A birth certificate name cannot be changed" / "fix it through the gazette"	The Registrar corrects entries under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act; the gazette is evidence for that correction, not a substitute.

The wording

Name Change Affidavit Format and Gazette Notification Format

"Name change affidavit format PDF / Word" is one of the most searched phrases on this topic. There is no government form for the affidavit; a notary will accept any clear declaration with these elements. The gazette proforma, by contrast, is prescribed by the Department of Publication.

The affidavit (any state; Rs 10 stamp in most, Rs 500 in Maharashtra)

Title it "Affidavit" and write it in the first person: "I, [old name], son / daughter / wife of [name], aged [age] years, resident of [full address], do hereby solemnly affirm and declare: 1. That my name as recorded in [Aadhaar / passport / school certificate] is [old name]. 2. That I have changed my name and shall henceforth be known as [new name] for all purposes. 3. That [old name] and [new name] are the names of one and the same person, that is, me. 4. That I make this declaration to publish the change in a newspaper and in the Gazette." Sign in both names before a Notary Public (or a First Class Magistrate where a state route asks for one), with the notary's stamp, register number and date.

After marriage or divorce

Add the reason and the document: "That I was married to [spouse] on [date] (marriage certificate No. …) and have adopted the surname [new surname]", or "That my marriage was dissolved by decree dated [date] in [case] and I am reverting to my maiden name [name]." Attach the certificate or decree to the file.

The gazette proforma (prescribed, typed, two copies)

"I, [old name], son / daughter / wife of [name], employed as [occupation], residing at [address], have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as [new name]. It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection." Signature in the old name and in the new name, date, and two witnesses with name, address and ID. The same paragraph, without the witness portion, goes on the CD in MS Word, and a separate certificate declares the two are identical.

The newspaper notice

"I, [old name], son / daughter of [name], residing at [address], have changed my name to [new name] vide affidavit dated [date] sworn before [notary, place]." One daily is enough; keep the full printed page. Every name, in all three documents, must be spelled identically and fully expanded, with no initials.

Who accepts an affidavit alone? Almost nobody for a genuine change of name. UIDAI's document list is built around a gazette or a certificate, the passport office wants a gazette or two cuttings, and boards and UPSC ask for the gazette. The affidavit is the foundation of the file, not the finish.

After you file

How to Check Your Gazette Name Change Status and Download the PDF

Central Gazette

There is no application number and no status page. Keep the BharatKosh transaction reference and the postal or courier receipt; that is your file. Then search egazette.gov.in under Weekly Gazette, Part IV, by date or by your name, from a couple of weeks after the file reaches Delhi and every week after that. The PDF is free, needs no certification, and no printed copy is posted or emailed to you. Where a file has shortcomings the Department may send an objection letter by speed post or e-mail, and you then have six months to supply the missing papers.

State routes

Online state routes give you a tracking ID: Haryana a Saral ID with SMS updates, Maharashtra an application number on Aaple Sarkar with status at egazzete.mahaonline.gov.in, West Bengal a login on wbgazettepart2.in, Rajasthan REAMS, Kerala COMPOSE. Paper routes (Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam) give a receipt; Tamil Nadu prints the following Wednesday and posts five copies of the Part to you, Andhra Pradesh and the others publish the issue online for you to download.

Checklist

Documents Required for a Legal Name Change in India

Keep these ready. Missing or mismatched papers are the top reason files get held up.

Document	Needed?	Notes
Notarised name change affidavit (original)	Yes	Basis of the newspaper ad and the later updates; not on the DoP enclosure list itself. Rs 10 stamp duty in most states (Maharashtra Rs 500); not older than one year
Old name ID proof	Yes	Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID or passport, self-attested
Address proof	Not a listed enclosure	Your address goes in the undertaking; keep a utility bill or rent agreement handy for the newspaper and later updates
Two passport-size photos	Yes	Self-attested
Original newspaper page	Yes	One daily local newspaper, any language, the full page
Undertaking signed by the applicant	Yes	The Department's prescribed undertaking (by the guardian for a minor)
Typed proforma in duplicate	Yes	Signed by applicant and two witnesses
Soft copy on CD (MS Word)	Yes	Without the witness portion
Matching certificate + request letter	Yes	Declares hard and soft copies are the same; with the BharatKosh e-receipt
Marriage certificate	If applicable	For a surname change after marriage
Divorce papers	If applicable	For restoring your maiden name
Birth certificate	If applicable	For a minor's name change
Deed of change of name	If applicable	Central government employees, under DoPT O.M. No. 19016/1/87-Estt.(A) of 12 March 1987
Conversion documents	If applicable	For a change-of-religion name (Rs 250 surcharge)

If you live abroad, the deed is usually attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission of that country, and the fee is the overseas one (Rs 3,500 adult, Rs 5,100 minor). Two rules trip people up: the Department does not accept documents older than one year, and it does not return anything you send, so post self-attested copies and keep the originals.

Real, verified costs

Name Change Fees in India (2026)

Online you will see everything from Rs 700 to Rs 9,000, which only causes confusion. Here are the numbers from the Department of Publication's own guidelines. Two costs sit inside a name change: the fixed government publication fee, and the side costs that vary by state and newspaper.

Item	Cost
Central Gazette fee (adult)	Rs 1,100 (BharatKosh)
Central Gazette fee (minor)	Rs 1,700 (BharatKosh)
Central Gazette fee (living abroad)	Rs 3,500 adult, Rs 5,100 minor
Change-of-religion surcharge	Rs 250 (Rs 1,350 in all for an adult); there is no separate "alias fee"
Stamp paper	Rs 10 stamp duty in most states (Maharashtra Rs 500, Karnataka Rs 100); vendors often issue Rs 20 to Rs 100
Notary	About Rs 100 to Rs 500
Newspaper ad (one paper)	About Rs 300 to Rs 950 for a minimum-size classified in a metro edition
State gazette fee (where a route exists)	Rs 135 (Puducherry), Rs 150 / 750 (Tamil Nadu), Rs 240 (Assam), Rs 300 (Gujarat), Rs 375 (Telangana), Rs 522 (Maharashtra), Rs 1,100 (Haryana, West Bengal)
Aadhaar update afterwards	Rs 75 per demographic update at a centre; online document update on myAadhaar is free until 14 June 2027

Realistic total: about Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,000 doing it yourself on the Central route, less on Gujarat's or Puducherry's state route. Agent packages of Rs 6,000 to Rs 16,000 are service charges, not government cost, and a "Rs 999 all inclusive" package cannot even cover the Rs 1,100 fee.

Watch out: pay the government fee only through the official BharatKosh portal and keep the receipt. Do not pay cash to anyone who calls it a "government charge."

Timeline

How Long Does a Legal Name Change Take in India?

The honest answer is that the Department of Publication publishes no timeline at all. Part IV of the Gazette of India prints weekly, and your notice appears in an issue after the Department clears the file; that is the whole of the official position. The steps before it are quick: the affidavit and notary typically take a day, and a classified ad booked before the afternoon cut-off usually prints the next morning. The "30 to 45 days", "2 to 4 weeks" and "7 to 15 days" figures on other sites disagree with each other because each is a guess.

Where a clock does exist, it is a state one: Haryana's Right to Service notification requires publication within 15 days of the fee, West Bengal's guideline says 7 days from application, Tamil Nadu prints applications received in a week in the following Wednesday's issue, and Puducherry promises three weeks. If speed matters and you live in one of those states, that is a reason to use the state route.

Errors are the real time-killer: a spelling mismatch, a CD that does not match the proforma or a wrong fee category sends you back to the start, minus the non-refundable fee. There is no official fast-track and no Tatkal gazette, so getting the file right the first time is the fastest route.

Every document

Name Change Services We Handle Across India

A gazette on its own is only useful once your other records match it. We help you update your new name across all the documents that matter.

🪪

Aadhaar Card

Name change or spelling correction with the gazette as proof.

💳

PAN Card

Name update online through Protean (formerly NSDL) or UTIITSL, using the updated Aadhaar or the gazette.

🗳️

Voter ID (EPIC)

Name correction on the electoral roll via Form 8.

🛂

Passport

Re-issue with your new name using the gazette and ads.

🚗

Driving Licence

Name update at the RTO with the gazette copy.

🏦

Bank & KYC

Update your name across bank accounts and KYC records.

🎓

Boards & University

Records for state boards, CBSE and universities.

📜

Birth Certificate

Correction through the local Registrar under the RBD Act, not the gazette.

🛡️

LIC & Insurance

Name change on policies and insurance records.

🏠

Ration Card & Property

Updates on ration card and property documents.

Tell us which documents you need updated. Call 9540005026 and we guide you through each one after the gazette.

Pan-India coverage

States & Union Territories We Serve

We handle name change work for people across every state and union territory of India. Big metro or remote hill district, the process runs the same way, and you never have to travel to Delhi.

States

Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Union Territories

Delhi (NCT) Jammu & Kashmir Ladakh Chandigarh Puducherry Andaman & Nicobar Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Lakshadweep

Wherever you are, call 9540005026 and we handle it end to end.

Next step

After the Gazette: Update Your Records

Once your name change is published, use the gazette PDF to update your other records. This is the final and often the slowest part, so start early.

Document	How to update
Aadhaar	Update at an Aadhaar centre (Rs 75) or on myAadhaar with the gazette as proof. UIDAI allows a name update twice in a lifetime; a third goes through the regional office as an exception, with the gazette
PAN	Apply for name correction online through Protean (formerly NSDL) or UTIITSL with the updated Aadhaar and the gazette
Passport	Apply for re-issue with the gazette notification (State Government or Gazette of India, both named in the MEA instructions since April 2026) plus two public documents in the new name; after marriage the marriage certificate or Annexure J is enough
Driving licence	Apply through Sarathi to your licensing authority (RTO / RTA) with the gazette copy
Bank accounts	Visit your branch with the gazette, affidavit and ID
Voter ID	Submit Form 8 for correction
Board / university records	Each board has its own form and time limit: CBSE entertains a change of name only where it was permitted by a court and gazetted before the result, and corrections within two years of the result; state boards (HBSE, BSEAP, UP Board and others) run their own correction forms with the gazette attached
Employer records	Inform HR with the gazette copy

Keep several printouts of the gazette and the digital PDF, because every office will want its own copy, and some ask you to open the live entry on egazette.gov.in. We can also handle these updates for you.

A common case

Name Change After Divorce in India

After a divorce, many people want to return to their maiden name. The good news is that it uses the same three steps, and no separate court order is needed just to restore a maiden name.

To revert to your maiden name after divorce, make a notarised affidavit stating your married name and the maiden name you are returning to, publish it in one daily newspaper, and file for the gazette (Central, or your state's route). Keep your divorce decree ready to attach with the file. Once published in Part IV, you use the gazette PDF to update your Aadhaar, PAN, passport, bank and other records back to your maiden name.

Good to know: you do not need your former spouse's involvement or a fresh court order to restore your maiden name. The affidavit, the newspaper notice and the gazette are enough; a minor's name change after divorce is made by the custodial parent with the decree attached.

The most-asked update

Name Change in Passport in India

The passport is the record people worry about most, because embassies and airlines need it to match everything else. After your gazette is published, a passport re-issue with the new name is straightforward.

To change the name in your passport, apply for a re-issue on the Passport Seva portal, select the change-of-name reason, and carry your existing passport with the proof the instruction booklet asks for. For a major change of name that proof is "clippings of two local newspapers or the Gazette notification of the concerned State Government", plus at least two public or school documents already in the new name; an MEA Office Memorandum of April 2026, issued after the Delhi High Court's order in Raj Trehan v. Union of India, revised the line to add "or Gazette of India (Central Government)" expressly. For a surname change after marriage the marriage certificate or the Annexure J joint declaration is enough; after divorce, the decree. Initials are not allowed in a passport name and must be expanded, so the gazette should carry the expanded form. A re-issue with a changed name normally triggers police verification.

Order matters: do the gazette first, then the passport re-issue. Applying for the passport before the gazette is published is the most common reason people have to redo the appointment.

Special cases

Marriage, Minors, Religion & Government Employees

💍

After marriage

Add your marriage certificate to the file. The affidavit states your maiden name and married name. A name change after marriage is a choice, not a legal requirement.

🧒

For a minor

The parent or guardian signs the undertaking and the affidavit and applies with the child's birth certificate; photographs of both the guardian and the child go in the file. The Central Gazette fee is Rs 1,700 (Rs 5,100 from abroad). For a CBSE student, get the gazette before the board result is declared.

🕊️

Religion change

The adult guideline itself covers a change of religion: the affidavit states the conversion, the conversion documents are attached, and the fee carries a Rs 250 surcharge (Rs 1,350 for an adult). This is the figure other sites mislabel as an alias fee.

🏛️

Government employees

Central government employees follow DoPT O.M. No. 19016/1/87-Estt.(A) of 12 March 1987: a deed of change of name, publication in a prominent local newspaper and in the Gazette of India at their own expense, routed through the department so the service book is amended. A woman changing her surname on marriage needs only a formal intimation to her appointing authority. State employees follow their own state's rules.

🏳️‍⚧️

Transgender persons

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, as amended in 2026 (assented 30 March 2026, in force 25 May 2026), gives the right to change the first name in the birth certificate and all other official documents on the strength of the District Magistrate's certificate of identity, now issued on a designated medical board's recommendation. Apply through the National Portal for Transgender Persons; the gazette route remains open in addition.

✈️

Living abroad

NRIs use the Central route with the deed usually attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission, and pay Rs 3,500 (adult) or Rs 5,100 (minor). The "Rs 7,500 to 9,000 NRI fee" on some sites is a consultant price, not the government fee.

📝

Spelling correction

The simplest case. The affidavit states the wrong spelling and the correct one, and the same three steps apply.

📜

Birth certificate

Not a gazette job on its own. Corrections go through the local Registrar under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act (amended 2023, in force 1 October 2023), with the gazette as evidence for a genuine change of name. Registration now runs on the national CRS portal.

The law behind it

What the Courts Have Said About Changing Your Name

None of the pages ranking for this topic cite a single judgment. Three recent ones matter to an ordinary applicant.

Allahabad High Court, 2023

In Md. Sameer Rao v. State of U.P. (May 2023) the court held that the right to keep or change one's name is part of the freedom of expression under Article 19(1)(a) and the right to life under Article 21, and struck down a three-year time limit the UP Board had used to refuse a corrected certificate. It is the case to cite when a board or university tells you it is "too late".

Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, 2025

In Mohd. Hassan v. UT of J&K (September 2025) the court repeated that changing one's name is a facet of Article 19(1)(a) and directed the school board to reflect the name notified in the gazette. Useful for anyone whose institution recognises the gazette in principle but not in practice.

Delhi High Court, 2026

In Raj Trehan v. Union of India (W.P.(C) 4145/2026, order of 1 April 2026) the court directed the Ministry of External Affairs to consider treating the Gazette of India as an acceptable passport document. The MEA's Office Memorandum that followed in April 2026 revised the rule to "two local newspapers or Gazette notification of the concerned State Government or Gazette of India". If a PSK still asks for two cuttings when you hold a Central gazette, this is the memorandum to cite.

Before you pay anyone

How to Spot a Bad Name Change Service

The tells are consistent across the sites we read. Any one of them is a reason to look elsewhere, including at us.

They promise to file for you

The Department of Publication accepts the Central file only from the applicant, in person or by post. A service that says "our agent submits it" either posts it in your name anyway or is not telling you how it works.

They quote a delivery date or a "Tatkal" option

There is no Central timeline and no urgent service. "3 days", "7 to 15 days", "expedited within 2 weeks" and "Tatkal gazette" are sales lines.

The price is below the government fee

"Rs 999 all inclusive" cannot cover a Rs 1,100 BharatKosh fee. Ask for the fee receipt in your name and the itemised service charge.

They describe an online portal that does not exist

"Upload your affidavit on the e-Gazette portal", "e-Rajpatra login", "state gazette login" for a state with no route. egazette.gov.in publishes; BharatKosh collects the fee; nothing else is online on the Central route.

The address is wrong

"Civil Lines, [your state]-110054" or "Tis Hazari" with a city swapped in. The only Central office is Civil Lines, Delhi-110054, and the state routes have their own addresses (Panchkula, Vijayawada, Chennai, Hyderabad, Guwahati).

The domain looks official

A .com or .in dressed up with a government emblem, a "gazettegov" name or a Swachh Bharat logo is a private business. Government sites end in gov.in or nic.in.

Expert insights

Four Things the Experienced Know

🔤

Match your name letter for letter

The single reason files fail is a spelling gap between the affidavit, the newspaper ad and the ID proof. Pick one exact spelling, including initials and spacing, and use it on every paper. The gazette prints exactly what you submit.

🎯

Choose the Central Gazette when in doubt

State gazettes are lawful and, where they publish a deadline, often faster; but the Central Gazette is recognised on sight by every authority, in every state, and by embassies. If your name has to travel, doing it once, centrally, is cheaper than explaining a state gazette twice.

📜

Know the birth certificate exception

A spelling fix on a birth certificate is not a gazette job. It goes through the local Registrar under the RBD Act. For a CBSE school name change the board's bye-law asks for court permission and a gazette notification before the result; a spelling correction needs neither.

🚫

Know what names are not allowed

You cannot change your name to hide your identity, escape debts or legal cases, or impersonate someone. The Department also publishes a list of matters it will not print in Part IV, and the passport office refuses initials, so choose a fully expanded name.

Honest view

Benefits & Drawbacks of the Gazette Route

✔ Accepted everywhere, for life

A Central Gazette notification is treated as final proof by UIDAI, the passport office, banks, universities and embassies. Once published, it is a permanent public record.

✔ Digital and easy to reprint

Since October 2015 the gazette is e-published only. If you lose your copy, you download it again free from egazette.gov.in.

✔ Can be done from anywhere

The whole process runs on paperwork, so you can complete it from any state, or even from abroad, without visiting any office.

✕ Nobody promises a date

The Central Gazette publishes no timeline and has no fast-track; Part IV prints weekly. Only a few state routes put a deadline in writing (Haryana 15 days, West Bengal 7 days, Tamil Nadu the next Wednesday, Puducherry about three weeks).

✕ Mistakes cost money and time

A wrong fee category, a spelling gap, or a CD that does not match the hard copy can mean a rejection and a restart. If the error is yours, the fee is not refunded.

✕ The file is physical, and yours to post

Fee payment and download are online, but the Central Gazette file still has to reach the Delhi office by post or in person, from you. Online submission is not supported and agents are not permitted to submit.

Avoid these

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Why it hurts
Different spellings across affidavit, ad and ID	Top cause of rejection
Signing only in the new name and omitting the old-name signature	File gets held up
A CD whose contents do not match the printed proforma	File returned
Not keeping the full original newspaper pages	You cannot prove the publication
Sending documents more than one year old	The Department of Publication rejects them
Paying for two newspaper ads on a consultant's say-so	The rule is one; the second is money spent for nothing
Letting an agent post the file in the agent's name	Only personal, post or courier submission by the applicant is entertained
Leaving out the father's or husband's name in the notice	File can be questioned
Paying the wrong fee category on BharatKosh	Payment rejected or mismatched
Sending the file to a fake "state" gazette address	The office is Civil Lines, Delhi only

Why YourDoorstep

Why People Across India Choose Us

📍

In the same city as the gazette office

Based in Delhi, so we know the Department of Publication's checklist as it is applied at the counter, and we pack your file for you to post or hand in yourself, as the rules require.

📰

The right ad in your language

The one newspaper ad the rules ask for, in the correct wording, in a daily that circulates where you live, in English or your state's language.

📱

No office visit

Everything runs on call, WhatsApp and a short form, from any state or abroad.

✅

We check before you submit

We review the full file against the Department's enclosure list before you post it, so there are fewer rejections, and we handle Aadhaar, PAN, passport and the rest after.

An example of a case we handle. A newly married professional in Pune wanted her husband's surname on her passport and bank records before an overseas posting. She sent her old and new name, marriage certificate and address on WhatsApp. We drafted the affidavit, arranged the notary, booked one Marathi daily, paid the BharatKosh fee, and packed the complete kit for her to post in her own name. When the notice appeared in Part IV, she used the gazette PDF to update her passport and bank. She never visited a single office. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.

Quick answers

Quick Answers to Common Searches

What is the difference between the State Gazette and the Central Gazette? Both are lawful public notices. A State Gazette route exists in about half the states, is often cheaper and sometimes has a deadline; the Central Gazette is open to every Indian resident, recognised on sight everywhere, and has no deadline. The passport office accepts either.

How much does it cost to change your name in India? The Central Gazette fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors (Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 from abroad), and the realistic total with stamp, notary and one ad is about Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,000 if you do it yourself.

Do I need one newspaper or two? One. The Department of Publication asks for "one of the daily local leading newspapers". Two cuttings are only the passport office's alternative to a gazette.

Is a birth certificate name change done through the gazette? No. A birth certificate correction goes through the local Registrar under the RBD Act, not the gazette.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I change my name legally in India?+

Make a notarised affidavit, publish the change in one daily newspaper, then file for a gazette notification: your state's route where one exists, or the Central Gazette by post to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi, in your own name. Once published (Part IV of the Gazette of India, or your State Gazette), the PDF is the proof every office accepts.

Is a gazette notification mandatory for a name change in India?+

No law compels a private citizen, but for passport, PAN, bank, board and job records it is the standard in practice: the passport rules list the gazette (or two newspaper cuttings), UIDAI requires it after your second Aadhaar name update, and boards attach it to their own forms. For central government employees it is compulsory under the DoPT memorandum of 1987.

What is the fee for a legal name change in India?+

The Central Gazette fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors, paid on BharatKosh; Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 if you live abroad; Rs 250 extra for a change-of-religion name. With stamp paper, notary and one newspaper ad, the realistic self-done total is about Rs 1,600 to Rs 3,000. State routes range from Rs 135 (Puducherry) to Rs 1,100 (Haryana, West Bengal).

How long does a legal name change take in India?+

Nobody publishes a Central timeline; Part IV prints weekly and your notice appears once the Department clears the file. State routes that publish a deadline: Haryana 15 days from the fee, West Bengal 7 days, Tamil Nadu the following Wednesday, Puducherry three weeks. Any "30 to 45 days" or "Tatkal" promise is a guess or a sales line.

Do I have to go to Delhi for the gazette?+

No. The file can be sent by post or courier from anywhere in India, in your own name. The Department accepts applications "personally or by Post/Courier only" and expressly not through agents or advocates, so a service prepares the file and you post it.

Where is the gazette office in India?+

The Department of Publication, Controller of Publications, Civil Lines, behind Delhi Vidhan Sabha metro station, Delhi-110054; public dealing 10 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4 PM. Websites showing this address with other state or city names are wrong; 110054 is a Delhi pincode. State routes have their own offices (Panchkula, Vijayawada, Chennai, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Puducherry).

What is the difference between the State Gazette and the Central Gazette?+

Both are lawful. About half the states run a citizen route in their State Gazette, often cheaper and sometimes with a deadline; the Central Gazette is open to every Indian resident, recognised on sight by every office and embassy, and has no deadline. The passport instruction booklet accepts a State Government gazette and, since April 2026, names the Gazette of India expressly.

Can I change my name online in India?+

Partly. On the Central route the BharatKosh fee and the egazette.gov.in download are online and the file itself is posted. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh take the state application online. No route is fully paperless: the affidavit always needs a signature before a notary or magistrate.

Where do I download my gazette once it is published?+

From egazette.gov.in. Search the Weekly Gazette, Part IV, by date or name, download the PDF and find your entry with Ctrl+F. The digital copy needs no certification and nothing is posted to you. State gazettes have their own portals (egazetteharyana.gov.in, wbgazettepart2.in, egazette.odisha.gov.in, apegazette.cgg.gov.in).

Which newspapers should I use for the name change ad?+

One daily local leading newspaper, in any language, that circulates where you live; it must be a daily; weeklies are not accepted. Keep the complete original page with the date visible. Two papers are needed only if you plan to use cuttings instead of a gazette for the passport.

Do I need a lawyer to change my name in India?+

No. A notary attests the affidavit, and the rest is documentation. Help from a consultant mainly saves you from format mistakes and rejections.

Can I change my name after marriage without a court order?+

Yes. A surname change after marriage uses the same three steps with your marriage certificate attached. No court order is needed.

How do I change a minor's name in India?+

The parent or guardian signs the undertaking and affidavit and applies with the child's birth certificate and photographs of both. The Central Gazette fee for a minor is Rs 1,700 (Rs 5,100 from abroad), and the guardian posts the file. For a CBSE student, get the gazette before the board result is declared.

Can NRIs change their name in India?+

Yes, with valid Indian ID. The deed is usually attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission of the country of residence, and the fee is Rs 3,500 for an adult and Rs 5,100 for a minor, not the "Rs 7,500 to 9,000" some sites quote.

Can I change my name to anything I want?+

Almost. You cannot use a name to hide your identity, escape debts or cases, or impersonate someone, the Department keeps a list of matters it will not publish, and the passport office refuses initials, so pick a fully expanded name. The courts have held that the choice of name itself is protected by Article 19(1)(a).

What if there is a spelling mismatch in my documents?+

Mismatched spellings across the affidavit, newspaper ad and ID proof are the biggest cause of rejection. Every spelling must match exactly before you file.

How do I update Aadhaar and PAN after the gazette?+

Use the gazette PDF as proof: Aadhaar at a centre (Rs 75) or on myAadhaar, remembering that UIDAI allows a name update twice and a third only as an exception; PAN online through Protean or UTIITSL with the updated Aadhaar. Do Aadhaar first, because every other office copies from it.

Can I change my name in my birth certificate through the gazette?+

No. Birth certificate corrections go through the local Registrar under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. The gazette covers your other records.

Can I change my name back to my old name later?+

Yes, but you repeat the full three-step process with a fresh gazette notification. A previous notification cannot simply be cancelled.

Will the department return my original documents?+

No. The Department's guideline says the documents "once submitted in this department will not be returned in any circumstances". Send self-attested copies and keep the originals.

Keep reading

City Guides and Related Services

State guides are linked from the state table above. These are the city guides, with local notary, newspaper and office details.

Delhi Mumbai Bengaluru Hyderabad Chennai Kolkata Pune Jaipur Lucknow Noida Gurugram Faridabad Ghaziabad Name change agent in India Document translation services

Verified against

Official Sources & References

The fees, offices and process on this page are checked against official Government sources, not copied from other blogs.

Department of Publication, Government of IndiaThe office that publishes the Gazette of India and handles change of name notices.
e-Gazette portal, Government of IndiaWhere the published Central Gazette (Part IV) notification is downloaded, free since October 2015.
BharatKosh (NTRP), Ministry of FinanceOfficial portal for paying the Central Gazette name change fee.
myAadhaar, UIDAIName update with the gazette as proof; two updates allowed, a third as an exception.
Passport Seva, Ministry of External AffairsInstruction booklet (two cuttings or a State Government gazette; no initials) and the April 2026 Office Memorandum adding the Gazette of India.
Press Information Bureau, 29 October 2015Printing and sale of hard copies of the Gazette of India ceased from 1 October 2015; e-publication only.
Antyodaya-Saral, HaryanaState Change of Name service, 15-day Right to Service timeline.
Kolkata Gazette Part II, West BengalOnline state route; guidelines of 17 May 2023, Rs 1,100, 7 days.
Commissionerate of Stationery and Printing, Tamil NaduChange of name by individuals: Part VI Section 4, Rs 750 English / Rs 150 Tamil.
Directorate of Printing and Stationery, Uttar PradeshOfficial UP Gazette portal; no citizen name-change service (Private category empty).
Central Board of Secondary EducationExamination Bye-law 69.1 on change of name in certificates.
National Portal for Transgender PersonsCertificate of identity under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, as amended in 2026.

Government fees and timelines can be revised from time to time. Always confirm the current figures on the official portals above before you apply.

In short

The Short Version

Changing your name legally in India comes down to three clean steps: affidavit, newspaper ad, and the gazette notification. The Central Gazette is open to residents of every state, recognised on sight across India and abroad, and costs Rs 1,100 for an adult; about half the states run an equally lawful route of their own, some with a deadline. Publish in one newspaper, not two; post the Central file in your own name because agents may not; expect no promised date; match every spelling exactly; and keep plenty of copies once it is published. Wherever you are in India, or even abroad, you can get your name changed from home, and we update your Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID and passport once it is done.