The complete guide to changing your name in Patna, from Kankarbagh and Boring Road to Patliputra and Danapur. Three legal steps, the real Bihar State Gazette vs Central Gazette choice, verified fees, documents and timeline, with doorstep service across the district.
A quick walkthrough of the affidavit, the newspaper ad and the gazette notification for Patna residents, including the Gulzarbagh gazette office question.
In this video, the YourDoorstep team explains how to change your name legally in Patna: which gazette to choose, the documents you need, the real fees, and how we handle the whole process at your doorstep.
Changing your name in Patna is a defined legal process with three parts: a notarised affidavit, a newspaper publication, and a gazette notification. Do all three correctly and your new name is recognised everywhere, from passport and PAN to Aadhaar, bank and board certificates. Miss one, or let a spelling slip between them, and you are redoing the work and paying the government fee again. This guide covers the whole procedure for anyone living in Patna, including where your file actually goes, since the state gazette press is right here at Gulzarbagh, and which gazette you should choose.
To change your name legally in Patna, sign a notarised affidavit stating your old name, new name and reason, publish it in one Hindi and one English newspaper, then apply for a gazette notification. Patna residents can use the Bihar State Gazette (Gulzarbagh, Patna) or the Central Gazette. The fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors, and the total time is about 4 to 6 weeks.
Definition: A gazette notification is an official notice published in the Gazette (Part IV of the Gazette of India, or the Bihar State Gazette) that turns your name change into a public, legally recognised record, accepted by the passport office, banks, UIDAI and government departments.
Every legal name change in India, Patna included, runs through the same three stages. Doing one or two of them does not finish the job.
Declare your old name, new name, father's or husband's name, address and reason, on non-judicial stamp paper, signed before a notary public.
Publish the notice in two papers, one Hindi and one English. Keep the full original printed pages, not photos.
Submit the affidavit, both cuttings, ID and address proof, photo, declaration, soft copy and fee. Once published, this is your permanent legal proof.
Watch the full gazette notification process for a Patna name change, from affidavit to the published notice.
You swear an affidavit on non-judicial stamp paper stating your old name, new name, father's or husband's name, address, and the reason for the change. It is signed before a Notary Public. In Patna you can buy stamp paper through authorised vendors and get it notarised easily across the city.
You publish a short name-change notice in two newspapers, one in Hindi and one in English. The notice carries your old name, new name, father's or husband's name, and address. In Patna, common Hindi papers include Dainik Jagran, Hindustan and Prabhat Khabar, and English options include The Times of India and Hindustan Times. Keep the original printed pages, not phone photos, because they go into your gazette file.
You submit the affidavit, both newspaper cuttings, ID and address proof, a passport-size photo, a signed declaration and a soft copy, along with the government fee. For the state route, the file goes through the Bihar Secretariat or Gulzarbagh press process. For the Central route it goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054, and your notice is printed in Part IV of the Gazette of India. Once published, the gazette notification is your permanent legal proof.
Both are legally valid. The right choice depends on where you need the name recognised. Because Patna is the state capital, the Bihar state gazette is published right here.
| Point | Bihar State Gazette | Central Gazette of India |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Bihar Secretariat Press, Gulzarbagh, Patna (Finance Department) | Department of Publication, Delhi |
| Published in | Bihar State Gazette | Part IV, Gazette of India |
| Valid for | Within Bihar | All of India and abroad |
| Download | egazette.bihar.gov.in | egazette.gov.in |
| Best for | Records staying inside Bihar | Passport, PAN, Aadhaar, banks, embassies |
You need the change for a passport, visa or embassy; you are updating PAN or Aadhaar and want the most trusted proof; your employer runs strict background verification; you work in, or plan to apply for, a central government job; or your records will travel outside Bihar. The Central Gazette is accepted everywhere without question, which is why it is the safest pick for anything that leaves the state.
Your records, job and future are staying within Bihar, and you would like a route handled by the state's own press here in Patna. For state government service records and local matters, the state gazette does the job.
Many people search for a "gazette office in Patna." Here is the practical geography, so you do not waste a trip.
Watch how the gazette notification file is prepared and submitted for a Patna name change, whether through the Gulzarbagh press or the Central route.
Because Patna is the state capital, the Bihar state gazette is published here, by the Bihar Secretariat Press, also known as the Gulzarbagh Government Printing Press, which operates under the Finance Department and has issued the state's official gazette for over a century. The state e-Gazette portal is at egazette.bihar.gov.in, where you can search and download published notifications.
If you use the Central Gazette (Gazette of India), your file goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054, published in Part IV and downloadable from egazette.gov.in. There is no Central Gazette counter in Patna, so that file travels to Delhi.
Have these ready before you start. A missing or mismatched document is the number-one cause of delay.
| Document | Needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notarised name-change affidavit | Yes | Old name, new name, reason, father's/husband's name, address |
| Original newspaper cuttings | Yes | One Hindi, one English, full printed pages |
| Identity proof | Yes | Aadhaar, PAN, passport or voter ID |
| Address proof | Yes | Aadhaar, voter ID, electricity/water bill or rent agreement |
| Two passport-size photos | Yes | Recent |
| Name-change proforma / request form | Yes | Prescribed format |
| Signed matching declaration | Yes | Hard copy and soft copy match |
| Soft copy (CD or pen drive) | Yes | Notification text as required |
| Government fee receipt | Yes | BharatKosh challan for the Central route |
| Marriage certificate | For marriage | Surname change after marriage |
| Divorce decree | For divorce | Restoring your maiden name |
| Parents' ID + child's birth certificate | For minors | Guardian applies and signs |
| Embassy-attested deed | For NRIs from Patna | Attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission |
| Deed + departmental route | For government employees | Under the MHA Office Memorandum |
Partly. Bihar's e-Gazette portal lets you search and download published notifications online, and templates are available there. But fresh name-change applications are often still submitted at the Gulzarbagh press office, and the affidavit needs in-person notarisation. For the Central route, a physical file reaches Delhi.
So "100 percent online" overstates it. Treat it as mostly offline submission with online download, and that is exactly the part we handle for you.
Costs vary with your newspaper choice and whether you do it yourself or hire help. Here are realistic ranges.
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Stamp paper for affidavit | Rs 10 to Rs 100 |
| Notary / affidavit drafting | Rs 100 to Rs 500 |
| Newspaper ads (Hindi + English) | Rs 400 to Rs 3,000 (depends on the papers) |
| Bihar State Gazette fee | Nominal state fee (varies) |
| Central Gazette fee (adult) | Rs 1,100 (BharatKosh) |
| Central Gazette fee (minor) | Rs 1,700 (BharatKosh) |
| Courier of file to Delhi (Central route) | Rs 100 to Rs 300 |
| Self-done total | Roughly Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 plus |
Plan for about 4 to 6 weeks end to end. The affidavit and notarisation take a day, the newspaper publication happens within about a week, and the gazette processing is commonly 30 to 45 days for the Central route. The Bihar State Gazette timeline depends on the Gulzarbagh press's schedule.
Some Patna guides quote a total of 45 to 60 days for the state route, so build in buffer if you have a deadline. Updating your individual documents afterward, such as Aadhaar, PAN and passport, is a separate timeline on top of this. There is no official fast-track, so anyone promising a "3-day gazette" is not being straight with you.
Getting the gazette is the milestone, not the finish line. You still carry it into each record, and order matters.
Aadhaar is the first record to update after your gazette is published. This video shows the Aadhaar name change process for Patna residents.
| Order | Document | How to update |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aadhaar | Update at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra with the gazette; it is the base ID others reference |
| 2 | PAN | Correct the name with your updated Aadhaar and the gazette copy |
| 3 | Passport | Re-issue at the Passport Seva Kendra with the Central Gazette |
| 4 | Bank & KYC | Update once your core IDs reflect the new name |
| 5 | Voter ID, licence, ration card | Submit the respective correction forms |
| 6 | School, board (BSEB/CBSE), university | Follow the board's formal correction process with the gazette |
| 7 | Employer, PF, insurance, property | Update as needed with the gazette |
For each update you usually submit copies of the affidavit, the newspaper ad and the gazette notification together. Keep several printouts, because every office wants its own copy. Boards accept the gazette as proof for name corrections on certificates and marksheets, a common need for Patna's large student population.
Here is a point most Patna name-change pages get flat wrong: they push a gazette notification to fix a spelling mistake in a birth certificate. That is the wrong route.
A clerical or spelling error in a birth certificate, a wrong letter or a registrar's typo, is corrected by the Registrar of Births and Deaths under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, through the local municipal body, which in the city is the Patna Municipal Corporation. It is not a gazette job. The gazette route is for an actual change of name, adopting a genuinely different name.
A woman changing her surname follows the same three steps and adds her marriage certificate. Taking a spouse's surname is a choice, not a legal requirement, but the gazette is what makes it stick across Aadhaar, PAN, passport and bank, and bridges your maiden and married names.
Reverting to a maiden or previous name uses the same affidavit, newspaper and gazette route, with the divorce decree as supporting proof. The process does not change, only the stated reason and supporting document differ. No fresh court case is needed just to change the name back.
A parent or legal guardian applies and signs on the child's behalf, with the birth certificate attached. The minor fee is typically Rs 1,700. BSEB, CBSE and most boards ask for the gazette (and sometimes a court order) for school records.
Patna hosts the Bihar Secretariat and a large state workforce, so this matters here. Bihar state government employees can route service-record name changes through the state gazette process. Central government employees do not file the standard self-application gazette; they follow the Ministry of Home Affairs Office Memorandum No. 190016/1/87-Estt.(A) dated 12/03/1987, executing a deed and publishing through the proper departmental channel.
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.
Name change or spelling correction with the gazette as proof.
Name update through the NSDL or UTIITSL route.
Name correction on the electoral roll via Form 8.
Re-issue with your new name using the Central Gazette.
Name update at the RTO with the gazette copy.
Update your name across bank accounts and KYC records.
Records for BSEB, CBSE and universities.
Correction through the Patna Municipal Corporation Registrar under the RBD Act, not the gazette.
Name change on policies and insurance records.
Tell us which documents you need updated. Call 9540005026 and we guide you through each one after the gazette.
We handle name change work for people all across Patna and the wider district, with doorstep pickup and delivery.
Do not see your area? We still cover it. Call 9540005026 and we will confirm.
Most rejections come from avoidable mismatches. Because the gazette fee is non-refundable, a rejection means paying again.
| Reason | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Name mismatch across affidavit, ads and ID | Fix one exact spelling and use it everywhere, even initials |
| Wrong newspaper mix (two English or two Hindi) | Use one Hindi and one English paper |
| Photo or scan of the newspaper | Submit the original printed page |
| Incomplete proforma or missing declaration | Complete every field and sign the declaration |
| Soft copy that does not match the hard copy | Make the soft-copy text identical to the proforma |
| Typos in the application text | Proofread; the gazette prints exactly what you submit |
| Wrong fee category or missing receipt | Pay the correct category on BharatKosh and attach the receipt |
| Blurry or expired ID/address proof, or old photos | Use clear, current documents and recent photos |
Doing it yourself is possible and saves the service fee, if you have time to draft the affidavit correctly, book two ads, prepare the file in the right format, pay the fee, and either submit at Gulzarbagh or courier a matched file to Delhi. The trade-off is rejection risk: one small mismatch and you restart, minus the non-refundable fee.
A Patna name-change agent handles the affidavit, the newspaper booking, the file preparation, the fee and the submission, and tracks publication for you. It is the sensible choice when your time is tight, there is a deadline such as a passport appointment or an overseas move, or your case has a wrinkle: a minor, a divorce, a service record, or a document already carrying a spelling error.
We handle the Bihar State Gazette through the Gulzarbagh press process, and the Central Gazette at Civil Lines, Delhi, where our own office sits, so your file is submitted and tracked to publication.
We book both newspaper ads for you in the correct format, in the dailies that circulate in Patna.
Document pickup and delivery across Kankarbagh, Boring Road, Patliputra, Danapur and beyond, with everything else on call and WhatsApp.
We review the full file against the checklist before filing, so there are fewer rejections, and we handle Aadhaar, PAN and passport after.
Where is the gazette office in Patna? The Bihar state gazette is published by the Bihar Secretariat Press or Gulzarbagh Government Printing Press in Patna. The Central Gazette office, however, is in Delhi.
Should I use the Bihar State Gazette or the Central Gazette? Both are valid. Use the Central Gazette for passport, visa and central jobs, since it is accepted everywhere. The Bihar State Gazette works well if your records stay within the state.
Which newspapers do I use in Patna? One Hindi daily such as Dainik Jagran, Hindustan or Prabhat Khabar, and one English daily such as The Times of India or Hindustan Times.
Is a birth certificate name change done through the gazette? No. It is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the RBD Act, 1969, through the Patna Municipal Corporation.
We prepare the affidavit, book the Hindi and English newspaper ads, pay the government fee, and file the gazette for you, whether the Bihar State route or the Central route, then guide you on updating Aadhaar, PAN and passport. Doorstep service across Patna, honest pricing.
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The fees, portals and process on this page are checked against official Government sources, not copied from other blogs.
Government fees and timelines can change from time to time. Always confirm current details on the official portals above before you apply.
Changing your name in Patna is a clear, three-step legal process: affidavit, newspaper publication and gazette notification, with the state gazette published right here at the Gulzarbagh press. For a passport, visa or central government job, anything that needs to be recognised outside Bihar, the Central Gazette is the safer pick because it is accepted everywhere. For records staying within the state, the Bihar State Gazette is a valid option handled locally. Just do not let a website blur the two: Part IV is the Central Gazette, while the Bihar gazette is a separate state publication. Match your name exactly across every document, keep your original newspaper pages, and update your records in the right order. Expect about 4 to 6 weeks and a realistic budget of Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 plus. If there is a deadline, a minor, a divorce, a service record or an existing spelling error in the mix, we can handle it end to end at your doorstep.
Three clean steps: affidavit, Hindi and English newspaper ads, and the gazette notification. We can prepare and file it for you, Bihar State or Central route, then update your Aadhaar, PAN and passport.
