Home › Blogs › Name Change Procedure in Tamil Nadu
Name Change Procedure in Tamil Nadu (2026)
A clear, step-by-step guide to legally changing your name in Tamil Nadu, where the State Gazette is cheaper and faster than in most states. Affidavit, the two gazette routes, real fees, documents and timeline, done from home in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai or Salem.
Written by the YourDoorstep Documentation Team · Updated 28 August 2026 · 38 min read
A quick walkthrough of the affidavit, the gazette office and the state and central routes for a Tamil Nadu name change.
In this video, the YourDoorstep team explains the name change procedure in Tamil Nadu: the two gazette routes, 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 in your school certificate, or you want a fresh start after a divorce. Whatever the reason, the name change procedure in Tamil Nadu follows a clear legal path, and Tamil Nadu actually makes one part easier than most states. This guide breaks down every step in plain words, and shows how to get it done from home, whether you live in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli or Salem.
Quick Answer
To change your name in Tamil Nadu, make a notarised affidavit, then file for a gazette notification. The Tamil Nadu State Gazette does not require a prior newspaper ad and charges Rs 750 to publish in English or Rs 150 in Tamil, both including postal charges, and nothing at all for transgender applicants. The Central Gazette (Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor) needs one newspaper advertisement but is valid across India. The state gazette can publish in a couple of weeks, and the whole thing can be done from home.
Definition: A gazette notification is an official notice published in the Government Gazette that turns your name change into a public, legally recognised record, accepted by the passport office, banks, UIDAI and government departments across India.
Tamil Nadu name change at a glance
Steps
Affidavit → (newspaper ad for Central) → gazette notification
Two routes
TN State Gazette or Central Gazette
State fee
Rs 750 in English, Rs 150 in Tamil
Central fee
Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor (BharatKosh)
Newspaper ad
Not needed for State; one paper for Central, any language
State office
Directorate of Stationery & Printing, Anna Salai, Chennai
Key takeaways
Tamil Nadu has its own State Gazette, run by the Directorate of Stationery and Printing, Chennai (stationeryprinting.tn.gov.in).
For the TN State Gazette, a prior prescribed form asks for no newspaper advertisement, and the fee is Rs 750 to publish in English or Rs 150 in Tamil.
Any TN resident can also apply to the Central Gazette (Gazette of India), which is valid all over India and abroad and needs one newspaper advertisement.
For a passport, PAN, bank or work abroad, the Central Gazette is the safer choice.
Central Gazette fee: Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor, paid online on BharatKosh.
The TN State Gazette often publishes within a couple of weeks.
A birth certificate spelling fix goes through the local Registrar (RBD Act), not the gazette.
Choose the right route
Tamil Nadu State Gazette vs Central Gazette
Tamil Nadu's state route is unusually well documented: published fees, a free downloadable form, and offices in seven cities rather than one. It also has a fee structure that almost every page on this subject reports wrongly, including ours until this update.
Point
TN State Gazette
Central Gazette of India
Run by
Directorate of Stationery & Printing, Chennai
Department of Publication, Government of India, Delhi
Government fee
Rs 750 to publish in English, or Rs 150 to publish in Tamil. Free for transgender applicants
Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor. Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 if you are abroad
Newspaper ad
The prescribed form asks for none, see the newspaper section for how far that evidence goes
Required, one daily paper, in original. No language is prescribed
Where you apply
Seven offices, by district, Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Virudhachalam, Pudukkottai and Tiruppur. Not all in Chennai
One office: Civil Lines, Delhi-110054, by post or courier
How you pay
e-Challan only via karuvoolam.tn.gov.in. Cash and demand drafts are no longer accepted
BharatKosh (NTRP) only, since 1 October 2018
Language
Tamil or English, two separate forms, two separate fees
English
What you get
Five copies of the gazette by registered post
A free PDF you download from egazette.gov.in
Speed
The department says applications received Monday to Friday are published “the next Wednesday”
No processing time is published anywhere
Best for
Records inside Tamil Nadu, and anyone who wants it done quickly and cheaply
Passport, OCI, central jobs, anything abroad
The Rs 150 figure, and why nearly every page gets it wrong
You will read everywhere, and you read it on this page until we corrected it, that the Tamil Nadu gazette costs Rs 150. That is the cheaper of two parallel fees, and it buys something specific. The department's own words:
“Fee for publishing the notification of change of name in English has been fixed as Rs.750/- and fee for publishing the change of name in Tamil in Tamil Nadu Government Gazett is Rs.150/-”Commissionerate of Stationery and Printing, Tamil Nadu, About. Spelling as printed.
Rs 150 publishes your name in Tamil. Rs 750 publishes it in English. They are different notifications with different application forms, and the current English form states its fee as “Rs.750/- from 11-10-2023”. Quoting Rs 150 as “the TN gazette fee” understates the English route by six hundred rupees. The department describes both fees as “including postal charges”, so that phrase tells you nothing about which one applies to you.
Which one do you actually need? If the gazette has to be read by a passport office, a bank, a central employer or anyone outside Tamil Nadu, you want the English notification at Rs 750, a Tamil-script entry leaves every office outside the state transliterating your name for itself. If it is for Tamil Nadu records and you are comfortable with a Tamil entry, Rs 150 is a genuine saving. See the script section below, because in Tamil Nadu this decision matters more than the money.
Free for transgender applicants. The department states plainly: “The notification regarding the change of name for transgender are published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette at free of cost.” No fee at all, the department says so on its own About page, and most guides omit it.
So which route should you take?
Decide by what has to accept the result, not by the price:
If your name has to work on…
Take
Why
A passport, an OCI card, a foreign visa or a job abroad
Central
It is what those offices see constantly. Note though that the passport instruction booklet accepts either two newspaper clippings or a State Government gazette notification, so for a passport specifically, the TN gazette may be enough. Check before you pay twice.
Tamil Nadu state records, school and board certificates, a state job
State (TN)
Cheaper, faster, no newspaper advertisement in the prescribed form, and five gazette copies posted to you.
Aadhaar, PAN and a bank account, and nothing else
Either
Both are accepted. The TN English notification at Rs 750 is cheaper than the Central at Rs 1,100 plus an advertisement.
You are transgender and changing name or gender
State (TN)
Publication is free, and the Madras High Court has restricted what the State may demand of you, see below.
Where you actually go
Seven Offices, Not One: Find Yours by District
The single most useful practical fact about the Tamil Nadu route, and it is easy to miss.
Nearly every guide sends you to 110, Anna Salai in Chennai. That is the Directorate's head office, and if you live in Coimbatore or Tirunelveli it is the wrong address. The state decentralised this service: applications go to the Government Branch Press for your district, and each has its own DDO code for generating the e-Challan. Send the file to the wrong office and it comes back.
Office
Districts it serves
Phone
Directorate of Stationery and Printing 110, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002
Government Branch Press Palladam Road, Tiruppur-641604
Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode, The Nilgiris
0421-2210500
Count them and the list closes exactly. Seven offices covering 7 + 8 + 5 + 4 + 5 + 5 + 4 districts, 38, which is every district in Tamil Nadu, with no gaps and no overlaps. That is a good sign the routing list is current.
The decentralisation is recent and still growing. The department records that name-change sections were opened at the Salem, Pudukkottai and Virudhachalam presses under G.O.(Ms) No. 58 of the Tamil Development and Information (SP2-1) Department dated 13 April 2023, and Tiruppur was added under G.O.(Ms) No. 15 of the same department dated 13 January 2025. If you read an older guide written before those dates, it will send you to Chennai for a district that no longer needs to go there.
A naming quirk that causes confusion: the department's own site calls itself “Commissionerate of Stationery and Printing” on its contacts and about pages and “Directorate of Stationery and Printing” on the forms and service pages. Both are in live use. If a search for one name turns up nothing, try the other.
The Tamil Nadu question
Initials, Single Names and the Passport Problem
Tamil Nadu names do not work like names in most of India, and the gazette route has to absorb that. This is the section that will matter most to you.
Across much of Tamil Nadu there is no inherited surname. The convention is an initial standing for your father’s name, or sometimes your native place, placed before your given name, R. Kumar, M.K. Stalin, V. Chitra. Many people have no surname at all. That is perfectly normal in the state, and it collides with systems built to expect a first name and a last name.
Does changing an initial count as a name change?
Yes. We checked this by reading actual published entries in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, Part VI, Section 4, the part that carries change of names. From the issue of 9 April 2025:
“I, V. Chitra, wife of Thiru Sekar. P born on 1st May 1985… shall henceforth be known as CHITRA S”Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, Part VI, Section 4, No. 14, Chennai, Wednesday, 9 April 2025, entry 6726
That is a woman moving an initial from the front to the back and changing what it stands for, and it went through the full gazette change-of-name route, not some lighter correction procedure. The same issue carries a one-letter spelling fix (Yogeswaran to Yogeshwaran) going the same way, and a single-name applicant acquiring a second element.
What the evidence does and does not prove. Those entries show that people do put initial changes through the full gazette route, and that the department expects them, its own routing text lists “change of initial” as a category. What they do not prove is that a gazette is compulsory for every initial expansion. You will find people online, reasonably, saying an expansion is not really a name change and that offices will accept it without a gazette, and sometimes they are right. The honest position: whether you need one depends on which office you have to satisfy. Ask the office that is refusing your document before you pay for a notification, and if it is a passport, read the next part, because there the answer is usually yes.
The passport rule that forces the issue
This is why so many Tamil Nadu applicants end up at the gazette in the first place. The passport instruction booklet is unambiguous:
“No initials should be written and all initials (if any) in the applicant’s name should be expanded.”Passport Seva, Instruction Booklet
So R. Kumar cannot go on a passport. It has to become Ramasamy Kumar, or whatever the R actually stands for. And if you have no surname, the booklet tells you to leave the surname column blank and put your full name in the given-name field, which is correct procedure, but the booklet itself warns that some countries, the UAE and parts of Europe among them, expect a surname for visa purposes.
The practical sequence for anyone in Tamil Nadu planning to travel or work abroad: decide the expanded form of your name first, get it into the gazette, then apply for the passport in that expanded form. Doing it the other way round, passport first, gazette later, means two applications and a mismatch in between.
One useful thing the passport booklet says that saves money. Its documentary requirement for a name change reads: “Clippings of two local newspapers or the Gazette notification of the concerned State Government, as the case may be.” Note the or. For passport purposes a Tamil Nadu State Gazette notification is an alternative to newspaper clippings, not an addition, which means the Rs 750 state route may do the job on its own. Confirm at your passport office before paying for the Central route as well.
Tamil or English, and why it is not just about the fee
The state gazette publishes change of name “both (Tamil & English)”, with two separate forms and two separate fees. It is not automatic bilingual printing: you choose, and you pay accordingly.
The Rs 600 saving is real, but so is the cost of choosing wrong. A notification in Tamil script has to be read by whoever you present it to. Inside Tamil Nadu that is fine. Outside it, a bank in Bengaluru, a passport office processing an expanded initial, an employer in Delhi, a foreign consulate, someone has to transliterate it, and Tamil to Roman is not a one-to-one mapping. The same name legitimately produces several spellings:
Tamil
Roman spellings you will see
What causes it
திருநாவுக்கரசு
Thirunavukkarasu / Tirunavukarasu
Aspirated th versus plain t
செல்வம்
Selvam / Chelvam
ச reads as both s and ch
பழனி
Palani / Pazhani / Palni
ழ has no Roman equivalent at all
கண்ணன்
Kannan / Kanan
Doubled consonants
ராஜேஷ்
Rajesh / Raajesh / Rajes
Long vowels and the final ஷ
The rule of thumb: if the gazette will only ever be read inside Tamil Nadu, Rs 150 in Tamil is a genuine saving. If it will be read anywhere else, pay the Rs 750 for English and let the notification carry the exact Roman spelling that appears on your Aadhaar, PAN and bank records. Six hundred rupees is cheaper than a rejected passport application.
Both Tamil Nadu routes side by side: what each costs in each language, where you actually file, and the five claims other pages get wrong.
Being straight about the limits here. We are describing a practical risk, not a documented rejection rate, we found no source recording applications refused over a Tamil-versus-Roman mismatch, and we are not going to invent one. What we can say is that a mismatch creates a question somebody has to resolve, and resolving questions costs time.
For transgender applicants
What the Madras High Court Said the State Cannot Demand
Tamil Nadu publishes change-of-name notifications for transgender applicants free of charge, which the department states on its own site. There is also recent authority on what the State may require before it publishes.
In Sivakumar T.D. v. State of Tamil Nadu, decided in April 2024 by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court, the Court held that the State cannot insist on a sex reassignment surgery certificate, a medical examination report, or a third-gender identity card from the Social Welfare Department as a precondition for publishing a change of name or gender in the gazette. Reported accounts of the judgment record the Court saying that for publication purposes the Social Welfare identity card “may not be necessary”, and that authorities may instead ask for ordinary identity documents such as an Aadhaar card, relying on the applicant’s own self-declaration and affidavit.
How firmly we are putting this. The case is Sivakumar T.D. v. State of Tamil Nadu, W.P. No. 31702 of 2019, decided by a Division Bench of Gangapurwala, C.J. and Sathya Narayana Prasad, J., reported at 2024 SCC OnLine Mad 574 and 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 152. The two reports differ by a day on the date, SCC OnLine gives 4 April 2024, LiveLaw 5 April. We have worked from those reports rather than a certified copy, so if you need to rely on this in front of an official, obtain the judgment itself first.
If an office asks you for a surgery certificate: put your request in writing, attach your affidavit and self-declaration, and reference the judgment. A written request is what an authority has to answer. We are a documentation consultancy, not your advocate, if you are refused in writing, that is the point to take legal advice.
Where to file
Tamil Nadu Gazette Office
The Tamil Nadu State Gazette is handled by the Assistant Director (Publication), Directorate of Stationery and Printing, at 110, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002, with the official portal stationeryprinting.tn.gov.in. The Central Gazette file goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054, and the published notice is downloaded from egazette.gov.in.
Good to know: the proforma for a Tamil Nadu name change is available free from the Directorate, in both English and Tamil. Change of name is now also published in Tamil in the state gazette.
Good news
Change Your Name Without Going Anywhere
Yes. A legal name change in India runs on paperwork, not office visits. There is no single name change office you must line up at.
For the Central Gazette route, the only place the file must physically reach is the Department of Publication in Delhi. That is far from Tamil Nadu, so travelling makes no sense. You do not need to go. Our own office is in Delhi. You share your details from your home in Tamil Nadu, we prepare the affidavit, book the newspaper advertisement where one is needed, pay the government fee, and assemble the complete file. One thing we will not pretend about: the Department accepts Central Gazette applications only when “submitted personally or sent by Post/ Courier only” and says “No other channel is permissible viz Agents, Advocates, etc.”, so it goes out in your name, and we do not lodge it for you. Once it is published, we send you the gazette PDF.
The process
The Legal Steps
Both routes start with the affidavit. Only the newspaper ad and the final filing differ.
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
Newspaper ad (Central only)
For the Central Gazette, publish in one daily local leading newspaper, in any language. The TN State Gazette does not require this before publication.
3
Get the gazette
File the proforma and documents with the Government Branch Press for your district, seven offices, not just Chennai, paying Rs 750 in English or Rs 150 in Tamil by e-Challan, or send the Central file to Delhi, then download the PDF.
Step 1: Make the name change affidavit
An affidavit is a short legal statement on non-judicial stamp paper. It lists your old name, new name, address, father's or husband's name, and the reason for the change. You sign it in front of a notary. In Tamil Nadu the affidavit goes on non-judicial stamp paper or an e-stamp; ask your notary or an authorised vendor for the current duty, which we could not verify from a government source.
Step 2: Publish the change in newspapers (for the Central Gazette)
For the Central Gazette, you announce the change in one daily local leading newspaper, no language is prescribed. For English you can use The Hindu, The Times of India or The New Indian Express. For Tamil you can use Daily Thanthi, Dinamalar or Dinakaran. Keep the full newspaper pages. For the TN State Gazette alone, this ad is not mandatory before publication, though some people still do it for public notice.
Step 3: Get the gazette notification
For the TN State Gazette, you submit the filled proforma and documents to the office your district reports to, the Directorate at 110 Anna Salai for seven districts, otherwise the Government Branch Press at Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Virudhachalam, Pudukkottai or Tiruppur, having paid Rs 750 in English or Rs 150 in Tamil by e-Challan, and the notice is published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, with copies sent to you. For the Central Gazette, the file goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054, with the fee paid on BharatKosh, and your notice is printed in Part IV of the Gazette of India, which you download from egazette.gov.in.
A quick note on order: the affidavit always comes first, because the gazette file and any newspaper ad copy their details from it.
Fact check
What Other Websites Get Wrong About Name Change in Tamil Nadu
Pages on this subject copy each other, and the same errors travel. Here is what they say against the verified position, including two we had to correct on our own page.
What many websites say
The verified position
"The Tamil Nadu gazette costs Rs 150"
That is the Tamil-language fee. Publishing in English costs Rs 750, and the current form states it as "Rs.750/- from 11-10-2023". They are separate notifications with separate forms. We printed the Rs 150 figure as the headline price ourselves; it understated the English route by six hundred rupees.
"The Central Gazette needs two ads, one English and one Tamil"
The guideline says the change should be advertised in "one of the daily local leading newspapers", one paper, and no language is prescribed. Another correction to our own earlier text.
"Apply at 110, Anna Salai, Chennai"
Only if your district reports there. Applications go to the Government Branch Press for your district, seven offices covering all 38 districts. Pudukkottai, Virudhachalam and Salem opened to the public in April 2023 and Tiruppur in April 2025, so older guides route people to Chennai unnecessarily.
"Pay at the cash counter or by demand draft"
Superseded, and the government's own older service page still says it, which is where the error comes from. The current form is explicit: "publication charges are accepted only in the form of an e-Challan", generated at karuvoolam.tn.gov.in.
"Each extra alias name costs Rs 250"
No per-alias fee exists anywhere. The rate order sets a flat Rs 1,100 per adult case. The Rs 250 people have heard of comes from a different document, paragraph 9[A] of the adult guidelines, which covers adopting a name belonging to another religion without changing religion, and reads “The cost of such type of advertisement will be Rs 1100/-+Rs 250/-= 1350/-”. It is one situation, once, not a charge per name.
"A gazette is valid for only one year"
A misreading. The guideline says "The documents must not be older than one year", that constrains your supporting documents, the affidavit and the newspaper. Your published gazette does not expire.
"Expanding an initial is only a correction, not a name change"
Not in Tamil Nadu. We read published gazette entries: moving an initial, expanding one, or fixing a single letter all go through the full change-of-name notification at the full fee. The department's own routing text lists "change of initial" as a category.
"You must publish in a newspaper before applying for the state gazette"
The prescribed form asks for no newspaper cutting, and none appears in the official enclosure list. We put this as proof by omission rather than a written government assurance, because that is what the evidence actually is.
"Transgender applicants pay the same fee"
They do not. The department states that change-of-name notifications for transgender applicants are published "at free of cost".
"Send a demand draft with your Central Gazette file"
Payment for the Central route has been through BharatKosh (NTRP) only since 1 October 2018. Demand drafts and cash were discontinued.
"Your printed Central gazette copy will arrive by post"
Printed copies stopped in 2015; you download the PDF from egazette.gov.in yourself. The TN state route is different, it does post you five copies by registered post, but only that route.
"Fix your birth certificate spelling through the gazette"
A birth record correction is a Registrar matter under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, through your local Registrar. The gazette is evidence you may be asked for, not the mechanism.
Why this matters: a wrong office, a wrong payment method or a wrong fee category does not just delay your file, it can mean a wasted trip across the state, or paying a non-refundable fee twice. The documents behind every correction above are linked in our sources section.
Checklist
Documents Required for Name Change in Tamil Nadu
Keep these ready. Missing or mismatched papers are the top reason files get held up.
Document
Needed?
Notes
Notarised name change affidavit (original)
Yes
Base document for either route
Filled proforma (English or Tamil)
Yes (State)
Free from the Directorate
Old name ID proof
Yes
Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID or passport
Address proof (Tamil Nadu)
Yes
Shows your TN address
Passport-size photograph
Yes
One self-attested photo for the TN state route; the Central route asks for two
Newspaper ads + CD + witness proforma + BharatKosh receipt
Yes (Central)
Only for the Central Gazette route
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
Name-changing deed
If applicable
For Tamil Nadu government servants
If you are from Tamil Nadu but living abroad, your deed must be attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission of that country.
Real costs
Name Change Fees in Tamil Nadu (2026)
Every figure below comes from a published government document, or is flagged where we could not reach one.
Item
Cost
TN State Gazette, published in English
Rs 750, including postal charges. The current form states it as “from 11-10-2023”
TN State Gazette, published in Tamil
Rs 150, also including postal charges
TN State Gazette, transgender applicants
Free, per the department's own statement
Central Gazette, adult
Rs 1,100 per case (BharatKosh)
Central Gazette, minor
Rs 1,700 per case (BharatKosh)
Central Gazette, adult living abroad
Rs 3,500
Central Gazette, minor living abroad
Rs 5,100
Central Gazette, change of religion (a separate notice, not an add-on)
Rs 1,700 per case
Application form (either language)
Free, download it, or collect it in person or by post
Newspaper advertisement
Central route only. Varies by paper and edition
Pay by e-Challan, not cash and not a demand draft. This trips people up because the government's own website contradicts itself. An older service page still describes paying at the cash counter or by crossed demand draft. The current application form overrides it: “For those applying in person, the publication charges will not be accepted as cash. Instead, publication charges are accepted only in the form of an e-Challan.” You generate the challan at karuvoolam.tn.gov.in under “Challan creation / payment”, using the DDO code for the office your district reports to, and enclose the counterfoil. Turning up with cash will waste your trip.
The one figure we will not give you
The affidavit stamp duty in Tamil Nadu. Affidavits fall under Article 4 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as amended for Tamil Nadu. The Schedule has been amended repeatedly since, and we could not obtain an authoritative current figure from a government source, so we are not going to repeat one from a commercial blog. Ask your notary, or an authorised e-stamp vendor, what it is today.
What Rs 750 actually buys you. Not just the notification: “5 copies of the Government Gazette bearing the publication regarding change of his / her name shall be sent to the individual by Registered Post.” Five originals, posted to you. Worth knowing, because the department also notes that gazettes are retained for sale for one year only, if you need more copies later, buy them inside twelve months.
A real advantage
Newspaper Publication in Tamil Nadu
Two claims are made about newspapers in Tamil Nadu. One is right, one is wrong, and this page carried the wrong one.
The Central Gazette needs one paper, not two, and no language is prescribed
We told you the Central route needs two advertisements, one English and one Tamil. That is not what the Department of Publication says:
“Change of name should be advertised in one of the daily local leading newspapers stating therein Father’s/ Husband’s name along with residential address and forward it in original to this department.”Department of Publication, Guidelines for Change of Name for Adult (Major), PDF
One paper. No Tamil requirement, no English requirement. The Hindu, The New Indian Express and The Times of India are fine; so are Daily Thanthi, Dinamalar and Dinakaran. Pick one daily that genuinely circulates where you live. What the guideline does insist on is that the advertisement carries your father’s or husband’s name and your residential address, and that the paper reaches Delhi in original, not a photocopy, not a scan.
The State Gazette route: no advertisement in the prescribed form
This part of our claim survives, and it is a real Tamil Nadu advantage, but we want to be precise about the evidence. The official enclosure list for the state route is proof of your old name (birth certificate, school certificate or community certificate) and residence proof (ration card, voter ID, passport or Aadhaar), plus a recent self-attested photograph. If you were born outside Tamil Nadu, add a certified copy of your birth certificate and either those ID copies or a residential certificate from the Tahsildar. There is no newspaper cutting anywhere on it.
How we will and will not put this. No Tamil Nadu government page we found says in terms “a newspaper advertisement is not required”. What we can tell you is that the prescribed form does not ask for one and no cutting appears in the official enclosure list. That is proof by omission, and it is strong, but it is not the same as a written assurance, and we would rather you knew the difference.
One genuinely odd requirement worth knowing in advance: if you are 60 or over, the form asks for a “Life Certificate…obtained from the Government Medical Practioner…in original”. It is the sort of thing that sends an older applicant home from the counter empty-handed.
If you do run an advertisement for the Central route, buy two copies of the paper on the day. One travels to Delhi and does not come back; the second is the only proof you will still hold if a bank or passport office asks years later. Keep the complete page, masthead, date and advertisement together, because a clipping with the date cut off cannot be verified.
Every document
Name Change Services We Handle in Tamil Nadu
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 for TN residents.
🪪
Aadhaar Card
Name change or spelling correction with the gazette as proof.
💳
PAN Card
Name update through the NSDL or UTIITSL route.
🗳️
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.
🎓
TN Board & University
Records for the TN State Board, 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.
Across Tamil Nadu
Cities in Tamil Nadu We Serve
We handle name change work for people all across Tamil Nadu, from big cities to smaller towns. Wherever you are, the process runs the same way, and you never have to travel to Delhi.
Where initials and single names raise the same questions they do in Tamil Nadu.
The pages linked above are live on this site.
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 Seva Kendra with the gazette as proof
PAN
Apply for name correction through NSDL or UTIITSL
Passport
Apply for re-issue with the gazette notification
Driving licence
Visit the RTO with the gazette copy
Bank accounts
Visit your branch with the gazette, affidavit and ID
Voter ID
Submit Form 8 for correction
TN Board / university records
Contact your board or university with the gazette
Employer records
Inform HR with the gazette copy
Keep several printouts of the gazette, because every office will want its own copy. We can also handle these updates for you.
Special cases
Marriage, Divorce, Minors & Spelling
💍
After marriage
Add your marriage certificate to the file. The affidavit states your maiden name and married name. The steps stay the same.
📄
After divorce
You can return to your maiden name through the same process. Keep your divorce papers ready. Restoring a maiden name normally runs through the same affidavit-and-gazette route; ask the office concerned whether it wants anything further.
🧒
For a minor
The parent or guardian signs the affidavit and applies on the child's behalf. The Central Gazette fee for a minor is Rs 1,700.
📜
Spelling & birth certificate
A simple spelling case states the wrong and correct spelling in the affidavit. A birth certificate correction, though, goes through the local Registrar under the RBD Act, not the gazette.
Expert insights
Three Things the Experienced Know
💡
Use the State Gazette's no-ad rule
For records within Tamil Nadu, the State Gazette lets you skip the pre-application newspaper ad at Rs 750 in English or Rs 150 in Tamil. Only move to the Central Gazette when your name has to work outside the state or abroad.
🔤
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 of your new name, including initials and spacing, and use it on every paper.
📜
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. Some boards, CBSE among them, ask for more than the gazette, check your own board’s rule before you assume.
Honest view
Benefits & Drawbacks of the Gazette Route
✔ Tamil Nadu is quick and low-cost locally
The State Gazette often publishes within a couple of weeks, with a Rs 750 English or Rs 150 Tamil fee and no compulsory newspaper ad.
✔ Central Gazette accepted everywhere
A Central Gazette notification is treated as final proof by UIDAI, the passport office, banks and universities across India.
✔ Done from anywhere in Tamil Nadu
The whole process runs on paperwork, so a resident of Madurai or Tirunelveli completes it without travelling to Delhi.
✕ The Central route takes weeks and needs ads
For pan-India validity you need one newspaper advertisement, and the Department publishes no processing time at all.
✕ Mistakes cost money and time
A wrong fee category or a spelling gap can mean a rejection, a fresh payment and a restart.
✕ The central file is physical
Fee payment and download are online, but the Central Gazette file still has to reach the Delhi office.
Avoid these
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake
Why it hurts
Paying for newspaper ads the State Gazette never asked for
They are not mandatory for the TN State Gazette
Different spellings across affidavit, ad and ID
Top cause of rejection
Turning up at the counter with cash or a demand draft
The TN form takes e-Challan only, generated at karuvoolam.tn.gov.in
Signing the form with the new name instead of the old name
File gets held up
Not keeping the full newspaper pages for the Central Gazette
You cannot prove the publication
Using an affidavit or newspaper page more than one year old
The Department does not accept documents older than one year
Missing the born-outside-Tamil-Nadu documents
The state gazette needs nativity or residence proof
Going to Chennai when your district reports to Madurai, Salem, Trichy, Tiruppur, Pudukkottai or Virudhachalam
A wasted trip, the service runs from seven offices, not one
Being 60 or over and arriving without a Life Certificate
The TN form asks for one, in original, from a Government Medical Practitioner
Wrong fee category or amount on the portal
Payment rejected or mismatched
Why YourDoorstep
Why People in Tamil Nadu Choose Us
💡
We pick the cheaper route
We know when the State Gazette's no-ad rule saves you money, and when the Central Gazette is worth it.
📰
Correct newspaper ad
When you do need ads for the Central Gazette, we handle both in the right format.
📱
No office visit
Everything runs on call, WhatsApp and a short form. You stay home anywhere in Tamil Nadu.
🧾
One team for everything
The gazette plus updating Aadhaar, PAN, passport and the rest, with clear pricing and no hidden charges.
An example of a case we handle. A working professional in Coimbatore wanted her married surname on her passport and bank records after her wedding. She sent her old and new name, marriage certificate and address on WhatsApp. Because she needed pan-India validity, we went the Central Gazette route, drafted the affidavit, arranged the notary, booked the one required newspaper advertisement, paid the BharatKosh fee, and filed the complete kit in Delhi. In a few weeks the notice appeared in Part IV, and she used the gazette PDF to update her passport and bank. She never left Coimbatore. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.
People also ask
Quick Answers to Common Searches
Is a newspaper ad mandatory for a name change in Tamil Nadu? Not for the Tamil Nadu State Gazette. Its proforma-based process does not require a prior newspaper ad. The Central Gazette requires one advertisement in a daily local leading newspaper, with no language prescribed.
What is the Tamil Nadu State Gazette fee for change of name? Rs 750 to publish in English or Rs 150 to publish in Tamil, both stated by the department as including postal charges, and free for transgender applicants, per the Directorate of Stationery and Printing.
Where is the Tamil Nadu Gazette office? The Directorate of Stationery and Printing, 110, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002, portal stationeryprinting.tn.gov.in.
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.
Let YourDoorstep handle it for you
We pick the right route, prepare the affidavit, book the newspaper advertisement only when the route needs one, handle the gazette fee, and file for you, then guide you on updating Aadhaar, PAN and passport. Doorstep service, honest pricing.
The searches Google shows next to this one. Most are people hunting for a form, an address or a download, so here is exactly what exists and where.
Tamil Nadu Gazette name change form PDF
Three official proformas exist and all are free: name change in English, name change in Tamil, and name change due to change of religion. Download them from the Stationery and Printing Department's forms page, or collect them in person or by post, the department states forms are supplied free of cost. The English form is the one carrying the Rs 750 fee; the Tamil form carries Rs 150. The form is free from the department, so there is no need to pay anyone for the form itself.
Tamil Nadu Gazette name change office address
Depends on your district, and this is where most guides mislead. The head office is the Directorate of Stationery and Printing, 110 Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 (044-28544414), but it serves only Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupathur. Everyone else goes to the Government Branch Press at Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Virudhachalam, Pudukkottai or Tiruppur. Our table above lists which districts go where.
Online name change procedure in Tamil Nadu
Partly online. The form is downloaded online and the fee is paid online by e-Challan at karuvoolam.tn.gov.in, cash and demand drafts are no longer accepted, whatever an older page tells you. The application itself, with original enclosures, goes to your district's Branch Press. There is no end-to-end online submission portal for the state gazette that we could find.
Tamil Nadu Government Gazette name change list
Published name changes appear in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette, Part VI, Section 4, whose official scope is “Change of Name both (Tamil & English) by individuals, Advertisements by Private individuals and private institutions”. The department's site carries year-wise archives from 2008 onwards. We could not find a working facility to search by a person's name, the search endpoints we tried returned 404, so plan on knowing your publication date.
Tamil Nadu Gazette name change certificate download
You do not need to download it: the state route posts you five copies of the gazette carrying your notification, by registered post. Keep them. The department also notes gazettes are retained for sale for one year only, so if you think you will need more copies later, buy them inside twelve months. For the Central route it is the opposite, nothing is posted, and you download a free PDF from egazette.gov.in.
Tamil Nadu Gazette name change status
There is no online status tracker we could find for the state route. What the department does publish is a cadence: applications received Monday to Friday are, in its words, published “in the next Wednesday”. If yours has not appeared well past that, the enquiry numbers are 044-28544414, 28520038, 28520039 and 28520040, or call the Branch Press you filed with directly, their numbers are in our office table above.
Name change procedure in Tamil Nadu PDF
The documents that actually govern this are: the department's own Proforma-1E (English), Proforma-1T (Tamil) and Proforma-2 (religion), plus, for the Central route, the adult guidelines, the minor guidelines and the rate order of 19 September 2023. Between them that is the whole rulebook.
Gazette name change for expanding initials in Tamil Nadu
A genuinely Tamil Nadu question, and the answer is contested. Published gazette entries show people expanding initials, moving them from prefix to suffix, and correcting single letters, all through the full change-of-name route. But plenty of people expand an initial without a gazette and are never challenged. The deciding factor is which office is refusing your document. For a passport it is close to compulsory: the instruction booklet says every initial must be expanded.
Name change in Tamil Nadu for transgender applicants
Free. The department states that change-of-name notifications for transgender applicants are published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette “at free of cost”. There is also April 2024 authority from the Madras High Court restricting what the State may demand as a precondition, it held that a sex reassignment surgery certificate, a medical report or a Social Welfare third-gender identity card cannot be insisted upon for publication, and that ordinary identity documents and a self-declaration should suffice.
Tamil Nadu gazette in Tamil or English, which should I choose?
Not just a Rs 600 question. A Tamil-script notification is fine for records inside Tamil Nadu. Outside it, a bank in another state, a passport office expanding your initial, a foreign consulate, somebody has to transliterate it, and Tamil to Roman is not one-to-one (பழனி is Palani, Pazhani or Palni depending who is typing). If it will be read outside the state, pay the Rs 750 and let the notification carry the exact Roman spelling already on your Aadhaar and PAN.
Is the TN gazette accepted for a passport?
Yes, and it may save you the Central fee entirely. The passport instruction booklet's requirement for a name change reads: “Clippings of two local newspapers or the Gazette notification of the concerned State Government, as the case may be.” Note the or, a State Government gazette notification is an alternative to newspaper clippings, not an addition. Confirm at your passport office before also paying Rs 1,100 for the Central route.
Www stationeryprinting tn gov in name change online
That is the right department, and the name it uses for itself varies: its contacts page says Commissionerate of Stationery and Printing while its forms and service pages say Directorate. Both are live. One caution when reading it: an older service page still describes paying by cash at the counter or by demand draft, which the current application form has superseded with e-Challan only. Where the site contradicts itself, the form is the newer document.
These answers reflect what the Tamil Nadu and Central portals published when we checked them. Portals change, and this one openly contradicts itself in places, so the linked sources are the ones to trust over us.
People also ask
People Also Ask
The questions Google shows alongside the Tamil Nadu name-change searches, answered from the sources, including the ones we cannot answer with certainty.
How do I change my name in Tamil Nadu?
Decide first which gazette you need. For the state route: download the free proforma, gather proof of your old name and residence proof, plus a Tahsildar certificate if you were born outside Tamil Nadu, generate an e-Challan at karuvoolam.tn.gov.in for Rs 750 (English) or Rs 150 (Tamil), and submit to the Government Branch Press for your district, there are seven, not one. For the Central route: notarised affidavit, one newspaper advertisement, then the file to the Department of Publication in Delhi with Rs 1,100 paid on BharatKosh.
How many days does a name change take in the Gazette in Tamil Nadu?
The department publishes a genuinely fast figure for the state route: “applications received from Monday to Friday are being published in the next Wednesday itself without omission and error.” Treat that as the department's intent rather than a guarantee, the page carrying it also still advertises a payment method that has since been superseded, so its currency is uneven. For the Central Gazette, no processing time is published anywhere at all; every figure you see quoted for it is somebody's estimate.
Can I change my name in the Gazette online in Tamil Nadu?
Partly. The form is downloaded online and the fee is paid online by e-Challan through karuvoolam.tn.gov.in. The application itself, with its original enclosures, goes to your district's Government Branch Press. We could not read the Tamil Nadu e-Sevai service catalogue, the site blocked us, so we will not tell you either way whether a Sevai centre can file it for you. Ask at your local centre.
How do I expand my initial, or add one, in Tamil Nadu?
Through the same gazette notification as any other name change, if a gazette is needed at all. We read published entries in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette showing people moving an initial from front to back, expanding one, and fixing a single letter, all going through the full change-of-name route. But whether you need one depends on which office is refusing your document. Some accept an expansion without a gazette. If the document in question is a passport, the answer is effectively yes, because the passport rules require every initial to be expanded.
Is a gazette enough for a name change on a marksheet?
Not by itself, and this catches people out. A gazette is the evidence; each board and university runs its own correction procedure with its own form, fee and, critically, its own time limits. Some boards refuse corrections entirely once you have left the institution. We were not able to read the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations site to verify its current procedure or fee, so we are not going to publish figures for it. Ask the board directly, and ask specifically whether a time limit applies to your year.
What documents are required for a Gazette name change?
For the Central route the Department lists seven items: an undertaking signed by you; the original newspaper; the prescribed proforma in duplicate, typed, signed by you and two witnesses; a CD with the print matter in MS Word without the witness portion; two self-attested photographs and an ID proof copy; a certificate that the hard and soft copies match; and a request letter with the fee. The last two are missing from almost every checklist online. For the Tamil Nadu route: proof of your old name, residence proof, a recent photograph, plus a Tahsildar residential certificate only if you were born outside the state, and a Life Certificate if you are 60 or over.
How much does the Tamil Nadu gazette cost?
Two fees, and this is where nearly every page goes wrong. Rs 750 to publish in English, which the department notes is inclusive of postal charges, and Rs 150 to publish in Tamil. Free for transgender applicants. The widely-quoted “Rs 150” is the Tamil-language fee, not the price of the service. The form itself is free, and Rs 750 also buys you five copies of the gazette by registered post.
Where is the gazette office in Chennai for a name change?
The Directorate of Stationery and Printing is at 110, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002, and its name-change enquiry lines are 044-28544414, 28520038, 28520039 and 28520040. But go there only if your district reports there, Chennai's office covers Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupathur. Every other district has its own Government Branch Press.
Can I change my name permanently, and does the gazette expire?
The gazette notification does not expire, that is a misreading of the guidelines. The rule people are thinking of says “The documents must not be older than one year”, which constrains the affidavit and newspaper you submit, not the notification you receive. What makes the change stick is the follow-through: Aadhaar, PAN, bank, passport, employer and school records each need updating separately, and none of them updates itself.
How do I change my name in the Gazette of India from Tamil Nadu?
Swear a notarised affidavit; advertise in one daily local leading newspaper, in any language, stating your father's or husband's name and your residential address; pay Rs 1,100 for an adult on BharatKosh; then post or courier the complete file to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi-110054. Note who may lodge it: the guidelines say an application is entertained “either submitted personally or sent by Post/ Courier only…No other channel is permissible viz Agents, Advocates, etc.”, so the file goes in under your name.
Do I need a newspaper advertisement for the Tamil Nadu state gazette?
The prescribed form does not ask for one, and no newspaper cutting appears anywhere in the official enclosure list. We put that as proof by omission rather than a written assurance, because no Tamil Nadu government page says in terms that an advertisement is not required. For the Central route an advertisement is definitely required, but one paper, not two, and in any language.
How do I add or expand an initial on a birth certificate in Tamil Nadu?
Not through the gazette. A birth record correction is a Registrar matter under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, handled by the local body that issued the certificate. The gazette may be evidence you are asked to produce, but it does not reach the register by itself. Start at the issuing office.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I change my name through the gazette in Tamil Nadu?+
Make a notarised affidavit, then file for a gazette notification. For the Central Gazette you also publish in one daily newspaper, in any language. For the TN State Gazette a prior newspaper ad is not mandatory.
Is a newspaper ad mandatory for a name change in Tamil Nadu?+
Not for the Tamil Nadu State Gazette. Its proforma-based process does not require a prior newspaper ad. The Central Gazette requires one advertisement in a daily local leading newspaper, with no language prescribed.
What is the fee for name change in Tamil Nadu?+
The TN State Gazette has two fees: Rs 750 to publish in English and Rs 150 to publish in Tamil, and it is free for transgender applicants, per the Directorate of Stationery and Printing. The Central Gazette fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors, paid on BharatKosh.
How long does a name change take in Tamil Nadu?+
The TN State Gazette’s own published cadence is that applications received Monday to Friday appear the following Wednesday. For the Central Gazette the Department publishes no processing time at all, so we will not quote one.
Do I have to go to Delhi for the Central Gazette?+
No. The file is posted or couriered in your own name, the Department states that applications through agents or advocates are not entertained. Everything else you can do from anywhere in Tamil Nadu. You can complete the whole process from anywhere in Tamil Nadu.
Is the Tamil Nadu State Gazette valid for a passport?+
For a passport, PAN, bank or work abroad, the Central Gazette is the safe choice, since it is accepted across India and by embassies. The State Gazette is mainly for state-level records.
Where is the Tamil Nadu Gazette office?+
The Directorate of Stationery and Printing, 110, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002, with the portal stationeryprinting.tn.gov.in.
Which cities in Tamil Nadu do you serve?+
We serve Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Thoothukudi, Dindigul, Thanjavur, Tiruppur and nearby towns.
Do you help update Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID and birth certificate after the gazette?+
Yes. We help update Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID, passport, driving licence, bank records, TN State Board and university certificates, and insurance policies with your gazette PDF. Birth certificate corrections are handled through the local Registrar route, not the gazette.
Can I change my name online in Tamil Nadu?+
Some steps can be done online, and the Central Gazette fee and download are online. Final submission for the State Gazette is handled through the Directorate in Chennai, but you can run all of it remotely with help.
Where do I download my gazette once it is published?+
For the Central Gazette, from egazette.gov.in under Weekly Gazette, Part IV. For the TN State Gazette, through stationeryprinting.tn.gov.in, and copies are also sent to you.
Do I need a lawyer to change my name in Tamil Nadu?+
No. A notary attests the affidavit. Help from a consultant mainly saves you from format mistakes and rejections.
Can I change my name without a gazette notification?+
For small local needs an affidavit may pass, but for passport, PAN, bank and job records most departments now ask for the gazette.
Which newspapers should I use in Tamil Nadu?+
For the Central Gazette, one daily local leading newspaper, in any language, The Hindu, The Times of India, The New Indian Express, Daily Thanthi, Dinamalar and Dinakaran all qualify. Pick one that genuinely circulates where you live.
I want to change my surname after marriage. What extra do I need?+
Add your marriage certificate to the file. The affidavit states your maiden name and married name. The rest is the same.
Is there a special rule for Tamil Nadu government servants?+
Yes. Government servants use a name-changing deed form instead of the ordinary affidavit, then publish the change in the Tamil Nadu Gazette.
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.
How do I update Aadhaar and PAN after the gazette?+
Use the gazette PDF as proof and apply through the normal Aadhaar and PAN update routes, or let us handle it for you.
Can NRIs from Tamil Nadu change their name?+
Yes, with valid Indian ID. Someone living abroad needs the deed attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission.
People also search for: Name change agent in Chennai, Tamil Nadu gazette office address, name change in birth certificate Tamil Nadu, TN state gazette fee, surname change after marriage, passport name change process, Aadhaar name change online.
Verified against
Official Sources & References
The fees, offices and rules on this page are checked against official Government sources, not copied from other blogs.
Directorate of Stationery and Printing, Tamil Nadu, Service to PublicOfficial source for the Rs 750 English and Rs 150 Tamil change-of-name fees, both described as including postal charges, and the “next Wednesday” publication cadence. Note its payment paragraph is out of date, the current form requires e-Challan.
Proforma-1E, Tamil Nadu change of name application, English (PDF)Source for the Rs 750 fee “from 11-10-2023”, the e-Challan-only rule, the seven-office district routing table with DDO codes, the Life Certificate for applicants aged 60 and above, and the five gazette copies by registered post.
Guidelines for Change of Name for Adult (Major) (PDF)The one-newspaper rule, the numbered document list, the one-year rule, the Rs 250 other-religion add-on at paragraph 9[A], and the sentence barring agents and advocates from submitting.
Passport Seva, Instruction Booklet (PDF)The rule that all initials must be expanded, and the “two local newspapers or the Gazette notification of the concerned State Government” requirement.
myAadhaar, UIDAIFor updating your name on Aadhaar after the gazette is published.
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 in Tamil Nadu is easier than in many states for local needs, because the Tamil Nadu State Gazette skips the compulsory newspaper ad and charges Rs 750 to publish in English or Rs 150 in Tamil. For a name accepted everywhere, use the Central Gazette, which needs one newspaper advertisement and costs Rs 1,100 for adults. The state gazette can publish in a couple of weeks. Remember that a birth certificate fix is a Registrar job, not a gazette one. Whether you are in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai or Salem, you can get your name changed from home, and we update your Aadhaar, PAN and passport once it is done.
Ready to change your name in Tamil Nadu?
Pick the no-ad TN State Gazette (Rs 750 English, Rs 150 Tamil) for local records, or the pan-India Central Gazette for a passport and beyond. Or let our team pick the right route and file it for you, wherever you are in Tamil Nadu.
