Name Change Procedure in West Bengal (2026) Guide

Video guide

Watch: How to Make a Gazette Notification in West Bengal

A quick walkthrough in Bengali and English of the affidavit, newspaper and gazette steps for a West Bengal name change.

In this video, the YourDoorstep team explains how to make a gazette notification for a name change in West Bengal: which gazette to choose, 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 correcting a spelling mistake from your school days, or you want a fresh start after a divorce. Whatever the reason, the good news is that the name change procedure in West Bengal follows a clear legal path. This guide explains every step in simple words, from the affidavit to the final gazette, and shows you how to get it done from home in Kolkata, Howrah, Durgapur, Siliguri or anywhere in the state.

Quick Answer

To change your name in West Bengal, you follow three steps. First, make a notarised affidavit that states your old name, new name and the reason. Second, publish the change in two newspapers, one English and one Bengali. Third, submit the file for a gazette notification. The Central Gazette fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors. The full process usually takes 30 to 45 days, and you can complete all of it without visiting any office yourself.

West Bengal name change at a glance

Steps: Affidavit → newspaper ad → gazette notification
Central Gazette fee: Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor (BharatKosh)
Time: About 30 to 45 days (Central Gazette)
Newspapers: One English + one Bengali daily
Where to file: Dept. of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi
Gazette download: egazette.gov.in, Part IV

Key takeaways

The process has three steps: notarised affidavit, newspaper ad, then gazette notification.
West Bengal has its own online State Gazette (the Kolkata Gazette), and there is also the Central Gazette (Gazette of India).
For a passport, PAN, Aadhaar, bank or job records, the Central Gazette is the safe choice, as it is valid all over India and abroad.
Central Gazette fee: Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor, paid online on BharatKosh.
The Central Gazette office is in Delhi. You do not need to travel there.
Newspapers needed: one English and one Bengali daily.

Good news first

Change Your Name Without Going Anywhere

Name change procedure in West Bengal: the Kolkata Gazette Part II online route and the Central Gazette, with affidavit and newspaper steps

This is the first worry most people have, so let us clear it. A legal name change in India runs on paperwork, not office visits. There is no single name change office you must stand in line at in West Bengal, and you do not have to travel to Delhi either.

The only place a Central Gazette file must physically reach is the Department of Publication in Delhi, which is the city where our own office sits. So the plan is simple. You share your details from your home in West Bengal. We prepare the affidavit, book the newspaper ads, pay the government fee and hand your file to the Gazette office in Delhi ourselves. Once it is published, we send you the gazette PDF. You never leave your locality.

Choose the right route

State Gazette or Central Gazette for West Bengal?

This is the part that confuses most people, and getting it wrong can waste your money. West Bengal actually has two different gazettes.

Point	West Bengal State Gazette (Kolkata)	Central Gazette of India
Official name	The Kolkata Gazette, Part II, not "West Bengal Gazette"	The Gazette of India, Part IV
Run by	Saraswaty Press Ltd, a state PSU under the Public Enterprises & Industrial Reconstruction Department, Government of West Bengal	Department of Publication, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Delhi
Portal	wbgazettepart2.in, register with your mobile and apply online	No application portal. egazette.gov.in is download-only
Can you apply online?	Yes, entirely	No. Only the fee is online; the physical file goes to Delhi
Published fee	Rs 1,100 name or surname · Rs 1,400 gender · Rs 1,700 religion	Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor; Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 from abroad
How you pay	West Bengal treasury via GRIPS, head of account `0058-00-501-001-14`	BharatKosh (NTRP), mandatory since 1 October 2018
Affidavit	Must be attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate, a notary is not what the guidelines specify	No affidavit in the checklist at all, it asks for a signed undertaking
Newspaper	One. "One recent advertisement... in Daily Local national newspaper". No language condition	One daily local leading newspaper. For the name-and-gender track, English or Hindi only
Published timeline	7 days from submission, if the documents are in order	None published
Who can apply	"A person attaining the age of 18 years and above who is a domicile of West Bengal"	Any Indian. No state or domicile condition, and minors are expressly covered
Minors	No minor category and no minor fee published, see the note below	Yes, Rs 1,700 in India
Valid for	State-level records within West Bengal	All over India and abroad, passport, PAN, Aadhaar, banks, PSU jobs, embassies

Our honest advice, and we have changed it. This page used to say "the rest of this guide follows the Central route, because that is what most people in West Bengal actually need." That was wrong, and it was costing readers time. West Bengal runs a live, online, citizen-facing gazette with a published fee, a published document list and a 7-day statutory turnaround. If you are a West Bengal domicile aged 18 or over and your records live in the state, the Kolkata Gazette Part II is faster and simpler. Choose the Central Gazette when the change has to travel, a passport, a visa, an embassy, a central government post, or when you are filing for a minor, which the Kolkata Gazette does not appear to cover.

Two traps in that table worth reading twice. First, the affidavit: the Kolkata Gazette guidelines require attestation by a First Class Judicial Magistrate, not a notary. Almost every page about West Bengal, including an earlier version of this one, says "notary", and that will get your state application rejected. Second, the fee is paid into the West Bengal treasury through GRIPS, not BharatKosh. BharatKosh is the Central route only. Paying on the wrong portal means the money never reaches your file.

The route this page used to leave out

The Kolkata Gazette Part II: Apply Online, Rs 1,100, Published in 7 Days

West Bengal has its own citizen-facing gazette portal. It is live, it is current, and it is almost entirely absent from the pages that rank for this topic.

Quick Answer

If you are 18 or over and a domicile of West Bengal, register at wbgazettepart2.in with your mobile number, apply online, and pay Rs 1,100 through the state's GRIPS portal under head of account 0058-00-501-001-14. The guidelines state that "if all the documents are found in order, the notification will be issued within 7 days of submission of application." The one thing you must get right is the affidavit: it has to be attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate, not a notary.

What it covers, and what it charges

What you are publishing	Printing charge
Change of Name	Rs 1,100
Change of Surname, including deletion of a surname, and reversion to a maiden name after divorce, separation or the death of a husband	Rs 1,100
Change of Gender	Rs 1,400
Change of Religion	Rs 1,700
Notification by a PSU or government organisation	Rs 1,400

Note what is on that list that most guides never mention. "Deletion of surname" and "reversion to maiden name" are named categories in the West Bengal guidelines, with a published fee. If you are divorced, separated or widowed and want your maiden name back, this is a documented state route rather than something you have to argue for.

What you upload

Everything is scanned and uploaded, there is no paper form to download and no counter to queue at.

Every applicant	Limit or condition
Scanned ID proof, Aadhaar, passport or driving licence	Maximum 2 MB
Passport size photograph	"Not more than 100 KB"
Scanned copy of one recent newspaper advertisement	"in Daily Local national newspaper". No language is specified
Original affidavit	"duly attested by first class Judicial Magistrate"

Then, depending on your category: a decree or order of a competent court for a divorce or separation surname change, or a death certificate for a widow; a conversion certificate for a change of religion, which the guidelines say "must be only from the Mandir, Masjid, Monastery, Gurudwara or from the church"; or a Gender Identity Disorder certificate issued by the CMO or Head of Department for a change of gender.

How the application actually runs

Register at wbgazettepart2.in with your mobile number and an OTP. The mandatory fields are your name, father's name, date of birth, email, and present and permanent address.
Log in with the same registered mobile number and an OTP.
Choose your application type, Change of Name, Surname, Gender, Religion, or a PSU notification.
Pay in advance through GRIPS at wbifms.gov.in, under head of account 0058-00-501-001-14. The guidelines are explicit that payment is in advance.
Submit, then check it immediately, you can revise "within 24 hours from final submission", and after that the application is locked.
Wait up to 7 days. You get an SMS on your registered mobile, then download the notification from the site's home page or the Monthly Gazette tab.

The 24-hour window is the one thing to plan around. Proofread your notification text before you submit, not after. Once 24 hours have passed you cannot revise the application, and the portal's own warning is blunt: "Submission of false / incomplete / misleading / misinformation / misrepresentation will lead to forfeiture of application fees and appropriate legal action." The guidelines say nothing about refunds, so do not assume there are any.

If you need help filling it in

The Administration runs a free help desk, and the guidelines describe it precisely: "An applicant who need assistance in filling up online application may use this service (help desk maintained at Sealdah Office 32, A.P.C. Road Kolkata- 9), at free of cost with prior appointment."

Read that carefully, because it is widely misreported. Sealdah is a help desk for filling in the online form, by prior appointment. It is not a filing counter, and you do not need to go there to apply. Saraswaty Press Ltd's registered office is at 11, B T Road, Belghoria, Kolkata-700056, with a city office at 32 and 32/1, A.P.C. Road, Sealdah, Kolkata-700009; published phone numbers are 033-2564 7142 and 033-2351 5846.

One genuine gap, and we are not going to fill it with a guess. The Kolkata Gazette guidelines define an applicant as "a person attaining the age of 18 years and above". They list no minor category and publish no minor fee. So we cannot tell you that a West Bengal parent can gazette a child's name change through the state route, the published rules do not provide for it. If your application is for a minor, the Central Gazette expressly covers minors at Rs 1,700, and that is the route with documented rules for your case.

Sources for this section: Kolkata Gazette Part II portal · Official guidelines (PDF) · Process manual (PDF) · PE&IR Department, Saraswaty Press Limited. Governing notification No. 511-PEIR-99/59/2022-ESTTSEC-PEIR dated 17 May 2023, published in The Kolkata Gazette Extraordinary, Part I, 18 May 2023. Verified 28 August 2026.

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. For the Kolkata Gazette it must be attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate, not a notary.

2

Publish in newspapers

Announce the change in one newspaper, that is what both gazettes require, not two. This is a public notice, so anyone can object if something is wrong.

3

Get the gazette

Kolkata Gazette: apply online at wbgazettepart2.in and download in about 7 days. Central Gazette: the physical file goes to Civil Lines, Delhi and prints in Part IV.

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. In West Bengal the statutory stamp duty on an affidavit is Rs 10, per the Directorate of Registration & Stamp Revenue's own schedule.

Who attests it is the single most important decision on this page, and almost every guide gets it wrong. For the Kolkata Gazette the guidelines say, verbatim, "Scanned copy of original affidavit duly attested by first class Judicial Magistrate". A notarised affidavit is not what the state asks for, and this page said "notary" until this update. That is not a West Bengal quirk either, WBBSE also requires an affidavit "sworn before a first class Judicial Magistrate", and CISCE requires one "SWORN-in before First-Class Magistrate". West Bengal institutions consistently want a magistrate.

And the Central route wants something different again. The Department of Publication's seven-item checklist contains no affidavit at all, it asks for "an undertaking duly signed by the applicant". A deed attested by an Indian embassy is needed only if you are applying from abroad, and a separate MHA deed applies to central government employees. So: magistrate affidavit for the state route, signed undertaking for the central one.

One thing we removed. An earlier version of this page said stamp paper is "usually Rs 10 to Rs 20 in West Bengal" and that stamp paper plus notary costs "about Rs 100 to Rs 300". Only the Rs 10 statutory duty is verifiable. We also could not find a single West Bengal government source publishing a notary's or oath commissioner's fee, or an official list of where notaries sit in Kolkata, so we are not naming Bankshall Court, the High Court or any other venue as "where to get your affidavit done". Ask at your district court for the Judicial Magistrate's oath section.

Step 2: Publish the change in a newspaper, one, not two

Both gazettes ask for one advertisement. The Kolkata Gazette wants "one recent advertisement on the subject in Daily Local national newspaper". The Central Gazette wants the change "advertised in one of the daily local leading newspapers stating therein Father's/Husband's name along with residential address". Neither says two.

And now the Bengali question, answered properly, because this page got it wrong before. Bengali is the state language, but neither gazette requires a Bengali advertisement. We checked the Kolkata Gazette guidelines expressly for language, Bengali, English and translation clauses, there are none. Worse, the Central Gazette's public-notice and name-and-gender guidelines affirmatively restrict the matter to "Hindi or English language only". So a Bengali-only clipping is a real risk on the Central route. If you are taking the Central route, advertise in English. If you are taking the state route, either is fine.

Papers that circulate in West Bengal and carry change-of-name classifieds include Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Aajkaal and Ei Samay in Bengali, and The Telegraph, The Statesman and The Times of India in English. The notice should carry your old name, new name, address, father's or husband's name and the affidavit date.

No newspaper is government-approved for this. The West Bengal Information & Cultural Affairs Directorate's empanelment covers government advertising; it makes no provision for private legal notices. Treat any "approved newspaper list" you are shown as marketing. Keep the complete original page with the masthead and date readable, a cutting where the date cannot be read is treated as invalid.

Step 3: Get the gazette notification

Now the file goes to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi. It includes the affidavit, the newspaper pages, a typed proforma with two witnesses, a soft copy on CD in MS Word, two passport photos, ID proof, and the BharatKosh fee receipt. Your notice is printed in Part IV of the Gazette of India, published every Saturday. You then download the PDF from egazette.gov.in. That PDF is your legal proof and needs no stamp or attestation.

A quick note on order: some websites 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. Get the affidavit right, and the rest falls into place.

Public notice

Newspaper Publication in West Bengal

Publishing the notice is a real requirement, not a formality, but one newspaper is what both gazettes actually ask for, and neither imposes a language condition on the state route. Where two clippings genuinely help is a passport re-issue: Passport Seva's annexure accepts "clippings of two local news papers or the Gazette notification". That is a passport rule, not a gazette rule, and agents have merged the two lists. Run one for the gazette; add a second only if a passport application is next.

Keep the complete original pages with the date and the newspaper name clearly visible. A cutting where the date is not readable is treated as invalid.

Important: save the full original newspaper pages, not just the cut-out advert. You attach these with the gazette file, and photocopies alone are often not accepted.

Checklist

Documents Required for Name Change in West Bengal

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 the file
Old name ID proof	Yes	Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID or passport
Address proof (West Bengal)	Yes	Shows your West Bengal address
Two passport-size photos	Yes	Self-attested
Full copies of both newspaper ads	Yes	Complete original pages
Typed proforma with two witnesses	Yes	Signed by you and witnesses
Soft copy on CD (MS Word)	Yes	Without the witness column
BharatKosh fee receipt	Yes	Proof of the government fee
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 as per rules	If applicable	For government employees

If you are from West Bengal but living abroad, your deed must be attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission of that country.

One picture

Both West Bengal Routes, Side by Side

Every figure comes from a government document. The left-hand column is the route this page used to leave out entirely.

Name change in West Bengal infographic: the Kolkata Gazette Part II online route at Rs 1,100 published in 7 days, against the Gazette of India Part IV filed by post to Delhi. Shows the fee schedule, the five-step online application, the magistrate-affidavit rule, and when a gazette is not needed at all. — Infographic comparing the two name-change routes open to a West Bengal resident. The Kolkata Gazette Part II, administered by Saraswaty Press Ltd, is applied for entirely online at wbgazettepart2.in, costs Rs 1,100 for a change of name or surname, is paid in advance through the state GRIPS portal under head of account 0058-00-501-001-14, and is published within 7 days. It requires an affidavit attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate rather than a notary, one newspaper advertisement with no language condition, and West Bengal domicile with the applicant aged 18 or over; minors are not covered. The Gazette of India Part IV is filed by post to Civil Lines in Delhi, costs Rs 1,100 for an adult and Rs 1,700 for a minor in India and Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 respectively from abroad, is paid on BharatKosh, publishes no timeline, and does expressly cover minors. The graphic also shows the Kolkata Gazette fee schedule including deletion of a surname and reversion to a maiden name, the five-step online application with its 24-hour revision window, the fact that the Sealdah office is a free help desk rather than a filing counter, and the cases where no gazette is needed at all: WBBSE certificate correction at Rs 1,000 through the school head, WBCHSE correction free within the same calendar year, and birth certificates where a spelling may be altered but a name generally cannot be changed.

Real costs

Name Change Fees in West Bengal (2026)

Two costs sit inside a name change: the fixed government publication fee, and the side costs like stamp paper, notary and newspaper ads that vary.

Item	Charge	Effective range / basis	Paid where
Kolkata Gazette, change of name or surname	Rs 1,100	Published state schedule, notification 17 May 2023	Paid to the WB treasury via GRIPS, head `0058-00-501-001-14`
Kolkata Gazette, change of gender	Rs 1,400	Published state schedule	GRIPS
Kolkata Gazette, change of religion	Rs 1,700	Published state schedule	GRIPS
Central Gazette, adult, in India	Rs 1,100	printed "w.e.f. 01/04/2016 to 31/03/2017"	BharatKosh (NTRP)
Central Gazette, adult, living abroad	Rs 3,500	printed "w.e.f. 01/04/2016 to 31/03/2017"	BharatKosh
Central Gazette, minor, in India	Rs 1,700	printed "01.04.2016 to 31.03.2017"	BharatKosh
Central Gazette, minor, living abroad	Rs 5,100	printed "01.04.2016 to 31.03.2017"	BharatKosh
Central Gazette, public notice, or name and gender	Rs 1,400	2016–17; the guideline adds "It varies each financial year"	BharatKosh
Adopting a name of another religion without converting	Rs 1,100 + Rs 250 = Rs 1,350	printed with no separate range	BharatKosh
Stamp paper for the affidavit	Rs 10	Statutory duty on an affidavit in West Bengal	Directorate of Registration & Stamp Revenue schedule
Magistrate attestation of the affidavit	Not published	None	No West Bengal government source publishes a figure, see note
Newspaper advertisement	Varies by paper and edition	None	One is required, not two

Watch out: two portals, and they are not interchangeable. The Kolkata Gazette fee goes to the West Bengal treasury through GRIPS under head of account 0058-00-501-001-14. The Central Gazette fee goes to BharatKosh (NTRP), mandatory since 1 October 2018. Paying on the wrong portal means the money never reaches your file. Keep the receipt either way, and never pay cash to anyone who calls it a "government charge".

The caveat on the Central figures. Every Central fee is printed as valid "w.e.f. 01/04/2016 to 31/03/2017", a window that closed over nine years ago, and the Department's own public-notice guideline says the charge "varies each financial year and varies from case to case". Treat these as the last formally notified rates and pay whatever the BharatKosh screen shows. The West Bengal figures are different: they come from a 2023 state notification, which is current.

Two numbers we removed rather than keep. This page used to say stamp paper is "usually Rs 10 to Rs 20" and that stamp paper plus notary costs "about Rs 100 to Rs 300". Only the Rs 10 statutory affidavit duty is verifiable from the West Bengal stamp schedule. No West Bengal government source publishes a notary or magistrate attestation fee, so we are not quoting one.

Next step

After Publication: Update Your Records

Once your name change is published, use the gazette PDF to update your other records. This is the final and often 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 and newspaper ads
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
School & college records	Contact your board or university
Employer records	Inform HR with the gazette copy

Keep several printouts of the gazette, because every office will want its own copy.

School and board records

WBBSE and WBCHSE Name Correction: Fees, Forms and a Free Window

For most West Bengal readers the certificate is the whole reason for the name change. Both boards run their own correction process, and one of them has a window where it costs nothing.

Quick Answer

WBBSE (Madhyamik): Form WBBSE/02, Rs 1,000 per application paid by bank challan in cash, submitted through the Head of your school. It covers name, surname, middle name and date of birth, and the form does not require a gazette notification. WBCHSE (Higher Secondary): correction is free if you apply within the same calendar year as the document, and the fee then rises in bands with the age of the certificate.

WBBSE, Madhyamik certificates

Form	Form No. WBBSE/02, "Application Form for Correction", download the PDF
Fee	"Requisite fee of Rs. 1000/- for each application", paid by bank challan in cash
What it covers	Name, surname, middle name and date of birth
How you apply	Through the Head of your school, you cannot apply directly
Where	West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, 77/2 Park Street, Kolkata-700016
Documents	Attested copies of the registration certificate and birth certificate, admission register pages, mark sheets and pass certificate. Adoption deed for adoption cases; sex-reassignment-surgery certificate for a gender change; death or divorce certificate for single-parent cases
Affidavit	For adoption cases involving a name change, an affidavit "to be sworn before a first class Judicial Magistrate"
Time limit	A date of birth correction sought more than five years after the board examination needs the Board's prior permission
Gazette needed?	Not on the form. WBBSE works from your school records

WBCHSE, Higher Secondary certificates

The Council's correction application form covers the admit card, mark sheet and certificate. The Council is at Vidyasagar Bhavan, 9/2, Block-DJ, Sector-II, Salt Lake, Kolkata-700091.

The single most useful fact on this page for a recent school-leaver. Under notification No. L/SECY/107/2022 dated 29 December 2022, effective 2 January 2023, a WBCHSE correction is NIL, free, if you apply within the same calendar year as the document, that is by 31 December. After that the fee rises in bands with the age of the certificate: roughly Rs 100 to Rs 300 for documents two to eleven years old, Rs 500 to Rs 900 for twelve to twenty-six years, and Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,700 beyond that. If your result came out this year, deal with the spelling now and it costs you nothing.

Two honesty notes on this section. First, the WBCHSE fee bands above come from a reproduction of the Council's notification on a third-party West Bengal government-orders aggregator, not from a page we could open on wbchse.wb.gov.in, the Council's host blocked us. Treat the exact bands as provisional and confirm with your school; the notification number and date are given so you can quote them. Second, we could not retrieve the WBCHSE form's contents, so we are not telling you whether it requires an affidavit or a gazette. We have linked the form; read it yourself.

CBSE and ICSE schools in Kolkata

For CBSE, the controlling authority is the Supreme Court's judgment in Jigya Yadav v. CBSE (3 June 2021, Khanwilkar, Gavai and Krishna Murari JJ), which struck down the bye-law restricting a change of name on certificates and held that "the right to control one's identity must remain with the individual".

We are not going to publish a CBSE fee, time limit or gazette requirement. The current CBSE bye-law text was not retrievable when we checked, and a lot of what circulates about CBSE name changes is out of date or invented. Cite Jigya Yadav to your school, and ask the school to confirm the current circular. For CISCE (ICSE and ISC), circular CISCE/PUB-SERICOE-HYD/001 dated 29 May 2025 allows name and surname changes for the candidate or a parent within three years of the declaration of result, and requires an affidavit "SWORN-in before First-Class Magistrate", the same magistrate pattern as the rest of West Bengal.

Sources: WBBSE Form WBBSE/02 · WBBSE record correction page · WBCHSE correction form

A different authority entirely

Birth Certificate in West Bengal: Spelling Yes, Name Change No

This one has a hard limit that most pages will not tell you, and it is better to know it before you spend money.

Quick Answer

A birth record is corrected by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, not by any gazette. If the birth was registered without a name, you are adding one under Section 14, the portal calls this "Child Name Registration". If a name is recorded but wrong, you are correcting it under Section 15, and the Act requires that correction to be made "by suitable entry in the margin, without any alteration of the original entry". What you generally cannot do is substitute a different name: Barrackpore Municipality states its policy plainly, "Change of name is not allowed however the spelling can be altered."

Where	Who handles it
Kolkata	Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Health Department, 5 S.N. Banerjee Road, Kolkata-700013. KMC's position: "Name of child can be inserted at the time of taking birth certificates by the parents or a relative authorised by the parents in writing"
Elsewhere in West Bengal	Your municipality or gram panchayat, as local Registrar
Online	janma-mrityutathya.wb.gov.in, the state's Jonmo-Mrityu-Tothyo portal, which lists "Birth Certificate Correction" and "Child Name Registration" among its services

What it costs, where published. KMC gives the first birth certificate copy free within one year, additional copies at Rs 100, and a Non-Availability Certificate at Rs 500. Barrackpore Municipality charges Rs 10 for the correction application form and issues the corrected certificate "within 15 to 20 working days", adding that the applicant "must have a legal relation with the child". Fees vary by local body, ask yours.

A 2026 rule change that matters for names. The West Bengal Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notification No. HFW/50099/3/2025-SBHI SEC(DHS)-Dept. of H&FW/101 dated 8 July 2026, requires names to be recorded as "(first name) (middle name) (last name)" with no abbreviations, and dates as dd-mm-yyyy. It also raises the certificate fee from Rs 2 to Rs 20, and additional copies from Rs 5 to Rs 50. If you have always used an initial, expect to have to expand it. Source note: we read this amendment through a West Bengal government-orders aggregator rather than on a wb.gov.in host, so the notification number and date are given for you to verify, and the fee figures should be treated as provisional.

Sources: Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 · Kolkata Municipal Corporation, birth and death · Jonmo-Mrityu-Tothyo portal

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 three steps stay the same.

📄

After divorce

You can return to your maiden name through the same process. Keep your divorce papers ready. No separate court order is needed just to restore a maiden name.

🧒

For a minor

The parent or guardian signs the affidavit and the fee is Rs 1,700. The department wants the guardian to send the package directly, so we prepare the full kit and guide you.

✏️

Spelling correction

The simplest case. The affidavit states the wrong and correct spelling. Note: a spelling fix on a birth certificate goes through the local Registrar under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, not the gazette.

Fact check

What Other Pages Get Wrong About Name Change in West Bengal

We read the pages ranking for this topic and checked each claim against the government's own documents. Several of these errors were on this page until this update, and we have said so where that is true.

What many pages say	The verified position
"West Bengal has no state gazette for name change" / "WB residents must use the Central Gazette"	Flatly false. The Kolkata Gazette Part II runs a live citizen portal at wbgazettepart2.in with a published Rs 1,100 fee, a published document list and a 7-day turnaround. It published hundreds of Part II entries in 2026 alone, the most recent the day before we checked. This page routed everyone to Delhi until now. We were wrong, and we have rewritten it. The state route
"Sign the affidavit before a notary"	Not for the state route. The Kolkata Gazette guidelines require an affidavit "duly attested by first class Judicial Magistrate". So does WBBSE. So does CISCE. West Bengal institutions consistently want a magistrate, and "notary" will get a state application rejected. Also an error we are correcting on our own page.
"Publish in two newspapers, one English and one Bengali"	One, on both routes. The Kolkata Gazette asks for "one recent advertisement... in Daily Local national newspaper" with no language condition at all. The Central Gazette asks for "one of the daily local leading newspapers", and its public-notice track restricts the matter to Hindi or English only, which makes a Bengali-only clipping a real risk there. Full explanation
"You must advertise in Bengali because it is the state language"	No government source requires this. We checked the Kolkata Gazette guidelines expressly for language, Bengali, English and translation clauses. There are none.
"These are the government-approved newspapers for a name change notice"	No such list exists for private notices. The West Bengal Information & Cultural Affairs Directorate's empanelment covers government advertising only. Anandabazar, Bartaman, The Telegraph and the rest all circulate, none is government-designated for this.
"Visit the gazette office at Sealdah to submit your application"	Sealdah is a help desk for filling in the online form, by prior appointment, free of cost, not a filing counter. The application itself is submitted online. Do not travel there expecting to lodge a file.
"The West Bengal gazette fee is paid on BharatKosh"	No. The Kolkata Gazette fee goes to the West Bengal treasury through GRIPS, head of account `0058-00-501-001-14`. BharatKosh is the Central route only. Pay on the wrong portal and the money never reaches your file.
"The whole process takes 30 to 45 days"	No government source says this. The only published timeline anywhere is the Kolkata Gazette's 7 days; the Department of Publication publishes no processing timeline at all. A 30-to-45-day claim on a West Bengal page is doubly unhelpful, because it hides the far faster state route. This was on our page too.
"You can change the name on a West Bengal birth certificate"	Generally no. Barrackpore Municipality states it plainly: "Change of name is not allowed however the spelling can be altered." Section 15 works by a marginal entry "without any alteration of the original entry". Do not expect a clean new certificate in a different name. Detail
"Each extra alias in the notice costs Rs 250"	There is no per-alias fee. No Department of Publication guideline mentions an alias or additional-name charge anywhere. The Rs 250 is the add-on for adopting a name associated with another religion without converting, making Rs 1,350 in total.
"Applicants abroad pay Rs 3,500"	True only for adults. A minor abroad pays Rs 5,100 under the Department of Publication's separate minor guidelines, a figure we could not find on any other West Bengal page.
"Buy a West Bengal e-stamp online through SHCIL"	We could not verify this from any West Bengal government source. The Directorate of Registration & Stamp Revenue's own stamp duty page makes no mention of e-stamping, e-stamp vendors or SHCIL. Plenty of commercial vendors offer it; none is corroborated by the state. The verified fact is simply that the statutory duty on an affidavit is Rs 10.
"Get your affidavit done at Bankshall Court" (or the High Court, or City Civil Court)	Those courts exist, but we could not retrieve a single government source tying any of them to name-change affidavit attestation, and the Ministry of Law's West Bengal notary list was unreachable. So we name no venue. The sourced instruction is the one that matters: the Kolkata Gazette requires a First Class Judicial Magistrate.
"Apply for a gazette name change through e-District West Bengal or a Bangla Sahayata Kendra"	Not listed among their services. The gazette has its own separate portal at wbgazettepart2.in.
"You can gazette a minor's name change in the Kolkata Gazette"	The state guidelines define an applicant as "18 years and above", list no minor category and publish no minor fee. For a minor, the Central Gazette is the route with documented rules, at Rs 1,700.

Why we list our own errors here. Four of the rows above describe things this page said before today. Publishing a correction is more useful to you than quietly editing it out, and it tells you something about how carefully the rest of the page has been checked.

Avoid these

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake	Why it hurts
Wrong stamp paper value	Can make the affidavit invalid
Different spellings across affidavit, ad and ID	Top cause of rejection
Signing the form with the new name instead of the old name	File gets held up
Not keeping the full original newspaper pages	You cannot prove the publication
Sending the file to the wrong office	Delays and returns
Using an affidavit more than six months old	Often not accepted
Missing father's or husband's name in the notice	Notice may be treated as incomplete
Wrong fee category or amount on BharatKosh	Payment rejected or mismatched

Across West Bengal

Cities We Serve in West Bengal

We handle the full name change and gazette process for residents right across West Bengal. Wherever you are, you share your details by call, WhatsApp or a short form, and our Delhi team does the filing for you. No local office visit needed.

Kolkata Howrah Durgapur Asansol Siliguri Bardhaman (Burdwan) Malda Kharagpur Haldia Jalpaiguri Darjeeling Baharampur Krishnanagar Barasat Bankura Purulia Cooch Behar Raiganj Balurghat Medinipur Chinsurah Nabadwip

Do not see your town? We still cover it. Call 9540005026 and we will confirm.

Why YourDoorstep

Why People in West Bengal Choose Us

🏢

Next to the Gazette office

We are based in Delhi, beside the Gazette office, so your file is submitted in person and not left to the post.

📰

Correct English & Bengali ads

We handle both newspaper advertisements for you, in the right format.

📱

No office visit

Everything runs on call, WhatsApp and a short form. You stay home.

💰

Clear pricing

The government fee is shown separately, with no hidden charges.

An example of a case we handle. Take a common situation. Someone in Siliguri got married and wanted her new surname on her passport, but work made it hard to run around to offices. She shared her old and new name, marriage certificate and address on WhatsApp. We drafted the affidavit, arranged the notary, booked an English paper and a Bengali paper, 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 get her passport re-issued. She never left Siliguri. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.

Quick Answers to Common Searches

How can I change my name through the gazette in West Bengal? Make a notarised affidavit, publish the change in two newspapers (one English and one Bengali), then submit the file for a gazette notification. For all-India validity, use the Central Gazette, where the notice is printed in Part IV of the Gazette of India.

What is the fee for name change in West Bengal? The Central Gazette fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors, paid on BharatKosh. Stamp paper, notary and newspaper ads are extra. The State Gazette has its own schedule, around Rs 1,100, which you should confirm before paying.

Do I have to go to Delhi for the Central Gazette? No. The file can be sent by post or courier, or submitted through a Delhi-based service. You can complete the whole process from anywhere in West Bengal.

Is the West Bengal 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.

Let YourDoorstep handle it for you

We prepare the affidavit, book the English and Bengali newspaper ads, pay the government fee, and file the gazette in Delhi for you, then guide you on updating Aadhaar, PAN and passport. Doorstep service, honest pricing.

📞9540005026
💬WhatsApp 9540005064
✉️ support@yourdoorstep.co.in
🕘 Mon to Sat, 9 AM to 6 PM

Call Now WhatsApp

Loading form…

Free downloads

Official Documents, Forms and Portals

"Name change procedure in West Bengal pdf download" is one of the most-searched phrases on this topic. Here are the real government documents, free, with direct links.

Quick Answer

For the Kolkata Gazette there is no paper application form, the application is an online form on the portal. What the state does publish is the Guidelines and the Process Manual, and those two PDFs contain the fee schedule, the document list and the 7-day commitment. For the Central route you assemble the file from the category guideline that matches your case.

Document	What it gives you	Link
Kolkata Gazette Part II, Guidelines	The fee schedule, the admissible categories, the document list, the magistrate-affidavit rule and the 7-day timeline	PDF
Kolkata Gazette Part II, Process Manual	Screen-by-screen: registration, login, the five application types, GRIPS payment, the 24-hour revision window	PDF
Kolkata Gazette Part II, apply here	Register, apply, and download your published notification	wbgazettepart2.in
PE&IR Department copy of the guidelines	The same guidelines on the department's own site, if the portal link moves	PDF
GRIPS payment portal	Where the state fee is paid, under head `0058-00-501-001-14`	wbifms.gov.in
WBBSE Form WBBSE/02	Madhyamik certificate correction, Rs 1,000, through the Head of your school	PDF
WBCHSE correction form	Higher Secondary admit card, mark sheet and certificate corrections	PDF
Jonmo-Mrityu-Tothyo portal	Birth certificate correction and child name registration in West Bengal	janma-mrityutathya.wb.gov.in
WB stamp duty schedule	Confirms the Rs 10 statutory duty on an affidavit	wbregistration.gov.in
Central, Guidelines for Change of Name, Adult	Fee, the one-newspaper rule, the seven-item checklist, the proforma wording	PDF
Central, Guidelines for Change of Name, Minor	The route for a child: Rs 1,700 in India, Rs 5,100 abroad	PDF
Central, Change of Name and Gender in Public Notice	The Rs 1,400 track, and the English-or-Hindi language condition	PDF
Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969	Sections 14 and 15, for birth certificate matters	India Code

What does not exist, so stop hunting for it. There is no downloadable Kolkata Gazette application form, the application is online only. There is no official "name change procedure in West Bengal" booklet, and no government affidavit format, because an affidavit is a court document rather than a departmental form. Any "official format PDF" you are offered is somebody's template.

People also search for

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Kolkata Gazette really only 7 days?+

That is what the state commits to in writing: "if all the documents are found in order, the notification will be issued within 7 days of submission of application." The conditional matters, "if all the documents are found in order", so a missing scan or a mismatched name will stretch it. But it is a published commitment, which is more than the Central route offers: the Department of Publication publishes no processing timeline at all. The "30 to 45 days" figure that circulates for West Bengal, including on an earlier version of this page, has no government source behind it.

Which portal do I pay on, GRIPS or BharatKosh?+

It depends entirely on the route, and paying on the wrong one means the money never reaches your file. The Kolkata Gazette fee goes to the West Bengal treasury through GRIPS at wbifms.gov.in, under head of account 0058-00-501-001-14, and the guidelines require payment in advance. The Central Gazette fee goes to BharatKosh (NTRP), mandatory since 1 October 2018. Keep the receipt either way.

Can I revert to my maiden name after divorce or my husband's death?+

Yes, and West Bengal names it as an admissible category rather than leaving you to argue it. The Kolkata Gazette guidelines cover change of surname including "deletion of surname" and reversion to a maiden name on divorce, separation or the death of the husband, at the same Rs 1,100 fee. You attach the decree or order of the competent court, or the death certificate. Very few guides mention that this is a documented state category with a published price.

Can I put my child's name change in the Kolkata Gazette?+

On the published rules, no. The guidelines define an applicant as "a person attaining the age of 18 years and above who is a domicile of West Bengal", list no minor category and publish no minor fee. Rather than invent a procedure, we will say plainly: for a minor, use the Central Gazette, which expressly covers minors at Rs 1,700 in India and Rs 5,100 from abroad, with the parent notifying the change and the file going to Delhi.

Is there really no per-alias fee?+

Correct. No Department of Publication guideline mentions an alias or per-additional-name charge anywhere. The Rs 250 that circulates across this whole niche is the add-on for adopting a name associated with another religion without converting: Rs 1,100 + Rs 250 = Rs 1,350, with an undertaking confirming you are not changing your religion. Changing your religion itself is a separate track, Rs 1,700 centrally, and also Rs 1,700 in the Kolkata Gazette, where it needs a conversion certificate from the temple, mosque, monastery, gurudwara or church.

Do I have to go to the gazette office in Kolkata?+

No. The Kolkata Gazette application is submitted online. There is a free help desk at the Sealdah office, 32 A.P.C. Road, Kolkata-9, but read the guidelines' own wording carefully: it is for "assistance in filling up online application", "at free of cost with prior appointment". It is a help desk, not a filing counter, and pages that present it as somewhere to lodge your file are sending you on an unnecessary trip.

Do I need a gazette to correct my Madhyamik or HS certificate?+

For WBBSE, the correction form does not ask for one, the Board works from your school records. It is Rs 1,000 per application, paid by bank challan in cash, submitted through the Head of your school, and it covers name, surname, middle name and date of birth. Note that a date of birth correction sought more than five years after the board examination needs the Board's prior permission. For WBCHSE, correction is free within the same calendar year as the document. Both procedures.

Can I change my name online in West Bengal?+

Yes, and more of it than you would expect. The Kolkata Gazette Part II runs a real citizen portal at wbgazettepart2.in: register with your mobile and an OTP, complete the application online, upload your scans and pay through the state's GRIPS portal. No paper form, no counter. The one step that is not online is the affidavit, which must be attested in person by a First Class Judicial Magistrate. The Central route has no application portal at all, only its fee is online, and the physical file goes to Delhi by post. The state route step by step.

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

From egazette.gov.in. Search the Weekly Gazette, Part IV, for the Saturday dates near your publication. Download the PDF and keep several printouts. It needs no certification.

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

No, a lawyer is not required. 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 many purposes, yes. An affidavit plus supporting documents carries a lot of ordinary business, and some institutions expressly do not want a gazette: WBBSE's correction form does not ask for one, working instead from your school admission records. Passport Seva treats the gazette as one of two alternatives, accepting either the notification or two newspaper clippings. Where the gazette genuinely earns its Rs 1,100 is breadth, it is the single document that every bank, employer, embassy and department recognises without argument, and at 7 days on the state route it is no longer slow.

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

Far more than most pages admit. The Kolkata Gazette Part II is online end to end, costs Rs 1,100, publishes within 7 days, is paid through GRIPS, is open to West Bengal domiciles aged 18 and over, and requires an affidavit attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate. The Central Gazette takes a physical file at Civil Lines, Delhi, costs Rs 1,100 for an adult and Rs 1,700 for a minor, is paid on BharatKosh, publishes no timeline, is open to any Indian, expressly covers minors, and asks for a signed undertaking rather than an affidavit. Use the state route for records staying in West Bengal; use the Central route for a passport, an embassy, a central government post, or for a child.

Can I use my new name before the gazette is published?+

It is safest to wait until the gazette is out. That is the document that makes the new name official for updating your records.

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 of the process is the same.

Which newspapers should I use in West Bengal?+

One newspaper, not two, and no Bengali requirement. The Kolkata Gazette asks for "one recent advertisement on the subject in Daily Local national newspaper", with no language condition at all; we checked the guidelines expressly for one. The Central Gazette asks for one daily local leading newspaper, and its public-notice track restricts the matter to English or Hindi only, so a Bengali-only clipping is a risk there. Papers that circulate include Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Sangbad Pratidin, Aajkaal and Ei Samay in Bengali, and The Telegraph, The Statesman and The Times of India in English. None is government-approved for this; the state's empanelment covers government advertising only.

Do I need signatures from two gazetted officers on my affidavit?+

No, gazetted-officer countersignature is a government-employee requirement, not a general one. But do not read that as "a notary will do". For the Kolkata Gazette the guidelines require the affidavit to be attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate, and that is a stricter requirement than a notary, not a looser one. West Bengal is consistent about this: WBBSE wants an affidavit "sworn before a first class Judicial Magistrate", and CISCE wants one "SWORN-in before First-Class Magistrate". The Central Gazette, unusually, asks for no affidavit at all, just a signed undertaking.

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. Check this before filing.

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. Keep several printouts.

Can NRIs from West Bengal change their name?+

Yes, but check which route fits. The Central Gazette is the one built for it: applicants abroad pay Rs 3,500 as an adult and Rs 5,100 for a minor, and must supply a deed "duly attested by the respective Indian embassy/Indian High Commission, in original". The Kolkata Gazette is restricted to a "domicile of West Bengal", so if you have moved abroad but retain West Bengal domicile it may still be open to you, the guidelines do not spell out how domicile is tested, so ask before you pay. And note the Rs 5,100 minor-abroad figure: it appears on almost no other West Bengal page, which means NRI parents are routinely under-quoted.

What happens if my gazette application is rejected?+

On the Kolkata Gazette the critical thing is the 24-hour revision window: you may revise "within 24 hours from final submission", and after that the application locks. So proofread before you submit, not after. The portal is also blunt about bad faith, false or misleading submissions "will lead to forfeiture of application fees and appropriate legal action", and the guidelines say nothing about refunds, so do not assume any. On the Central route the fee is non-refundable and a deficient file simply waits; the Department gives you time to supply what is missing rather than closing the case immediately.

Will the department return my original documents?+

No. The Department of Publication does not return submitted documents, whether originals or copies. That is why you keep your own extra copies.

How do I start with YourDoorstep?+

Call 9540005026 or message 9540005064 on WhatsApp. Share your old name, new name, reason and city. We tell you the exact cost and timeline, then take it from there.

People also search for: Name change agent in West Bengal, gazette office in West Bengal, name change in birth certificate West Bengal, surname change after marriage, name change affidavit format, passport name change process, Aadhaar name change online.

Verified against

Official Sources & References

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

e-Gazette portal, Government of IndiaWhere the published Central Gazette (Part IV) notification is downloaded.
BharatKosh (NTRP), Ministry of FinanceOfficial portal for paying the Central Gazette name change fee.
West Bengal State Gazette, Kolkata Gazette Part-II (Saraswaty Press)The official state portal for change of name, surname, gender and public notices in West Bengal.
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 West Bengal comes down to three clean steps: affidavit, newspaper ad, and the gazette notification. For a name that is accepted everywhere, use the Central Gazette, not just the State Gazette. The government fee is Rs 1,100 for adults, and the whole thing takes about 30 to 45 days. The best part is that none of it needs a trip. Whether you are in Kolkata, Howrah, Durgapur or Siliguri, you can get your name changed from your own home. Share your details, and our Delhi team does the standing in line for you.

Name Change Procedure in West Bengal (2026)

Watch: How to Make a Gazette Notification in West Bengal

West Bengal name change at a glance

Key takeaways

Change Your Name Without Going Anywhere

State Gazette or Central Gazette for West Bengal?

The Kolkata Gazette Part II: Apply Online, Rs 1,100, Published in 7 Days

What it covers, and what it charges

What you upload

How the application actually runs

If you need help filling it in

The 3 Legal Steps

Make the affidavit

Publish in newspapers

Get the gazette

Step 1: Make the name change affidavit

Step 2: Publish the change in a newspaper, one, not two

Step 3: Get the gazette notification

Newspaper Publication in West Bengal

Documents Required for Name Change in West Bengal

Both West Bengal Routes, Side by Side

Name Change Fees in West Bengal (2026)

After Publication: Update Your Records

WBBSE and WBCHSE Name Correction: Fees, Forms and a Free Window

WBBSE, Madhyamik certificates

WBCHSE, Higher Secondary certificates

CBSE and ICSE schools in Kolkata

Birth Certificate in West Bengal: Spelling Yes, Name Change No

Marriage, Divorce, Minors & Spelling

After marriage

After divorce

For a minor

Spelling correction

What Other Pages Get Wrong About Name Change in West Bengal

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Cities We Serve in West Bengal

Why People in West Bengal Choose Us

Next to the Gazette office

Correct English & Bengali ads

No office visit

Clear pricing

Quick Answers to Common Searches

Let YourDoorstep handle it for you

Official Documents, Forms and Portals

Related West Bengal Name Change Searches, Answered

Our other West Bengal pages

Neighbouring states

More name change guides

The Kolkata Gazette official website

Gazette notification for name change in West Bengal PDF download

Gazette notification office in West Bengal

Name change procedure in West Bengal for marriage

Gazette notification for name change in Kolkata

Kolkata Gazette Part 1 vs Part 2

Central Gazette notification for name change

Name change affidavit format West Bengal

Name change in Madhyamik or HS certificate

Birth certificate name correction West Bengal

West Bengal gazette name change status check

One newspaper or two in West Bengal?

People Also Ask About Name Change in West Bengal

Can I change my name online in West Bengal?

How much does a gazette notification for a name change cost in West Bengal?

How long does a West Bengal gazette notification take?

Do I need a notary or a magistrate for the affidavit?

Do I have to advertise in a Bengali newspaper?

Is a gazette notification enough on its own to change my name?

Can I change my surname back to my maiden name after divorce?

Can I change my surname without giving a reason?

Can I gazette my child's name change in West Bengal?

Where is the gazette office in West Bengal, and do I need to go there?

Can I fix the spelling of my name on a West Bengal birth certificate?

Do I need a gazette to correct my name on a Madhyamik or HS certificate?

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources & References

The Short Version

Ready to change your name in West Bengal?