Gazette Name Change Proforma Format for Jharkhand
The proforma is the one paper in a Gazette file that the Department of Publication prints word for word: what you type on it is what appears in Part IV, and a letter wrong on it is a letter wrong in the Gazette of India for the rest of your life. It is also the paper most often sent in the wrong form, handwritten, in one copy, with one witness, signed in the new name, or on the public-notice wording when the case is a change. This page reproduces the Department's specimen proforma for change of name field by field, with a worked Ranchi example, the rules for the two copies and the CD, the signature and witness lines, the minor's specimen, the Hindi and English spelling rule that matters for a Jharkhand file, and the grounds on which the Controller rejects a proforma as incomplete, vague or misleading.
The gazette name change proforma for a Jharkhand resident is the Department of Publication's specimen proforma for change of name for a major, typed on plain paper in two copies, headed "No. ADVT./IV", reading: "I hitherto known as [old name], son, daughter or wife of [father's or husband's name], employed as [occupation] in the [employer], residing at [full address with pin code], have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as [new name]. It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection." Below it, the applicant's name and signature in the existing old name, then Witness No. 1 and Witness No. 2, each with name, full address and signature. The same text, without the witness portion and with the old name typed in place of the signature, goes on a CD as a Word file. The proforma must be computer typed, both copies signed, the employment line filled or struck through, the address with a pin code, and the old and new names spelt exactly as on the affidavit and the newspaper notice, in the same script; the Controller of Publications may reject any proforma found incomplete, vague, unlawful or misleading. A minor's change uses the separate specimen for a minor, signed by the parent or guardian, with the child signing nothing. A name wrongly written on a certificate uses a different proforma, the public notice, with different wording and a different fee, and sending one for the other's case returns the file.
The pages ranking for gazette name change proforma format either paraphrase the specimen loosely, one of them dropping the "It is certified" line, or sell a PDF "gazette form" that turns out to be an American deed-poll template with a US-state disclaimer. The Department's own guidelines PDF, hosted on a district website, carries the exact text, and it is the only version that matters, because the office rejects a proforma that departs from it. This page reproduces that text field by field, shows it filled for a Ranchi address, and adds what the guidelines leave for you to find out by having a file returned: the script rule, the employment line, the witness pin codes, and the two-copies-plus-CD mechanics.
This page is the change-of-name proforma. The affidavit that precedes it is on the affidavit page; the full file it belongs to is on the gazette documents page; the public-notice proforma for a wrongly written name is on the public notice page.
At a glance
- The form
- Specimen proforma for change of name for major, Department of Publication; on plain paper, computer typed
- Heading
- "No. ADVT./IV" with the date; the office fills the number
- Body
- "I hitherto known as ... son, daughter or wife of ... employed as ... in the ... residing at ... have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as ... It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection."
- Signature
- The applicant's name and signature in the existing OLD name
- Witnesses
- Two, each with name, full address with pin code and signature; self-attested Aadhaar copies enclosed
- Copies
- Two typed copies, both signed; one CD in Word without the witness portion, old name typed for the signature
- Script
- One spelling of each name across the affidavit, the newspapers and the proforma; Roman for the Gazette, the Hindi form settled alongside for the Jharkhand records that follow
- Minor
- The separate specimen for change of name of minor; the guardian signs; the child signs nothing
- Rejected if
- Incomplete, vague, unlawful or misleading; handwritten; one copy; one witness; signed in the new name; the wrong proforma
- Fee
- Commonly Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor, on BharatKosh, revised each financial year
Key takeaways
- Type the Department's words, not your own. The office prints the proforma; it does not edit it.
- Two copies, both signed in the old name, two witnesses with pin codes, one CD in Word without the witnesses. That sentence is most of the returns.
- The new name on the proforma must match the affidavit and the newspapers letter for letter; the affidavit fixes it, the proforma copies it.
- Fill the employment line or strike it; a blank the office cannot read is "incomplete".
- A minor has a different specimen; a wrongly written name has a different proforma; a Government employee adds the departmental deed.
- Nothing is returned, so the second copy is not yours to keep; scan both before sealing.
The Specimen Proforma for Change of Name, as the Department of Publication Prescribes It
SPECIMEN PROFORMA FOR CHANGE OF NAME FOR MAJOR
(To be submitted duly typed or computerised print-out, two copies, and one CD in MS Word)
No. ADVT./IV Date: ____________
I hitherto known as ______________________ Son / Daughter / Wife of ______________________ employed as ______________________ in the ______________________ residing at ______________________________________________ have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as ______________________.
It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection.
(Name of applicant) ______________________
Signature (in existing old name) ______________________
Witness No. 1
Name: ______________________
Address: ______________________________________________
Signature: ______________________
Witness No. 2
Name: ______________________
Address: ______________________________________________
Signature: ______________________
That is the entire form. It carries no photograph, no date of birth, no reason for the change, no witness Aadhaar numbers and no fee line; those belong to the affidavit, the enclosures and the request letter. The Controller of Publications, as the publisher of the Gazette of India, reserves the right to reject any request found incomplete, vague, unlawful or misleading, and the proforma is where that judgement is made.
The Proforma Filled In: A Worked Ranchi Example
No. ADVT./IV Date: 16 September 2026
I hitherto known as SUNIL KUMAR MAHTO Son of BISHNU MAHTO employed as Accountant in the Jharkhand Trading Company Private Limited, Main Road, Ranchi residing at House No. 12, Harmu Housing Colony, Harmu, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834002 have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as SUNIL MAHATO.
It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection.
(Name of applicant) SUNIL KUMAR MAHTO
Signature (in existing old name) [signed as Sunil Kumar Mahto]
Witness No. 1
Name: RAJESH ORAON, son of Budhu Oraon
Address: Flat 3B, Kanke Road, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834008
Signature: [signed]
Witness No. 2
Name: PRIYA SINHA, daughter of Anil Sinha
Address: Qr. 45, Doranda, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834002
Signature: [signed]
This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review. The names and addresses are invented.
What the CD carries
The heading, the paragraph, the certification line and "SUNIL KUMAR MAHTO" typed where the signature is; nothing after that. In Word, saved under the applicant's old name.
What the newspapers said
The same old name, the same new name, the same address and pin code, with the affidavit's number and date; nothing on the proforma may differ from them by a letter.
What the Gazette will print
The paragraph as typed, under the ADVT IV number the office assigns, in the Part IV issue of that week. "Sunil Mahato" is now the name every office reads.
What Goes in Each Blank of the Gazette Proforma, and the Mistake in Each
| Field | What goes in it | The mistake |
|---|---|---|
| No. ADVT./IV | Left as printed; the office assigns the number. The date beside it is the date you sign | Inventing a number; leaving no date |
| I hitherto known as | The old name exactly as on Aadhaar and the affidavit, in capitals | The old name as on a different document; a nickname; initials expanded differently |
| Son / Daughter / Wife of | One of the three, the others struck; the father's or husband's name as on his documents | All three left standing; the father's name in a variant spelling |
| employed as ... in the ... | Occupation and employer; a student, homemaker or self-employed applicant writes that and strikes "in the", or writes "self-employed at [address]" | Left blank; the office reads a blank as incomplete |
| residing at | The full residential address with the pin code, as on the affidavit and the newspapers | No pin code; a different address from the affidavit |
| shall hereafter be known as | The new name in full, in capitals, spelt exactly as on the affidavit and the newspapers | A letter, a space or an initial different from the affidavit; a name that exists on no document when the case was a correction |
| It is certified that ... | Left as printed; it is the applicant's certification | Deleted or reworded |
| (Name of applicant) | The old name again, typed | The new name typed here |
| Signature (in existing old name) | The signature you use on Aadhaar and the bank, in the old name, in ink, on both copies | Signed in the new name; signed on one copy only; a scanned signature |
| Witness No. 1 and No. 2 | Two adults who know you; full name with father's name, full address with pin code, ink signature on both copies; their Aadhaar copies enclosed | One witness; no pin code; the witness's address not matching Aadhaar; a witness under 18; the same person as both |
Two Copies, One CD and the Certificate: How the Proforma Is Submitted
Two typed copies
Both printed from the same file, both signed in ink by the applicant and both witnesses. The office keeps both; there is no "office copy" and "your copy". Handwritten copies are rejected outright, and a photocopy of a signed copy does not count as the second.
One CD in Word
The same text without the witness portion, the old name typed where the signature sits, saved as a Word document, not a PDF, image or scan; the CD labelled with the applicant's old name. The office takes the print matter from the CD, which is why a mismatch between the CD and the paper is fatal.
The same-contents certificate
A separate paper, signed by the applicant in the old name: "Certified that the soft copy on the enclosed CD and the hard copy of the notice are the same." It is the applicant's guarantee of the match; without it the CD is not read.
The Specimen Form for Change of Name of a Minor: The Guardian Signs, the Child Does Not
A child's change of name uses the Department's separate specimen for a minor, not the major's proforma with a smaller name in it. The guardian declares, in the first person, that his or her minor son or daughter, hitherto known as the old name, born on the date of birth, residing at the address, shall hereafter be known as the new name; the certification line follows; the guardian signs in his or her own name; two witnesses sign as on the major's form. The child's date of birth is on the form and in the newspaper notice, the guardian's undertaking and ID and photographs of both go in the file, and the fee is commonly Rs 1,700. Where the guardian is not a parent, the court order appointing the guardian is enclosed. The child signs nothing, on the proforma, the affidavit or the CD certificate.
The Hindi and English Spelling Rule for a Jharkhand Proforma
The Gazette of India prints the proforma in the script you type it in, and Part IV notices from Jharkhand are typed in English. But the name the Gazette prints will be carried to Aadhaar's Hindi line, the ration card, the school register and the JharSewa certificates, all of which are in Devanagari, and a Roman form that has no agreed Hindi form produces a second mismatch a month later. Before the proforma is typed, the family settles both forms: "SUNIL MAHATO" and "सुनील महतो", and the Hindi form is what the Aadhaar operator is given after publication. A Kurukh, Santali or Mundari surname is settled the same way against the ST certificate's form first; the proforma copies it. The variants and the anchor are on the spelling page and the tribal surname page.
Where the Proforma Sits: The Central Gazette Process From Jharkhand, Step by Step and Paper by Paper
The proforma is the third of five papers and the one the office actually prints; the affidavit and the newspapers before it must carry the same words, and the CD after it is its copy. There is no Gazette office in Jharkhand; the file goes to the Department of Publication in Delhi in your own name. Here is the whole process, in the order it happens, with what each paper says.
Route check and wording, day 0
Confirm that you need a gazette at all: a marriage surname, a divorce and a spelling correction do not, and the six UIDAI categories reach Aadhaar without one. Then fix the exact new name, spacing and initials included, in Roman and in Hindi, and confirm it in writing. The proforma copies this wording letter for letter.
Affidavit, day 1 to 2
Sworn on non-judicial stamp paper before a notary at your district court, in the OLD name as on your current Aadhaar: old name, new name, father's or husband's name, address with pin code, reason, verification clause, notary seal and register number. Stamp paper and notary commonly Rs 100 to Rs 500. Format on the affidavit page.
Two newspaper notices, day 3 to 7
One Hindi daily and one English daily in editions that circulate in Jharkhand, identical wording quoting the affidavit number and date. Keep the complete original page of each paper, masthead and date visible, two copies. Rs 800 to Rs 4,000 at actual cost. Detail on the newspaper page.
Proforma, CD and request letter, day 7 to 8
The Department's proforma typed in two copies, headed "No. ADVT IV /", signed in the old name, two witnesses with full addresses and pin codes, two photographs, self-attested IDs of you and both witnesses; a CD with the notice in Word without the witness portion plus a signed certificate that soft and hard copy match; a request letter to the Controller of Publications. Full list on the documents page.
Fee on BharatKosh, day 8
Only on bharatkosh.gov.in, in your own name, selecting the Department of Publication and the Gazette notification purpose: commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult, Rs 1,700 for a minor, revised each financial year, non-refundable. Print the receipt for the file. No demand draft, no cash, no counter anywhere in Jharkhand.
Delivered in Delhi in your name, day 8 to 10
The five papers, affidavit and pages in original, to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, behind Delhi Vidhan Sabha Metro Station, Delhi 110054, in person or by tracked post in the applicant's name. Our Delhi office delivers Jharkhand files in your name. Nothing is returned, so keep a scanned set.
Published and downloaded, day 40 to 55
Part IV is released weekly; publication commonly takes 30 to 45 days. Search your old or new name on egazette.gov.in, download the free PDF, and note the Gazette number, date and page. No attestation is needed for use in India. A wrong print is corrected by corrigendum within six months.
Then Aadhaar, PAN and every record
Carry the printed Gazette PDF with the affidavit and both newspaper pages to Aadhaar first, then PAN, then every record in the order on the process page. The gazette pillar, with the July 2025 story of the Jharkhand Gazette, is the gazette name change page.
The five papers, line by line
| Paper | What it contains, clause by clause | The mistake that returns the file |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Affidavit | Title "Affidavit for change of name". Deponent's old name, son or daughter or wife of, age, address with pin code. Clause 1: that the deponent is a citizen of India and a resident of the address. Clause 2: the old name as on Aadhaar and the documents it appears on. Clause 3: that the deponent has decided to be known as the new name, spelt in full, from the date of the affidavit. Clause 4: the reason, in one line. Clause 5: that the old and new names refer to one and the same person. Verification clause: that the contents are true to the deponent's knowledge, sworn at the place on the date. Deponent's signature in the OLD name; notary's seal, signature, register serial and date. | Signed in the new name; a spelling in clause 3 that differs from the proforma by a letter; a photocopy sent instead of the original. |
| 2. Two newspaper pages | Wording: "I, [old name], son or daughter or wife of [name], resident of [address, pin code], have changed my name to [new name] by affidavit No. [number] dated [date] sworn before [notary, place]. Henceforth I shall be known as [new name]." One Hindi daily and one English daily in editions circulating in Jharkhand, on any date after the affidavit. The complete page of each, masthead and date visible, in original, two copies each. | A cutting instead of the page; a notice dated before the affidavit; the two notices worded differently; the new name spelt differently from the affidavit. |
| 3. Proforma, two copies | Headed "No. ADVT IV /" with the date. Wording for a change of name: "I, [old name], son or daughter or wife of [name], employed as [occupation] at [address] or residing at [address], have changed my name and shall hereafter be known as [new name]. It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection." Signature in the OLD name. Two witnesses, each with full name, father's name, full address with pin code and signature. Computer typed, no cutting or overwriting. | Handwritten; one witness; a witness without a pin code; signed in the new name; the wrongly-written-name wording used for a change, or the reverse. |
| 4. CD with certificate | The proforma's notice in a Word file, without the witness portion, with the old name typed in place of the signature. A signed certificate on paper: "Certified that the soft copy on the enclosed CD and the hard copy of the notice are the same." The CD labelled with the applicant's name. | A PDF instead of Word; the witness portion left in; the certificate unsigned. |
| 5. Request letter | To the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Subject: publication of change of name in the Gazette of India, Part IV. The request, the list of enclosures, the BharatKosh receipt number and date, the applicant's mobile and email, the applicant's signature in the old name. | No receipt number; the letter signed by an agent. |
What goes with the five
Two passport photographs; self-attested copies of the applicant's Aadhaar and PAN and of both witnesses' Aadhaar; the BharatKosh receipt; for an applicant abroad, the affidavit attested by the Indian mission and the higher fee. Documents not older than about a year.
BharatKosh, field by field
bharatkosh.gov.in, Non-Registered Users, Quick Payment; Ministry: Housing and Urban Affairs; Purpose: Department of Publication, Gazette notification; the amount for adult or minor; the payer's name exactly as the old name on the affidavit; the address; UPI, net banking or card. Download the receipt with its transaction reference and print it for the file.
Reading the published notice
The e-Gazette PDF carries the Gazette of India number, the Part IV heading, the date of publication, the page number and your notice in its own paragraph. Every office reads the number, the date and the page; write them on every covering letter. The notice prints the proforma's words, so a proforma error becomes a published error. A notice with a misprint is corrected by corrigendum within six months, free where the press erred; a corrected notice is what each office gets.
Typing, Signing and Witnessing the Gazette Proforma in Jharkhand, Step by Step
Copy the wording from the affidavit
The affidavit is already sworn; the old name, the new name, the father's or husband's name and the address with pin code are taken from it letter for letter. The employment line is added from your current job or struck.
Type it in Word, print two, save the CD version
The full form printed twice on plain A4; a second file with the witness portion deleted and the old name typed for the signature, saved as Word and burned to a CD labelled with the old name.
Sign with the witnesses present
You sign both copies in the old name; each witness signs both copies below their typed name and full address with pin code; each hands you a self-attested Aadhaar copy. Anywhere: home, our Ranchi office, the witness's shop.
Read it against the other papers, then scan
Affidavit, newspaper, proforma, CD file: one old name, one new name, one address. Scan both signed copies; the office returns neither.
The proforma then goes into the envelope with the affidavit, the newspaper pages, the CD, the certificate and the request letter, addressed as on the gazette office page.
Gazette Proforma Fees for a Jharkhand File
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The proforma itself | Nothing; plain paper, no stamp, no notary | Typing and a CD under Rs 100 |
| Government fee, change of name, adult | Commonly Rs 1,100 on BharatKosh | Revised each financial year; non-refundable |
| Government fee, minor's specimen | Commonly Rs 1,700 | The same |
| Government fee, public notice proforma | Commonly Rs 1,350; Rs 250 per alias | A different form; on the public notice page |
| Applicant abroad | A higher rate, revised from time to time | Confirmed before filing |
| A rejected proforma | The fee again on refiling | About six weeks lost |
| Our charge | Quoted per case; the Government fee is always a separate line | Full bill on the cost page |
What the Controller of Publications Rejects on a Gazette Proforma
Incomplete or vague
- A blank field: no employment line, no pin code, no father's name.
- One copy, or a photocopy as the second copy.
- One witness, or two witness blocks with the same person.
- A handwritten proforma, or one with cutting or overwriting.
- No CD, a CD in PDF, or a CD that does not match the paper.
Wrong or misleading
- Signed in the new name, or the new name typed in the applicant's-name line.
- The new name spelt differently from the affidavit or the newspapers.
- The public-notice wording used for a change, or "hitherto known as" used for a misprint.
- The major's proforma used for a child, or a child's signature anywhere.
- A name change that conceals identity or evades a debt, which the guidelines call unlawful.
Gazette Proforma Terms Explained for Jharkhand
- Proforma
- The Department of Publication's prescribed form for the notice it prints; for a change of name, the specimen proforma for major.
- No. ADVT./IV
- The heading, meaning advertisement in Part IV; the office fills the number.
- Hitherto known as
- The opening words of the change-of-name declaration: "until now known as [old name]".
- Shall hereafter be known as
- The declaration of the new name; the words the Gazette prints.
- Certification line
- "It is certified that I have complied with other legal requirements in this connection", the applicant's statement that the affidavit and newspapers exist.
- Existing old name
- The name on Aadhaar at the time of signing, in which every signature on the file goes.
- Witness
- An adult who signs the proforma with full name, address with pin code and signature, and whose Aadhaar copy is enclosed.
- In duplicate
- Two typed and signed copies, both submitted, neither returned.
- Print matter
- The text on the CD, which the office takes into the Gazette; the paper is its signed counterpart.
- Specimen for minor
- The separate form for a child's change of name, declared and signed by the parent or guardian.
- Public notice proforma
- The different form for a name wrongly written on a certificate, quoting the misprint; not this page.
- Controller's rejection
- The Department's reserved right to reject any request found incomplete, vague, unlawful or misleading.
Gazette Proforma Drafting for All 24 Districts of Jharkhand
Get the proforma typed from your affidavit
Send the sworn affidavit and the two newspaper pages; we type the proforma and the CD file from them letter for letter, in the right specimen for your case, and send both back for signing with your witnesses. If you have typed it yourself, send it and hear whether it would be rejected. Details on the contact page.
- 📞Call 9540005002
Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM - WhatsApp 9540005064
Send your scans here, it is the fastest way - ✉️info@jharkhandnamechange.com
- 📍Ranchi office: Main Building, Near Shaheed Chowk, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834001
- 🏛️Head office (Gazette filing desk): Metro Pillar No. 377, Near Burari Metro Station, Shop No. B-1, Ground Floor, Gali No. 1, Khasra No. 31/12, Hardev Nagar, Jharoda Majra, Burari, Delhi 110084
Gazette Name Change Proforma Format for Jharkhand: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the gazette name change proforma format?
Where do I get the proforma form?
Do I sign in my old name or my new name?
Who can be the two witnesses?
What do I write in "employed as ... in the ..." if I am a student or a homemaker?
Can the proforma be handwritten or in Hindi?
Why two copies and a CD?
Is the minor's form the same?
Is this the form for a name wrongly written on my certificate?
What if the new name on the proforma differs slightly from the affidavit?
Does a Government employee use a different proforma?
What does "incomplete, vague, unlawful or misleading" mean in practice?
Does the Jharkhand Gazette have a proforma?
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Official Sources for the Gazette Name Change Proforma
- Department of Publication, Government of IndiaThe guidelines for change of name for adult and for minor, with the specimen proformas.
- Guidelines for change of name for adult (major), Department of Publication, hosted on a Government district portalThe specimen text reproduced on this page.
- BharatKoshWhere the fee is paid.
- The Gazette of India, e-Gazette portalWhere the printed proforma appears as the Part IV notice.
- Unique Identification Authority of IndiaThe Aadhaar update the published name goes to first.
Gazette Name Change Proforma Format in Eight Lines
The short version
- The Department's specimen for major, typed on plain paper: No. ADVT./IV, "I hitherto known as ... shall hereafter be known as ...", the certification line.
- The applicant's name and signature in the existing old name.
- Two witnesses, each with name, full address with pin code and signature.
- Two signed copies plus one CD in Word without the witness portion, and the same-contents certificate.
- Every name and the address copied from the affidavit letter for letter; the employment line filled or struck.
- A minor uses the separate specimen, signed by the guardian; a misprint uses the public-notice proforma.
- Rejected if incomplete, vague, unlawful or misleading; handwritten, one copy, one witness, new-name signature.
- Nothing returned; scan both copies before sealing.
The Department's words, your old-name signature, two witnesses, one CD
Send the affidavit on WhatsApp and get the proforma and the CD file typed from it, in the right specimen for your case.