Name Change FAQ for Jharkhand
This is the page to read first if you do not yet know what you are dealing with. It answers the questions people actually ask us, grouped by what they are really about, and each answer points at the page that goes into it properly rather than repeating it badly here. Every quoted rule comes from a published Government document named at the foot. Where a figure cannot be verified, we do not print one. Where a rule leaves something open, we say that it does. And where the honest answer is that you probably need none of what we sell, that answer is in here too, several times, because it is the true answer for a large share of the people who arrive here.
Nearly every question on this page collapses into one: which office is actually refusing you, and what does that office's own published list name? Because the lists do not agree with each other. The Aadhaar supporting document list says "For change in first name or change in full name: Gazette notification". The passport proforma asks for "Clippings of two local newspapers" and names no gazette. Item 10 of Form 2 for a driving licence names an affidavit, a marriage certificate or a newspaper advertisement, and no gazette. The Reserve Bank rule accepts "a marriage certificate issued by the State Government or Gazette notification". So there is no single correct answer for everybody, and anybody giving you one has not read the lists. Three more facts settle most of the rest. The Aadhaar name "can be updated twice in a lifetime." Gazette documents "must not be older than one year." And no processing time for publication is published at all, which is why nobody can honestly promise you a date.
The Five Name Change Questions That Decide Everything Else
| The question | Why it decides the rest |
|---|---|
| Was there ever a moment when I decided to be called something else? | If no, this is a correction against the office's own original entry, and a written request with consistent documents is frequently the whole job. No affidavit, no newspaper, no gazette, no fee. Our correction against change page is the test |
| Which office is actually refusing me today? | Because each one names its own document. Answer this before buying anything, because the strongest paper does not satisfy a rule that names a different one |
| Is there a marriage behind this, and do I hold a State Government marriage certificate? | If yes, three major routes name that certificate directly. The Aadhaar list, the Reserve Bank rule and item 10 of Form 2. For a very large group this ends the matter |
| How many times has my Aadhaar name already been updated? | Because it "can be updated twice in a lifetime." If you have spent both, your situation is different from everybody else's on this page and needs the exception route |
| How old are the papers I already hold? | Because for the gazette file "The documents must not be older than one year." Nothing warns you as the months pass, and an expired affidavit is discovered when the file is refused |
| And the one to ask us | Do I actually need any of what you sell? Ask it plainly. A good share of the people who contact us need a written request to one office and nothing else, and we say so and charge nothing |
Name Change Questions About Which Route You Actually Need
| The question | The short answer |
|---|---|
| Is a gazette notification compulsory for every name change? | No. The Aadhaar list names it, the Reserve Bank rule offers it as one of two options, and item 10 of Form 2 for a driving licence does not name it at all. It depends entirely on which record you need changed. See our affidavit, newspaper or gazette page |
| Can I change my name in the Jharkhand Gazette instead of the Central one? | No. The Jharkhand Gazette carries Government notifications and publishes no personal change of name. A personal notice from this State goes to the Gazette of India, Part IV. Our gazette office page explains this and corrects the fake address competitors print |
| Is there a gazette counter in Ranchi or anywhere in Jharkhand? | There is not one anywhere in the State. There is exactly one Department of Publication, in Delhi. Any page giving you a Jharkhand gazette office address is inventing it |
| My spelling is wrong but I never changed my name. What is that? | A correction, against the office's own original entry, and it usually needs none of the published papers. Filing a change of name notice for a typing error puts on record a change that never happened |
| What if a certificate printed my name wrongly but the register is right? | A third situation with its own proforma and its own wording, quoting the wrong spelling exactly as printed. Our public notice page covers it |
| Do I need a court order to change my name? | Not for the ordinary route. The Department of Publication's guidelines describe a documentary file, not a court proceeding. Certain school boards have their own rules, which is why those are on their own pages |
| Can I just use an affidavit and stop there? | For some records, yes. Item 10 of Form 2 names an affidavit as one of three acceptable documents for a driving licence. For the Aadhaar, no, because its list names a gazette notification for a change in first name or full name |
| Which page on this website should I read if I am starting from nothing? | The name change process page for the route, then the documents required page. Then come back here for the specific thing stopping you |
Name Change Questions About Documents and Formats
| The question | The short answer |
|---|---|
| What exactly goes into a gazette name change file? | The guidelines list an undertaking signed by the applicant, the "Original newspaper", the proforma in duplicate with two witnesses, a CD with the matter in MS Word, two self attested photographs with an identity proof, a similarity certificate, and a request letter with the fee. Our documents page goes through each |
| Is a notarised affidavit part of the gazette file? | It is not on the published list. The guidelines name "An undertaking duly signed by the applicant". Many counters still ask for an affidavit and it is cheap, so having one is sensible, but it is not the gazette's own requirement |
| One newspaper or two? | The published text says "Change of name should be advertised in one of the daily local leading newspapers", and the enclosure list says "Original newspaper", singular. We recommend two anyway, and we say plainly that this is our practice and not the rule |
| Can I submit a newspaper cutting? | No. Both the gazette file and the passport route ask for the original. Buy spare copies on the day it publishes and keep them flat |
| Whose signature goes on the proforma? | It is signed in the old name, with two witnesses giving full addresses, and typed in duplicate. In the soft copy the witness portion is left out and the old name is typed in place of a signature. Our proforma format page has the wording |
| Why does the file need a CD as well as paper? | Because the printed matter is set from the soft copy, and the file carries a certificate that the hard copy and the soft copy are similar. One different letter between them is enough to send the file back |
| How old can my documents be? | The guidelines state "The documents must not be older than one year." This is the only hard deadline in them and it runs against you, so do the whole job as one run rather than in stages |
| Are there matters the Gazette will not publish at all? | Yes, and the Department publishes a document listing them, titled Matters which are not Published in Gazette of India Weekly Part IV. We were not able to read its contents while writing this page and so we quote nothing from it, but you should know it exists |
Name Change Questions About Fees and Payment in Jharkhand
| The question | The short answer |
|---|---|
| How is the Government charge paid? | Only through BharatKosh, and it is revised each financial year and non refundable. Read the amount on the portal on the day you pay, which is the only figure that is ever current. Our BharatKosh page covers the fields |
| I saw a figure of Rs 2,000 per page. Is that my fee? | Almost certainly not. That figure appears in the guidelines for Part III Section IV, which covers notifications and notices issued by statutory bodies, where the text states it is charged as a full page "Irrespective of the space taken up". A personal name notice publishes in Part IV, a different route |
| Is there a higher charge for applicants abroad? | Yes, the guidelines say so. They also tie the figure they give to the financial year 2016 to 2017, so it cannot be quoted as today's rate. Our NRI page deals with this honestly |
| Do I get a refund if my file is rejected? | No. BharatKosh payments are non refundable, and the Controller of Publications "reserves the right to reject any request found incomplete/vague/unlawful/misleading". This is why the file is checked before it is sent, not after |
| What does an affidavit or a newspaper advertisement cost? | We print no figure for either, because neither is fixed by any list we can quote to you. The newspaper varies by paper, edition and number of lines, so keep the wording short |
| Does the gazette copy cost money? | No, it is free. Personal notices have been digital only since 1 October 2015 and the PDF downloads at no charge. Anybody selling you the copy is selling you a free file. Our download page shows how |
| Are there extra charges for anything? | The Department publishes a document titled Details where additional charges are applicable. We could not read its contents while writing this page, so we quote nothing from it, but it exists and it is worth asking about before you pay |
| What do you charge? | Quoted on the call, after we have seen your papers, and never before we have told you whether you need us at all. Where the answer is a written request and no published paper, we say so and charge nothing. Our cost page lists the Government charges separately |
Name Change Questions About Timelines and Waiting
| The question | The short answer |
|---|---|
| How many days does publication take? | No processing time is published anywhere in the guidelines. What they do say is that the department "will not be responsible for any delay in printing on the part of concerned Press." That is a disclaimer, not a timeline. Our timeline page sets out every published clock |
| Other sites say fifteen to twenty two working days. Where is that from? | A state government portal in another state, where it appears with a fee of roughly Rs 523 to 550. Neither figure belongs to a Central Gazette file from Jharkhand |
| Which step takes longest? | The Aadhaar update, for most people. The Authority states "Aadhaar update takes up to 90 days" and that beyond 90 days you should dial 1947. Plan the calendar around that, not around the gazette |
| Can I pay to get it done faster? | There is no published fast track and we will not sell you one. Ask anybody promising speed which published rule they rely on |
| My file has gone silent. What can I do? | Ask in writing, because a phone call starts no clock. In the normal course information is to be supplied within 30 days of a written request reaching a public authority, with a first appeal within thirty days of that limit expiring |
| Does a mistake get fixed quickly after publication? | No. A published gazette is not edited in place. A mistake needs a fresh corrective process with its own paperwork and cost, which is why the name is settled letter by letter before anything is printed |
| How long does a correction take, rather than a change? | Far less, because it is a written request to one office rather than a published file. Which is why the very first question on this page is whether yours is a correction at all |
Name Change Questions About Updating Each Record
| The question | The short answer |
|---|---|
| In what order should I update my records? | Aadhaar, PAN, banks, passport, driving licence and vehicle papers, employment and pension records, then property and business registrations. Later offices read earlier documents, so going out of order means repeat visits |
| How many times can I change my name in the Aadhaar? | Twice. The Authority's procedure states the name "can be updated twice in a lifetime", and beyond that "Update requests beyond allowed chances will only be considered through the exception handling process." Settle the spelling before your first visit. See our Aadhaar page |
| Should I apply for a new PAN in the new name? | Never. The Income Tax Department lists "Obtaining multiple PAN" among the defaults, and the penalty provision names "a sum of ten thousand rupees". The PAN is corrected, not replaced. Our PAN page covers it |
| My bank refused even after I corrected my PAN. Why? | Because the PAN is not an officially valid document on the Reserve Bank's list. What that rule does provide is that a document stays valid where the change is "supported by a marriage certificate issued by the State Government or Gazette notification". See our KYC page |
| Will my passport keep the same number? | No, a name change is a reissue, meaning a new booklet with a new number rather than an amendment. That matters if a visa is tied to the current one. Our passport page deals with it |
| Do I need a gazette for my driving licence? | Item 10 of Form 2 does not name one. It lists an affidavit before a First Class Judicial Magistrate or Notary Public, a marriage certificate, and a copy of a newspaper advertisement. Our Parivahan Sarathi page walks through it |
| Does a notification update my employer's records automatically? | No. It is evidence, not the amendment. Somebody still has to act on a written request, and you should take a dated acknowledgement for it every time |
| What about my nominations? | They do not update themselves. Nominee entries in bank accounts, insurance policies and provident fund records are separate fields, and nobody looks at them twice in a lifetime |
| Do I have to change every single record? | Not necessarily. Start with the sheet listing every record and the exact name on it. Many households find two or three were already correct, and some records can stay as they are if nothing depends on them |
Name Change Questions From Special Situations in Jharkhand
| The situation | The short answer |
|---|---|
| A married woman taking her husband's surname | Check the marriage certificate route before anything else. The Aadhaar list, the Reserve Bank rule and item 10 of Form 2 each name a State Government marriage certificate. For many this ends the matter. See our surname after marriage page |
| Is a name change compulsory after marriage? | No. Nothing requires a woman to change her name on marriage. Our page on that question sets out why the belief persists |
| A Central Government employee | There is a published deed for them, and its own instructions require publication "in a prominent local newspaper as well as in the Gazette of India at the Govt. employee's own expense." As well as, not instead of. See our Government employees page |
| An Indian living abroad | The guidelines say the applicant "will submit deed duly attested by the respective Indian embassy/ Indian High Commission, in original". A deed, not the domestic undertaking, and not a local notary. See our NRI page |
| A minor | A different specimen form, signed by the parent, with the child signing nothing. See our minor name change page and our minor affidavit page |
| A tribal surname spelt differently across documents | The single largest real world situation in this State, and usually a spelling question rather than a change of name. See our tribal surname page and our ST certificate page |
| A JAC or school board certificate | Boards have their own rules and their own timing, so we keep them on their own pages rather than summarising them badly. See our JAC certificate page and our CBSE and ICSE page |
| A single name with no surname | Common in this State and a real problem at verification, because many systems require a surname field. See our adding a surname page |
What to Do Next After Reading These Name Change Questions
Write Every Record and the Exact Name Printed on Each
Including spacing and initials. This one sheet answers four of the five questions at the top of this page, and it costs nothing but an evening.
Decide Whether Yours Is a Correction or a Name Change
Ask whether there was ever a moment when you decided to be called something else. If not, most of this website does not apply to you, and that is the best possible outcome.
Check the Marriage Certificate Route Before Buying Anything
If a marriage is behind the change and you hold a State Government certificate, three published lists name it directly and the expensive route may simply not arise.
Read the Published List of the Office Refusing You
Not a consultant's page and not ours. The office's own list, which is what its counter is working from.
Settle the New Name Letter by Letter Before Anything Is Printed
Spelling, spacing, initials, the order of the words. The Aadhaar name can be updated twice in a lifetime, and a published gazette cannot be edited, so this is the moment that decides the cost of everything after it.
Buy Every Paper Inside One Short Window
Because "The documents must not be older than one year." A job done as one run costs one set of papers, and the same job stretched over fourteen months can cost two.
Confirm the Government Charge on the Portal on the Day
It is revised each financial year, paid only through BharatKosh, and non refundable. No page, including this one, can tell you today's figure reliably.
Update the Records in an Order That Does Not Backtrack
And correct the PAN rather than applying for a second one, because obtaining multiple PAN is a listed default carrying a penalty of ten thousand rupees.
Take a Dated Acknowledgement and Ask in Writing If It Stalls
Every office, every time. A written request to a public authority is to be answered within 30 days in the normal course, and silence after that is itself the ground for an appeal.
The Full Central Gazette Name Change Process, Answered End to End
No district in Jharkhand has a gazette counter, so a genuine file goes from Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Deoghar or anywhere else in the state to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, and the notice publishes in Part IV of the Gazette of India. As reported in July 2025 the Finance Department stopped personal name change notifications from the Jharkhand Government Press with immediate effect, so there is no state alternative to fall back on.
The Eight Steps of a Name File Sent From Jharkhand
Settle the final name first
Letter by letter, with the spacing you want, and then use exactly that everywhere, Aadhaar included. A corrigendum after publication is a second fee and a second wait.
Pick the category, then its proforma
A genuine change of name is change of Name Adult or Major. A wrongly typed spelling is the public notice for a wrongly written name. Twelve categories exist and only one is yours.
Type the proforma in duplicate
Two originals with two witnesses giving signature, full name, address and mobile number on both copies. A change of name is signed in the old name; a public notice is signed in your own name.
Fill the employment field if it is a change of name
The adult proforma asks for the post of the applicant and the office or company name. A student or a homemaker should still complete it rather than leaving it blank, because a blank field brings the file back.
Publish and keep the original paper
One of the daily local leading newspapers, carrying both names in full, the father or husband name and the residential address. The whole original paper goes in the file, not a cutting.
Pay only through BharatKosh
The Non Tax Receipt Portal and nowhere else since October 2018. Select the Department of Publication by name, read the amount the portal shows on the day, pay in your own name and print the e-receipt.
Check every date, then post it yourself
Nothing in the file older than one year. Personally or by post or courier only, never through an agent or advocate. Photocopy everything first, because nothing sent in comes back.
Read the notice, then update in the right order
Check every word the day it publishes, because a published gazette is not edited and a mistake needs a fresh corrective process. Download the e-Gazette copy, which is free, then take the records in order: the Aadhaar first, remembering that the name there can be updated twice in a lifetime, then the PAN, which is corrected and never replaced, then banks, then the passport, then the licence and vehicle papers, taking a dated acknowledgement at every single office.
The Five Papers in the File, and What Is Checked in Each
| The paper | What is checked in it, clause by clause |
|---|---|
| 1. The proforma, in duplicate | That it is the right category format; the existing full name exactly as your documents carry it; the new full name exactly as settled; the father or husband name; the full address with pin code; the post and office or company name where it is a change of name; the signature in the right name for the category; two witnesses complete with signature, full name, address and mobile number |
| 2. The affidavit or undertaking | The same names and address as the proforma, word for word, with wording matching the category. On Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper as our safe default |
| 3. The original newspaper | The original paper, not a cutting; the paper name and date of publication visible; both names carried; the father or husband name and residential address; dated within the last year |
| 4. Photographs, identity proof and any category paper | Two self attested passport photographs; self attested identity and address proof matching the proforma address; both witnesses proofs; and, in a public notice file, the attested photocopy of the connected document carrying the error |
| 5. The CD, its certificate and the BharatKosh receipt | MS Word, without the witness portion, with the name typed in place of the signature; the certificate that the hard copy and the soft copy are the same; the forwarding letter to the Controller of Publication with a telephone number and email; the e-receipt |
The posting detail is on the sending the file to Delhi page, the change of name wording on the proforma format page and the public notice wording on the public notice proforma page, the charge by category on the fee and undertaking page, the reasons files come back on the rejection reasons page, and the download on the download page.
What a Name Change Costs in Jharkhand, and What We Will Not Quote
This is the question asked more than any other, so here is the whole answer, including the parts where the honest response is that we cannot give you a number.
| Item | What we can and cannot tell you |
|---|---|
| The Government gazette charge | Paid only through BharatKosh, revised each financial year and non refundable. Read the amount on the portal on the day you pay. Our cost page keeps the working figures with that caveat attached |
| The figure you may have seen of Rs 2,000 per page | Not this route. That belongs to the guidelines for Part III Section IV, covering notices issued by statutory bodies, charged as a full page "Irrespective of the space taken up". A personal name notice publishes in Part IV |
| The affidavit | No figure from us. Stamp value and notary charges are not fixed by any list we can quote. Ask at your own district court complex and you will be told on the spot |
| The newspaper advertisement | A real cost that varies by paper, edition and number of lines. Keep the wording short, because you pay by the space. Our newspaper page covers the papers read here |
| The gazette copy | Free. Digital only since 1 October 2015, downloaded from the Government portal at no charge |
| Additional charges | The Department publishes a document listing where they apply. We could not read its contents while writing this page, so we quote nothing from it and suggest you ask before paying |
| The costs of getting it wrong | A returned file means the charge again. A second PAN carries a penalty provision naming ten thousand rupees. Both are avoidable and neither is a fee anybody quotes you in advance |
| Our charge | Quoted on the call, after we have seen your papers, and never before we have told you whether you need us at all |
Name Change Myths We Correct Most Often in Jharkhand
| What people are told | What is actually so |
|---|---|
| Every name change needs a gazette notification | It does not. Item 10 of Form 2 for a driving licence names an affidavit, a marriage certificate or a newspaper advertisement, and no gazette, and the passport proforma never mentions one |
| A gazette file starts with a notarised affidavit | The published list names "An undertaking duly signed by the applicant", not an affidavit. The most repeated error on this subject |
| There is a gazette office in Jharkhand | There is not. There is one Department of Publication, in Delhi. Any Jharkhand gazette office address you are shown is invented |
| The Aadhaar can be updated as often as needed | The name "can be updated twice in a lifetime." Beyond that it is an exception process, not an ordinary counter visit |
| Get a fresh PAN in the new name | Never. "Obtaining multiple PAN" is a listed default and the penalty provision names ten thousand rupees. The PAN is corrected |
| It takes fifteen to twenty two working days | That figure comes from another state's portal. No processing time is published for this route at all, and the guidelines expressly disclaim responsibility for press delay |
| There is no hurry, the papers stay valid | "The documents must not be older than one year." Nothing warns you as the months pass |
| A married woman must do the gazette | Three published lists name a State Government marriage certificate instead. Check that before buying anything |
| The gazette copy must be purchased | It is free, downloaded from the Government portal, digital only since 1 October 2015 |
| One gazette and every office will comply | It is evidence, not the amendment. Each office amends its own register on a written request, and the passport asks for original newspapers rather than the notification |
Key Name Change Terms Explained for Jharkhand
| Term | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Correction against change | A name nobody ever changed but somebody typed wrongly is a correction. A name genuinely changed is a change. The first question on this page |
| Undertaking | What the gazette guidelines actually name for a domestic file, signed by the applicant. Not an affidavit |
| Affidavit | A statement on oath before a magistrate or notary. Named by Form 2 for a driving licence, not by the gazette list |
| Gazette notification | Publication in the Government of India's own record. Personal notices appear in Part IV |
| Part IV against Part III Section IV | Two different things. Part IV carries personal name notices. Part III Section IV carries notifications of statutory bodies, and its published charge is not your fee |
| Original newspaper | The guidelines' own phrase. The whole paper, not a cutting |
| Proforma | The prescribed form the notice is typed on, in duplicate, signed in the old name, with two witnesses |
| Officially valid document | The Reserve Bank's term for what a bank may accept. The PAN is not one |
| Prescribed limit | The Aadhaar rule that the name may be updated twice in a lifetime |
| Exception handling process | What applies beyond that limit. Not an ordinary counter visit |
| Reissue | What a passport name change is. A new booklet with a new number |
| Dated acknowledgement | A receipt with a date from the office you gave a request to. The foundation of everything you can do if it stalls |
Answers and Name Change Help Across Every District of Jharkhand
The rules quoted on this page are Central ones, so they read the same in Ranchi, in Sahibganj and in a block office three hours from either. What changes by district is which newspapers circulate, which office holds your record, and how far the papers have to travel. What we do is answer the question first and sell second. We read your records against each other, tell you whether this was ever a change of name at all, tell you which offices are genuinely blocking you and what each one's published list names, and only then talk about cost. Where the answer is a written request to one office and no published paper, we say so and charge you nothing. We work across Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Sahibganj and every other district, on scans over WhatsApp.
District pages are linked from the services page.
Send your question and your papers
Send the question in your own words, in one line, even if it is the same question three websites have already answered differently. Then send scans of the records that disagree with each other, with the dates readable on anything you have already bought. Tell us which office is refusing you, if one is, because that single fact decides most of the answer. Our first reply tells you whether this was ever a change of name at all, which published list applies to your situation, what to buy and what not to buy, and the order to do it in. If the answer is a written request to one office and no published paper, we will tell you that and charge nothing. 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
The Twenty One Name Change Questions We Are Asked Most in Jharkhand
Is a gazette notification compulsory for a name change in Jharkhand?
Do I need a notarised affidavit for the gazette file?
Is there a gazette office in Ranchi or anywhere in Jharkhand?
My documents disagree but nobody ever changed my name. What do I need?
How many days does a gazette name change take?
Can my documents become too old to use?
How many times can I change my name in the Aadhaar?
Should I apply for a new PAN card in my new name?
I took my husband's surname. Do I need a gazette?
Is changing my name compulsory after marriage?
One newspaper or two for the gazette file?
Can I submit a newspaper cutting instead of the whole paper?
I saw a figure of Rs 2,000 per page. Is that the gazette fee?
Will I get my money back if the file is rejected?
Is the gazette copy something I have to buy?
Can a published gazette be corrected if there is a mistake?
Does one gazette notification update all my records?
In what order should I update my records?
An office is refusing me even though I have the right document. What now?
Does the Gazette publish everything people ask it to?
How much do you charge, and do I need you at all?
People Also Ask About Name Change in Jharkhand, Answered From the Published Guidelines
These are the questions people type into Google around the gazette, and almost none of them are answered anywhere with the Department's own wording. Every answer below is taken from a document the Department of Publication itself publishes, and the exact sentence is quoted so you can check it. Where the Department publishes nothing, we say so instead of filling the gap with a guess.
What does "gazetted" mean, and does a gazette notification make me a gazetted officer?
No. These are two completely different things and a lot of websites mix them up. A gazette notification is a notice printed in the Government of India's own record. A personal name notice is printed in Part IV. A gazetted officer is a rank of Government post, and nothing you publish about your own name gives you that rank. If somebody tells you that publishing your name makes you gazetted, they have not understood either word.
Where exactly is the gazette office, and what are its working hours?
There is one office and it is in Delhi. The guidelines give the address as "Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054". The separate guideline set for a name and gender notice adds the landmark in its own words: "Behind Vidhan Sabha, Near Vidhan Sabha Metro Station". The published counter hours are "10:00AM to 01:00 PM and 02:00PM to 4:00PM on all working days", and the same second document adds "(Closed on Saturday, Sunday and on Gazetted holidays)". There is no counter in Ranchi, Dhanbad or anywhere else in Jharkhand. Our page on the gazette office in Jharkhand goes through what people are actually being sent to when they are told to visit one.
Do I have to travel to Delhi, or can I send the file by post?
You can post it, and there is no third route. The guidelines for a minor put it plainly: "Application either submitted personally or sent by Post/ Courier only will be entertained". The adult guidelines say the same in different words. There is no email route, no upload, and no portal where you can submit the file itself, even though the fee is paid online. Read how to send a gazette file from Jharkhand to Delhi before you pack anything.
Will the Department send my original newspaper and documents back to me?
No, and this is stated in the guidelines in one blunt line: "The documents once submitted in this department will not be returned in any circumstances." That sentence should change how you shop. Buy more than one copy of the newspaper on the day the notice appears, photocopy the whole file before you seal the envelope, and keep your own set at home. People in Jharkhand lose weeks because the only copy of the paper went to Delhi and the local office later asked to see it.
My file has a shortcoming. How long do I get to fix it?
Six months, counted from the first time they contact you. The name and gender guidelines say the applicant must submit "his/her shortcoming in documents/deficit fees/CD/ CD certificate etc. within 06 (Six Months) from the time he received the first e-mail, phone or objection letter". After that window, "the case will be treated cancelled and whole new procedure with requisite fees is to be deposited". This is the closest thing the Department publishes to an answer on refunds, and it is not a refund. It means a missed window costs you the fee again. See the reasons gazette files get rejected for what usually triggers that first objection letter.
Do my two witnesses have to give their own identity proof?
For a name and gender notice the guidelines say yes, in these words: "01-Self attested photocopy of ID Proof for Name and Address either Aadhaar card / Voter I card / Passport of each Witness". The same document asks for each witness's full name, signature, address and mobile number on the proforma. The plain change of name guideline list does not spell out a separate witness identity proof, so the two documents are not identical on this point. Carrying it costs you one photocopy and removes one reason to be sent back, so we carry it either way. The gazette proforma format page shows where the witness block sits.
How do I find my own notification after it is published?
Through the Government's own gazette site, not through any agent's portal. The site carries a "Search" option and a "Gazette Directory", and recent issues are grouped as "Extra Ordinary Gazettes" and "Weekly Gazettes". A personal name notice sits in Part IV of a weekly issue. What the home page does not advertise is a search by a private person's name, which is why people hunt page by page through the issue for the week they were given. We have written up what actually works in checking your gazette name change status and in downloading the gazette copy.
Is there an age limit, or a bar if a court case is going on?
Several websites say you must be at least 18 and free of any pending case. We could not find either rule in the published guidelines. In fact the Department publishes a separate guideline set for a minor, handled through a guardian, so the claim that you must be 18 is wrong on its face. We are not saying a court cannot order otherwise in a particular case. We are saying that as a general bar, neither rule appears in the documents the Department puts out, and we will not repeat a rule we cannot show you.
Is a minor's file different from an adult's file?
Yes, in four specific ways, all published. The undertaking is "An undertaking duly signed by the Guardian" rather than by the applicant. The newspaper notice has to carry the "age of child" along with the full identification details. The photographs are two of the guardian plus one of the minor. And the fee figure printed in that document is a different one from the adult figure, carrying its own expired window. Our minor name change page and the affidavit format for a minor deal with the rest.
What if I am changing gender as well as name?
That is a third guideline set, with an extra document. It asks for a "Gender Identity Document (GID)" from a hospital or medical authority, and the document itself attaches a condition in brackets: "(Till NALSA guidelines are implemented or law is passed in the Parliament as suggested by the Supreme Court)". The fee figure printed there is different again from the plain name figure. The law in this area moved in 2026, which is why we deal with it separately on gender change in documents in Jharkhand rather than in one line here.
Can I still pay the fee by NEFT or RTGS?
No. The guidelines close that door with a date. Payment has to go through the Non-Tax Receipt Portal, "i.e. www.bharatkosh.gov.in from 01/10/2018 onwards", and the same document records that "The payment then directly through NEFT/RTGS have been stopped from 18/03/2019". If anybody gives you a bank account number to transfer the Government fee into, stop. Paying the gazette fee on BharatKosh shows the screens and the receipt you must keep.
People Also Search For These Name Change Topics, and Where Each One Is Answered
These are the searches people run just before or just after landing on a page like this one. Each line says what the search really turns out to mean once you look at the published rule, and points at the page where we deal with it properly.
| What people search | What it actually turns on | Read next |
|---|---|---|
| gazette name change fee | Two different charges get quoted as one. The personal notice charge and the Part III Section IV charge are not the same thing, and the published figures sit inside expired windows | What a name change costs |
| gazette name change online apply | The fee is paid online. The file is not filed online. Only the payment step has a portal | BharatKosh fee payment |
| gazette name change status check | There is no personal tracking number. You look for the issue, then the Part, then the page | Checking your status |
| gazette office in Ranchi | There is none. The pin code people quote for it is a Delhi pin code | The gazette office question |
| name change affidavit format | The gazette list names an undertaking, not a notarised affidavit. Several other offices do want an affidavit | Name change affidavit |
| affidavit or newspaper or gazette | Three different instruments for three different offices, and the published lists disagree with each other | Affidavit against newspaper against gazette |
| newspaper advertisement for name change | The gazette rule asks for one paper and for the original, not a cutting. Some other offices ask for two | Newspaper advertisement |
| documents required for name change | Every office publishes its own list. The gazette list is short and specific, and includes the whole newspaper | Documents for the gazette file |
| name change in Aadhaar card | The name can be updated twice in a lifetime. Beyond that it is an exception route, not a counter visit | Name change in Aadhaar |
| name change in PAN card | It is a correction in the existing PAN, not a second PAN. A second PAN carries a published penalty | Name change in PAN |
| name change in passport | It is a reissue. You get a new booklet with a new number, and the proforma asks for newspaper clippings | Name change in passport |
| name change in voter ID | A correction form with proof, handled at the State level, and it does not depend on the gazette | Name change in voter ID |
| name change in driving licence | Form 2 item 10 names an affidavit, a marriage certificate or a newspaper advertisement. It names no gazette | Name change in driving licence |
| name change in bank account and KYC | The bank works off officially valid documents. The PAN is not one of them for this purpose | Name change in bank records |
| name change in 10th and 12th marksheet | A board record is corrected by the board's own process, usually through the school, within the board's own time limit | JAC marksheet name change |
| name change in degree certificate | The university has its own rule, and it often will not touch a record after the degree is issued without a gazette | University degree correction |
| name change in birth certificate | This is a registration record. It is a separate process from the gazette and it has its own authority | Birth certificate name change |
| name change after marriage | Often no gazette at all. The Reserve Bank rule accepts a marriage certificate issued by the State Government or a gazette notification | Surname change after marriage |
| minor name change | A separate published guideline set, signed by the guardian, with the child's age in the newspaper notice | Minor name change |
| name and gender change in gazette | A third guideline set with a medical document, and the law in this area moved in 2026 | Gender change in documents |
| name correction or name change | The first question anybody should answer. A typing error and a real change are not the same job | Correction against change |
| mistake printed in the gazette | A published notice is fixed by a further published notice, not by editing the old one | Gazette corrigendum |
| name change for NRI | The deed goes through the Indian embassy or high commission and reaches the Department in original | Name change for an NRI |
| how long does a gazette take | No processing time is published at all, and the Department disclaims delay at the press | How long it takes |
Official Sources Behind These Name Change Answers
| Source | What it is used for on this page |
|---|---|
| Department of Publication, Guidelines for Change of Name for Adult (Major) | The file contents, the undertaking rather than an affidavit, the one newspaper sentence, the one year document rule, the counter hours, the rule that documents are never returned, the press delay disclaimer, the rejection clause and the route for Indians living abroad |
| Department of Publication, Guidelines for Change of Name for Minor | The guardian's undertaking, the age of the child in the newspaper notice, the photograph count for guardian and child, and the sentence that an application is entertained only in person or by post or courier |
| Department of Publication, Guidelines for Change of Name and Gender in Public Notice | The identity proof required of each witness, the six month window to make good a shortcoming, the gender identity document condition, the office landmark and closed days, and the dates on which the Non-Tax Receipt Portal became the only route and direct bank transfer stopped |
| Department of Publication, guidelines for Part III Section IV | The Rs 2,000 per page charge for statutory bodies' notices and the full page rule, quoted only to show that it is a different route from a personal notice |
| Unique Identification Authority of India, list of supporting documents | The gazette notification entry for a change in first name or full name, and the marriage certificate as a listed document |
| Unique Identification Authority of India, Standard Operating Procedure of 28 October 2021 | The twice in a lifetime limit and the exception handling process |
| Unique Identification Authority of India, published answer on update status | That an Aadhaar update takes up to 90 days |
| Income Tax Department | That obtaining multiple PAN is a listed default and the ten thousand rupee penalty provision |
| Reserve Bank of India, Master Direction on Know Your Customer | The deemed officially valid document rule and the absence of the PAN from that list |
| Form 2, Central Motor Vehicles Rules | Item 10 and the three documents it names for a change of name |
| passportindia.gov.in proforma and the specimen deed poll | The newspaper clippings, the identity proofs in the new name and the original newspapers requirement |
| egazette.gov.in and bharatkosh.gov.in | Part IV publication, digital only since 1 October 2015, the free copy, and the only route for the Government charge |
| What we could not read | Matters which are not Published in Gazette of India Weekly Part IV, and Details where additional charges are applicable. Both are published by the Department. The page names them and quotes nothing from either |
Every subject on this website is listed on the services page, and the route itself is on the name change process page.
The Name Change Answers Most People Need, in Nine Lines
| The short version | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A gazette is not compulsory for every record | The Government lists do not agree with each other |
| The gazette file names an undertaking, not an affidavit | The most repeated error on this subject |
| There is no gazette office anywhere in Jharkhand | There is one Department of Publication, in Delhi |
| A mistyped letter is a correction, not a change | And it usually needs no published paper at all |
| The Aadhaar name may be updated twice in a lifetime | So settle the spelling before the first visit |
| Never apply for a second PAN | The penalty provision names ten thousand rupees |
| Documents must not be older than one year | Papers bought in stages can expire before you file |
| No processing time is published for publication | So nobody can honestly promise you a date |
| A State Government marriage certificate answers three routes | Aadhaar, bank and insurance KYC, and the driving licence |
Still Have a Name Change Question We Have Not Answered?
Send it in one line with scans of the records that disagree. Our first reply tells you which published list applies to you, what to buy, and what not to buy.