Team-BHP - Personal Name Change : Procedure and Impact

I am gathering information on how to change my name..well shorten my official last name which is very long. I don't know the procedure , but heard that i will have to go through an advocate to get it done. Any information on the procedure and potential impacts (If I need to travel to previously traveled countries like US) will be helpful.

Thanks.

I don't think you necessarily have to go through an advocate. If your passport is due for renewal, you may need to change your name in the passport also. you will need to carry out adverts in at least 2 local newspapers and submit those newspapers along with your passport renewal application. checkout the passport office website for details.

Got my wife's name changed recently. Also got all the documents updated with new name. The procedure is:

Get an affidavit with your new name duly attested by an attorney or public notary. They will have the format etc. You just need to provide the name to them and they will do the needful.
With a copy of this affidavit, advertise the new name in 2 newspapers (1 English & 1 Regional language newspaper)
Once the advertisement appears in the newspapers collect at least 5-8 copies of each newspaper.
Submit a copy of the affidavit, copies of the newspaper advert & the required form for name change for each govt. issued document. In some cases they may require original newspaper advert and hence the need to keep multiple copies of the advert until your document is issued with the new name.
For the passport, there is a different format of affidavit to be made. The normal one used for PAN and DL will not work for passport. This format is available in the passport website. Get an affidavit made in this format and carry 2 original newspaper adverts (of both languages) and submit along with required forms. They will cancel your old passport and issue new one with the new name on it. It can take anywhere between 30-60 days depending on how soon the police verification is completed (yes they do police verification even for just a name change)!

Hope this helps!

The procedure varies from state to state. Since none of my certificates had my last name, I had to officially get it added.

In Kerala, I was told that I need to publish in the state Gazzette. But for that, a lot of documentation was needed, including letter from some religious body (don't ask me why).

In Karnataka, the process was fairly simple. First, file an affidavit in front of a notary and then get it published in two newspapers (English & Kannada). Make sure that the affidavit is of the exact format mentioned by the passport office (else, they won't accept). Once done, submit the original affidavit and news paper copies along with a new passport application to get the name updated in the passport.

PS:
- Get multiple copies of the notary affidavit. You have to submit the original for the passport, and might need more for future use.
- If you publish in Deccan Herald, it automatically gets published in its sister Kannada paper as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.s (Post 2927562)

Got my wife's name changed recently. Also got all the documents updated with new name. The procedure is:

Submit a copy of the affidavit, copies of the newspaper advert & the required form for name change for each govt. issued document. In some cases they may require original newspaper advert and hence the need to keep multiple copies of the advert until your document is issued with the new name.

The best way is to get the name changed in passport first. Once done, the passport can be used as proof for changing the other documents. That way, no one asks for the affidavit or newspaper copies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.s (Post 2927562)

Got my wife's name changed recently. Also got all the documents updated with new name. The procedure is:

Get an affidavit with your new name duly attested by an attorney or public notary. They will have the format etc. You just need to provide the name t--------------------------------SNIP-----------------60 days depending on how soon the police verification is completed (yes they do police verification even for just a name change)!

Hope this helps!

This is correct.
I gotmy name changed doing exactly as above.

Thank you every one for the information and sharing your experiences. One more question - Which document serves as the proof of our name change and should be retained for future? In my case, I have my US social security number and which document can link my old name/SSN to new name when I apply for a US visa in the future?