How to change your name legally in Kerala

How to change your name legally in Kerala?

How to change your name legally in Kerala:

There are multi reasons to change your name such as

• Initial is missing or not expanded
• Middle or last name is missing
• The name differs in certificates issued in schools or colleges.
• The name differs in identity documents
• The name is misspelled by mistake or during translation from the local language to English
• Change of name after marriage for women
• Change of name after divorce in case of a woman’s re-marriage
• Change of name in birth certificate & school leaving certificate, especially for a passport
• Change of name due to spelling mistakes in the old name
• Change of name of a child in case of an adoption
• Change of name due to numerology or astrology
• Change of name in case of change in religion
• Change of name for change of profession (like films)
• Change of name for a personal fancy
• Change of name of a minor child

Name Changing Procedure in Kerala

Even though there are various reasons to change your name, the procedure to change your name in Kerala includes the following 3 steps.

1. Create an affidavit for a change of name
2. Publish about your name change in Newspaper
3. Notify it in State Gazette

Detailed step-by-step instructions to change your name is provided below.

Affidavit Submission for Changing Name in Kerala

An affidavit needs to be made explaining why the name change is required. These details need to be included in the affidavit.

• Full name of the applicant
• Father’s name or husband’s name (in case of married women)
• Full residential address
• A declaration stating that the facts provided in the affidavit are true and correct

The applicant should sign the affidavit and get it attested by a Notary or Judicial Magistrate or an Oaths Commissioner.

Name Change Ad in Newspaper

After Notarizing the affidavit, you need to publish the change of your name in two local newspapers in Kerala.

1. One classified should be in daily publishing news in the local official language of the State.
2. The second classification should be published in a local English Newspaper.

You can contact the newspaper office to update your name. They generally have an exclusive section dedicated to naming change advertisements and can advise you on the format

Gazette Notification for Name Change in Kerala

Gazette Publication is mandatory for government employees and optional for others. However, if you need to update your name in various certificates and id cards, they might ask you for a copy of Gazette.

So you need to publish your name change in the gazette. You can approach the office of Controller of Publication, Govt. press in your State for the same. The following documents are required for publishing your name in the State Gazette.

• An affidavit duly signed by the applicant and attested by Judicial Magistrate/Notary.
• Original newspaper in which name change ad is given.
• Prescribed proforma (should be computer typed and not handwritten) with signatures of applicant and two witnesses.
• A C.D. (compact disc) that contains the soft copy (typed content, not a scanned copy) of the application in MS Word format. In the place of the signature of the applicant, the applicant’s old name has to be given and witness details need not be included.
• A certificate in which the applicant declares that the contents included in both soft copy and hard copy are similar. The applicant should duly sign the certificate.
• Two passport-size photographs, both self-attested by the applicant.
• A photocopy of valid ID proof, self-attested by the applicant.
• A request letter along with the requisite fee as per the Authority.

Download Name Change Application Forms

• Change of name of a child in case of adoption – Guidelines and Affidavit 
• Change of name for minor – Guidelines and Affidavit 
• Change of name due to change in religion – Guidelines and Affidavit 
• Change of name of Adult – Guidelines and Affidavit 
• Change of father’s name of children after remarriage – Guidelines and Affidavit 
• Request for change of name – Public Notice

Charges for Name Change in Kerala

It might cost you around INR 3000 to change your name in Kerala. 

Following are a few of the charges included in it.

• Affidavit – INR 20 stamp paper
• Notary charges – INR 200
• CD – INR 50
• Newspaper – INR 750
• Gazette Notification – INR 1500

FAQs on Legal Name Change in Kerala