How to Change Name Legally in Chhattisgarh
In this state the thing most likely to get your file returned is not your name. It is your district. Several Chhattisgarh districts now carry three part hyphenated names, and even the districts' own Government websites spell them inconsistently. Your affidavit, your two newspaper notices and your proforma all have to match each other exactly. Here is that problem, both gazette routes, and the rest of the process.
How does a name change in Chhattisgarh actually work?
The written answer is directly below, in about sixty words. If you would rather see the whole thing explained once before reading, start here.
Name Change Process in Chhattisgarh छत्तीसगढ़ में नाम बदलने की प्रक्रिया
Make a notarised affidavit, publish the change in two newspapers, one Hindi and one English, then either apply for the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra through the state's printing and stationery directorate, or send the prescribed file to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054 for the Gazette of India, which publishes in Part IV in about 30 to 45 days. Write your district name exactly the same way on every paper, and there is no Central Gazette counter anywhere in Chhattisgarh.
What does changing your name legally in Chhattisgarh involve?
Three ordinary stages, and one local trap that no other guide to this state mentions.
At a glance
- Stages: notarised affidavit, then two newspaper notices, then a gazette notification.
- Two routes: the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra for records inside the state, or Part IV of the Gazette of India for a passport, a visa, a central post or anything outside the state.
- Central fee: commonly Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor, Rs 3,500 from abroad, paid only on bharatkosh.gov.in and revised each financial year.
- State fee: ask the directorate. We do not print a state figure we could not confirm.
- Central timeline: about 30 to 45 days after the file reaches Delhi. Plan 3 to 6 weeks overall.
- Newspapers: one Hindi and one English daily that actually circulate in your own district.
- The local trap: your district name, written identically on the affidavit, both notices and the proforma.
Key takeaways
- Chhattisgarh has gone from 16 districts at formation on 1 November 2000 to 33 today. Your district may have changed without you moving house.
- Several districts carry three part hyphenated names, and published sources spell them inconsistently. So do the districts' own official websites, which we checked.
- Your district name must appear identically on the affidavit, on both newspaper notices and on the proforma. This is the commonest avoidable cause of a returned file here.
- The state has its own Rajpatra, and published state gazettes are searchable free on the Government's own e-Gazette site for Chhattisgarh.
- The Central fee is commonly Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor, Rs 3,500 from abroad, on bharatkosh.gov.in only. Demand drafts are not accepted.
- The Rs 250 addition that many guides describe as being charged per alias name in fact relates to a change of religion case.
- Notices go in Hindi and English. Chhattisgarhi is widely spoken, but Hindi is the official language of the state.
- Certificates issued before 1 November 2000 came from undivided Madhya Pradesh and remain fully valid.
- A gazette records a change of personal name only. It does not create or alter Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste status, which the competent authority decides under its own procedure.
- A birth certificate mistake is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the RBD Act, 1969, not a gazette matter.
How did sixteen districts become thirty three?
Purely as an administrative matter, and it changed a great many people's addresses without anybody moving.
When Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000, it had sixteen districts. It now has thirty three, and the additions came in waves.
11 May 2007
Bijapur and Narayanpur, taking the total to eighteen.
1 January 2012
Nine at once: Sukma, Kondagaon, Balod, Bemetara, Baloda Bazar, Gariaband, Mungeli, Surajpur and Balrampur. Total twenty seven.
10 February 2020
Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, the twenty eighth, formally inaugurated on that date.
September 2022
Five more: Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur and Sakti. Total thirty three.
So what does that mean for your documents?
It means a very large number of people in this state now live in a district that did not exist when their documents were made. Somebody in Manendragarh had a Koriya address until 2022. Somebody in Khairagarh had a Rajnandgaon address. Nobody moved. The district changed around them.
We are treating district creation here purely as an administrative fact that affects addresses on documents. Which office was created when is a matter of record; anything beyond that is not this page's business.
Why can nobody spell these district names, including the Government's own websites?
This is the part that actually returns files here, and it is worth seeing laid out.
Several of the newer districts carry three part hyphenated names. Across published reference sites, listings and exam portals, the same district appears written several different ways. These are not obscure sources. They are the pages that come up when anybody searches for a list of Chhattisgarh districts.
| District, as its own administration writes it | Variants that appear in published sources |
|---|---|
| Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur | Also written Bharatpur-Manendragarh-Chouki, and shortened to Manendragarh or to the initials MCB |
| Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai | Also written Khairagarh-Chhouikhadan-Gondi and Khairagarh-Chuikhadan-Gandai |
| Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki | Also written Manpur-Mohala-Chauki, Mohla-Manpur-Chowki and Manpur-Mohla |
| Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi | Also written Gorela-Pendra-Marghi, Gaurella-Pendra-Marwahi and Gourla Pendra Marwahi |
| Sarangarh-Bilaigarh | Also written Sargad-Bilai-Garh |
| Sakti | Also written Shakti |
Is that really true of official sources as well?
Yes, and we checked rather than assumed. The official district website of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, which is a Government of Chhattisgarh site, records that “The new district MCB has been created by bifurcating the Korea district. It came into existence on 9 September 2022 as the 32nd district of Chhattisgarh state.” In the very same passage describing its boundaries it writes the neighbouring district as “Gourla Pendra Marwahi”, where that district's own name is Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, and it writes the parent district as Korea, where the usual English form is Koriya.
That is not a criticism of anybody. It is simply what happens when long names are carried across from Hindi into English by different people at different times. But it settles the point beyond argument: if a district's own Government website can write two neighbouring district names in forms other than those districts use themselves, then a notary's typist in a busy office has no chance at all.
Do the dates disagree too?
Sometimes, yes. The official site of Sarangarh-Bilaigarh records that the district “came into existence on 1 September 2022”, created “through bifurcation of district Raigarh and Balodabazar-Bhatapara”, while widely used reference listings give 3 September 2022 for the same district. The official site of Mohla-Manpur- Ambagarh Chowki gives its formation as 2 September 2022 from Rajnandgaon, with headquarters at Mohla, and writes its own name with a space after the first hyphen. Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai records itself as the 31st district, separated from Rajnandgaon on 3 September 2022.
None of that affects your rights and none of it needs fixing. It is context for one simple practical point: this state's district names and dates are written more than one way by more than one official source, so the only version that matters for your file is the version on your own address proof.
How exactly does that turn into a returned file?
Because three different people type your papers. The affidavit is typed by one person at the notary's desk. The newspaper notice is set by a second at the advertisement counter. The proforma is filled by a third. Each of them writes the district as they believe it is spelled, and each of them is doing their best.
The reader in Delhi then compares three documents that do not match. That reader has no way of knowing that Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki and Manpur-Mohla are the same place, and is not permitted to assume it. The file is returned, and you lose a month and a non-refundable fee.
What is the fix?
It costs nothing and takes two minutes.
Why are the names so long in the first place?
There is a small consolation in the answer. Khairagarh and Chhuikhadan were separate princely states before independence, as were Nandgaon and Kawardha to their west, and Chang Bhakar, Jashpur, Koriya, Surajpur, Raigarh, Surguja and Udaipur to the north. Sarangarh's own district administration records that “Sarangarh region was one of the 14 princely states” and that on 1 January 1948 the princely state of Sarangarh merged with the Union of India.
So the hyphen in Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai is joining two former states and a third town into one district name. Khairagarh's own site records that its former ruling family founded what it calls Asia's first art and music university there in 1956, donating the Raj Bhavan for it. The names are long because the history is long. That does not help your typist, but it does explain why this state has a problem that Bihar and Kerala do not.
How do you settle the exact form of your own name?
Having established the habit on the district, apply it to the thing you are actually changing.
Lay everything out
Birth certificate, school and board certificates, Aadhaar, PAN, bank records, and a passport if you have one. Put them on one table.
Write down what each says
Exactly how the name appears on each, including any middle name, initial, suffix or spacing. Differences you have lived with for years matter here.
Find the hardest one to change
Usually a board certificate or a live passport. That document's version is the one that should win, because correcting it later is the expensive part.
Write it down once, with the district
Character for character, on the same piece of paper as your district name. That single sheet is now the master copy for the whole application.
Does the language matter here?
One state specific note on spelling. Hindi is the official language of Chhattisgarh and Chhattisgarhi is widely spoken, and a name written down from speech reaches English in more than one honest form. That is not an error to be corrected. It is a choice to be made once and then held to, across every paper in the file and every record you update afterwards.
Which of the two routes do you actually need?
Chhattisgarh runs its own State Gazette, so applicants here have a real choice. Choosing wrongly means doing it twice.
| Point | Chhattisgarh Rajpatra | Gazette of India |
|---|---|---|
| Published by | The state's printing and stationery directorate, Government of Chhattisgarh | Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054 |
| Where it appears | The state Rajpatra, in its own numbering | Part IV of the Gazette of India |
| Newspapers | One Hindi and one English | Two notices, complete original pages kept |
| Fee | Ask the directorate for current charges | Commonly Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor, Rs 3,500 from abroad, via BharatKosh |
| How it is filed | With the state office, in person or as the directorate directs | By post or courier only, from anywhere in India or abroad |
| Best for | Records inside Chhattisgarh, state boards, state departments | Passports, visas, central Government jobs, PSUs, banks and employers outside the state |
So how do you choose between them?
If your records are inside Chhattisgarh and the purpose is ordinary, the state route is closer and usually cheaper. Confirm the current form, fee and document list with the directorate itself rather than relying on any private site, including this one, because state requirements are revised without notice.
The moment a passport, a visa, a central employer, a PSU or an institution outside the state is involved, Part IV of the Gazette of India is what those offices look for. If both apply to you, the Central route satisfies everything and the state one does not. Decide this before you spend anything.
Can you read the state gazette online?
Yes, and this is worth knowing because most guides to this state do not mention it. Chhattisgarh's published state gazettes have been available online since the Chhattisgarh eGazette website was launched on 5 January 2015. The National Informatics Centre's own record of the launch says the site “lists latest five uploaded Gazettes each in the ‘Ordinary’ and ‘Extra-Ordinary’ categories in its home page and allows displaying the selected Gazette and printing it”, with “a facility to search for desired Gazette based on parameters such as period of publication, department and Gazette number”, and it records that published gazettes are uploaded directly by the state Government Press through a separate login based module provided for the purpose.
The stated purpose was blunt and useful: “The persons needing Gazette or any part of it can directly search and print it from the website without going through time consuming procedure approaching Government press or the Revenue department.” So if you take the state route, you should be able to find and print your own published notification yourself, exactly as Central applicants do on egazette.gov.in, and nobody should charge you a fee to fetch a public record.
What is the step by step name change procedure in Chhattisgarh?
Five stages on the Central route, and the first one is the one people skip.
Fix the name and the district, then the affidavit
Settle both before anything is typed, using the sections above, and write them on one sheet of paper. Then get an affidavit drafted on non-judicial stamp paper stating your old name, your new name, your father's or husband's name, your full address including the district exactly as decided, and a clear reason for the change, and sign it before a notary.
Stamp paper and notary together usually cost Rs 100 to Rs 500. Notaries sit around every district court in the state.
Publish two newspaper notices
Publish the same notice in two dailies that genuinely circulate where you live, one Hindi and one English. Chhattisgarh has several mainline Hindi papers, so compare quotes, and check that the edition reaches your district rather than only Raipur.
Read the proof before it prints, paying particular attention to the district name and to every hyphen in it. This is the single cheapest check in the whole process.
The state route
Apply through the state's printing and stationery directorate for publication in the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra.
Confirm the current form, fee and document list with the directorate before you travel or pay. That is not a formality. State requirements change without notice, and no private guide is a substitute for the department's own instructions.
The Central route
For a passport, a visa, a central Government post or anything outside the state, prepare the full Central file: the original newspaper pages, the notice for Part IV showing parentage and residential address, a signed undertaking, two copies of the prescribed proforma computer typed and attested with two witnesses' details, the print matter without the witness portion in MS Word, a certificate that hard and soft copies match, self-attested identity proof of applicant and each witness, two photographs, and a request letter to the Controller of Publications.
Pay through BharatKosh only
On the Central route, pay only through bharatkosh.gov.in, commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult, Rs 1,700 for a minor and Rs 3,500 for Indians applying from abroad, revised each financial year, so confirm on deptpub.gov.in before paying.
The fee is non-refundable and no demand draft is involved. A draft in favour of a Controller of Publications in Raipur names an officer who does not exist.
Send it and download the notification
Send the complete file by post or courier to Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Publication follows in Part IV about 30 to 45 days later.
Hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015, so you open the relevant issue on egazette.gov.in, use Control and F to find your old or new name, and download the whole gazette. Check the district spelling when you find it.
What does preparing the notification look like in practice?
The steps above are the sequence. The recording below walks through the same thing as a single continuous job, which is useful if you are about to sit down and actually do it rather than plan it.
Keep the district rule from the top of this page in your hand while you watch. Whatever the recording shows on screen, the one thing it cannot check for you is whether your district is spelled the same way on all three papers. That check is yours, and it is the one that decides whether the file comes back.
How to Make Gazette Notification in Chhattisgarh छत्तीसगढ़ में गजट नोटिफिकेशन कैसे बनाएं
What documents are required for a name change in Chhattisgarh?
This is the Central Gazette list. For the Rajpatra, ask the directorate for its own list.
The newspaper proof
The original newspaper pages carrying your notices, one Hindi and one English. Complete pages, not cuttings, with the date visible.
The notice for Part IV
The notice for the Gazette of India Part IV, showing your parentage and residential address, forwarded in original.
The undertaking
An undertaking signed by you showing your old and new name with full parentage and address, declaring that the facts stated are true.
The proforma, in duplicate
Two copies of the prescribed proforma, computer typed and not handwritten, signed and attested, with two witnesses' details.
The soft copy
The print matter without the witness portion, in MS Word, as a soft copy. No CD is required.
The matching certificate
A certificate signed by you declaring that the contents of the hard copy and the soft copy are the same.
Identity proofs and photographs
Self-attested identity proof of the applicant and of each witness, plus two passport size photographs.
The request letter
A request letter addressed to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, listing what the envelope contains.
What changes if you are a minor, abroad, or in Government service?
A minor
A parent or legal guardian swears the affidavit and applies, attaching the child's birth certificate. The minor fee applies. Both parents signing avoids objections later.
An applicant abroad
The deed is attested by the Indian Embassy or High Commission in that country, and the fee head is the one for Indians abroad. Budget for attestation and courier separately.
A Government employee
A deed executed and routed through the department, under the 1987 Home Ministry memorandum for central employees, so the service book is updated alongside the gazette.
What does a name change cost in Chhattisgarh?
Honest ranges, and one figure we will not print because we could not confirm it.
| Expense | Typical amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp paper and notary | Rs 100 to Rs 500 | Available at every district headquarters |
| Two newspaper notices | Rs 800 to Rs 4,000 | One Hindi and one English. Check the edition reaches your district |
| Chhattisgarh Rajpatra | Ask the directorate | Confirm current charges before applying. We print no figure we could not verify |
| Central Gazette, adult in India | Commonly Rs 1,100 | BharatKosh only, revised each financial year |
| Central Gazette, minor | Commonly Rs 1,700 | BharatKosh only |
| Central Gazette, Indians abroad | Commonly Rs 3,500 | Plus embassy attestation and courier, budgeted separately |
| Speed post to Delhi | Rs 50 to Rs 250 | Allow extra days from Bastar and Surguja |
| Realistic self-done total | Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000 | Depending on route and newspapers |
Are the Rs 999 packages real?
The Central Government fee alone is commonly Rs 1,100, so a Rs 999 all-inclusive package cannot include it. Before paying any service, ask three questions: which gazette do you mean, is the Government fee included, and where exactly is the file submitted. If they name Raipur for the Central Gazette, they have not done this before.
What is the Rs 250 per alias charge you may have read about?
It is a misreading that has spread across a great many guides, and we have now found it on more than ten state and city pages including drafts written for this site. The additional charge relates to a change of religion case, not to each additional alias name. Since the schedule is revised each financial year in any event, read the current rate on deptpub.gov.in before you pay, rather than trusting any figure a guide prints, including ours.
How long does a name change take in Chhattisgarh?
Plan for 3 to 6 weeks overall, with extra postal time from the far north and far south.
Affidavit and notary
Usually the same day. Have the exact name and district wording settled before you arrive.
Newspaper publication
2 to 7 days, depending on the booking schedule of the papers you choose.
The state route
Ask the directorate for the current turnaround. We would rather say that than invent a number.
Central file preparation
2 to 4 days to prepare and send, mostly spent on the proforma and the matching soft copy.
Central publication
30 to 45 days in Part IV after the file reaches Delhi. Identical for every applicant in India.
Board or university correction
That institution's own timeline, if a certificate needs correcting afterwards. Budget for it separately.
Which special situations come up most often here?
Are certificates from before November 2000 still valid?
Yes, fully. Anyone schooled or employed before 1 November 2000 holds certificates issued by undivided Madhya Pradesh, because Chhattisgarh did not exist. Those documents remain fully valid and reorganisations protect existing records. Where the name itself differs across the eras, a Central Gazette notification is valid in both states, so one application reconciles it without approaching Bhopal.
Can you do this from Bastar or Surguja?
Yes. From Jagdalpur, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Ambikapur, Jashpur or Balrampur, nothing in this process requires you to reach Raipur or Delhi. But the local steps are worth bundling.
Make one trip to your district headquarters cover the affidavit, the typing and printing of the proforma, and both newspaper bookings, and ask the agent to post you the complete original pages. Then send the file once and send it complete, because a returned application over these distances costs a fortnight each way.
Does a gazette affect a Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste certificate?
No. A gazette notification records a change of personal name. It does not create, confer or alter Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste status, which is decided by the competent authority under its own procedure and under the relevant Constitutional orders. If a service suggests otherwise, that is not what the instrument does.
Will the gazette alone correct a board or university certificate?
No. The Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education and the state universities each run their own correction process and decide their own outcome. A gazette notification supports the application rather than replacing it. Complete the gazette first, then apply with it attached, usually by post, and expect that institution's own timeline on top.
Is a school record the same thing as a board certificate?
No, and the difference decides which office you go to. A school record is the register the school itself keeps, along with the transfer certificate and the school leaving certificate it issues. A board certificate is the Class 10 or Class 12 marksheet and certificate issued by the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education.
They are corrected by different bodies under different rules. A school record is amended by the school, usually against the birth certificate and the gazette. A board marksheet is amended only by the Board itself, on its own form, in its own time, and often only within a window it sets. Taking a Board application to a school, or a school request to the Board, is one of the commonest wasted trips in this process. Complete the gazette first, then apply to whichever of the two actually holds the record you need changed.
School record and board marksheet, on video
Two recordings, because these really are two different jobs. The first covers the school record, which the school itself holds and amends. The second covers the Class 10 marksheet, which only the Board can amend, on its own form and in its own time.
If both need changing, start the Board application first and let the school follow it, because the Board is the slower of the two and the school will usually act on the gazette and your identity proof alone. And whichever you are doing, the gazette goes first: it supports the application rather than replacing it.
Name Change in School Record in Chhattisgarh छत्तीसगढ़ में स्कूल रिकॉर्ड में नाम कैसे बदलें
Name Change in 10th Market Sheet छत्तीसगढ़ में 10वीं की मार्कशीट में नाम कैसे बदलें
What if your father's name is written differently across your documents?
This comes up constantly and it is worth being precise about. Parentage appears in three places in a Central file: on the affidavit, on the notice for Part IV, and on the undertaking. Those three must agree with each other, exactly as your own name and your district must.
But note what a gazette does and does not do. A change of name notification changes your name. It does not, by itself, amend somebody else's name on somebody else's certificate. If your father's name is misspelt on a certificate issued to you, that is a correction request to the authority that issued that certificate: the Registrar for a birth certificate, the school or the Board for an education record, and the issuing revenue authority for a caste certificate. A gazette notification can support such a request where your own name is also involved; it does not replace it.
A walkthrough of a parentage correction
The recording below deals with correcting a father's name on a caste certificate, which is the version of this problem people ask about most often in this state. Watch it alongside the paragraphs above rather than instead of them.
And hold the distinction firmly while you watch. What is being corrected is a name written on the face of a certificate, through the authority that issued that certificate. Nothing in this changes anybody's Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste status, which is decided separately by the competent authority under its own procedure. If any recording or any service blurs those two things together, that is the point to stop and ask.
How to Change Father Name in Cast Certificate जाति प्रमाण पत्र में पिता का नाम बदलने की प्रक्रिया
What extra does a Government employee need to do?
Central Government employees follow the Ministry of Home Affairs O.M. No. 190016/1/87-Estt.(A) dated 12 March 1987: a deed executed and routed through the department, so the service book is updated alongside the gazette. State Government employees should inform their own department too, because a service record that does not match creates problems at promotion and pension stage, which is exactly when it is hardest to fix.
Do you need a gazette to change your name after marriage?
The same three stages apply, with the marriage certificate attached. And a point worth saying plainly: if you keep using your existing name and nothing on paper changes, you do not need a gazette at all. Nobody is obliged to change anything.
How does a parent change a child's name?
A parent or legal guardian applies on the child's behalf, swearing the affidavit and attaching the child's birth certificate. On the Central route the minor fee applies, commonly Rs 1,700 with the usual revision caveat, and both parents signing avoids objections later. No personal appearance by the child is required anywhere.
Which districts and divisions across Chhattisgarh do we serve?
All thirty three districts, across the state's five revenue divisions. Both routes work from any of them.
Raipur division
Raipur, Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara, Dhamtari, Gariaband and Mahasamund.
Durg division
Durg, Bhilai, Balod, Bemetara, Kabirdham, Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai and Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki.
Bilaspur division
Bilaspur, Korba, Raigarh, Mungeli, Janjgir-Champa, Sakti, Sarangarh-Bilaigarh and Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi.
Surguja division
Ambikapur, Surguja, Koriya, Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Surajpur, Balrampur and Jashpur.
Bastar division
Jagdalpur, Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma.
And from outside the state
Chhattisgarhi families living elsewhere in India or abroad, for whom the Central route runs entirely from where they are.
Call 9540005002, WhatsApp 9540005064, or write to support@documentadvisor.in, Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM. For the all-India process, see our main guide at documentadvisor.in.
What do the terms in this process actually mean?
Each definition stands on its own, so you can read just the one you need.
- Gazette of India
- The official journal of the Union Government, published by the Department of Publication. A change of name notification printed here is recognised by every institution in the country and accepted abroad, which is why a passport or a visa needs this route rather than a state one.
- Part IV
- The part of the Gazette of India in which private individuals' notices, including change of name, appear. Part IV is Central numbering. A state gazette runs its own series, so a Part IV reference attached to a state gazette is a copied error.
- Chhattisgarh Rajpatra
- The state's own official journal, the Chhattisgarh State Gazette. It serves records inside the state and state departments and boards. Published issues are searchable online, and the current form, fee and document list should be confirmed with the state printing directorate.
- Ordinary and Extra-Ordinary
- The two categories in which state gazettes are published and listed. Routine notifications appear in the Ordinary series and urgent or specially issued ones in the Extra-Ordinary series, and the state e-Gazette site lists both separately.
- Department of Publication
- The Central body at Civil Lines, Delhi 110054 that publishes the Gazette of India. It receives a change of name file from anywhere in India or abroad, by post or courier, and there is no branch of it in Chhattisgarh.
- Controller of Publications
- The officer heading the Department of Publication, to whom the request letter accompanying a change of name file is addressed. This officer sits in Delhi. There is no Controller of Publications in Chhattisgarh, whatever several websites print.
- Pin code 110054
- A Delhi pin code, covering the Civil Lines area where the Department of Publication sits. Any page that prints it beside a Raipur address has pasted a Delhi address under a local heading.
- Proforma
- The prescribed form for a change of name notice on the Central route, submitted in duplicate, computer typed rather than handwritten, signed and attested, and carrying the details of two witnesses.
- Affidavit
- A sworn statement on non-judicial stamp paper giving your old name, new name, parentage, address and the reason for the change, signed before a notary. It is sworn by you alone; the two witnesses belong on the proforma.
- BharatKosh
- The Government of India's Non-Tax Receipt Portal at bharatkosh.gov.in, and the only accepted way to pay the Central Gazette fee. Demand drafts are not accepted.
- Registrar correction
- A correction to a birth or death entry made by the registering authority under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, through the municipal corporation, nagar palika or gram panchayat that registered it.
- Undivided Madhya Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh as it stood before 1 November 2000, when Chhattisgarh was formed from it. Certificates issued by the undivided state before that date remain fully valid and need no correction on that account.
What do you update after the gazette, and in what order?
The notification is the middle of the journey. Each office asks for the one before it.
| Order | Record | Why here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aadhaar, at an enrolment centre with the gazette copy and identity proof | Almost everything downstream verifies against it |
| 2 | PAN card | Banks and employers check PAN against Aadhaar |
| 3 | Bank accounts, and the signature specimen if the name in it has changed | Needed before salary, EPFO and insurance records will follow |
| 4 | Passport, as a re-issue with the change of name | Every foreign record afterwards copies from it, and this needs the Central route |
| 5 | Voter ID and driving licence | Both accept the gazette with the updated Aadhaar |
| 6 | EPFO or UAN, insurance policies and service records | These verify against PAN and bank details already updated |
| 7 | Board, university and employer records | Each runs its own process and takes its own time |
| 8 | Land and revenue records at the tehsil, and property and business records | Slowest, and least urgent unless a transaction is pending |
Aadhaar is number one on that list for a reason
Almost every record below it verifies against Aadhaar, so doing it out of order usually means doing something twice. Take the gazette printout and your identity proof to an enrolment centre, and use the same district form you settled on for the file, because this is exactly where a second spelling quietly creeps back in.
How to Name Change in Aadhar in Chhattisgarh छत्तीसगढ़ में आधार में नाम कैसे बदलें
Is a birth certificate mistake a gazette matter?
Usually not. If the mistake is in a birth certificate, the fix is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, through the body that registered the birth: your municipal corporation, nagar palika or gram panchayat. The national Civil Registration System portal is crsorgi.gov.in.
For a plain clerical error that is usually the whole answer, and much the cheapest one, so try it before assuming you need a gazette. In a state where many births are registered by gram panchayats, this also happens to be the nearest office to a great many applicants.
A walkthrough of the birth certificate route
Watch this one with the section above in mind, because the distinction is what saves you money. A clerical error in a birth entry is a Registrar correction under Section 15, made by the body that registered the birth, which in Chhattisgarh is your municipal corporation, nagar palika or gram panchayat. It is not a gazette matter on either route, and it costs a fraction of one.
Try the Registrar first. Only if the correction is refused, or if you are adopting a genuinely different name rather than fixing a slip, does a gazette become the right instrument.
Name Change in Birth Certificate in Chhattisgarh छत्तीसगढ़ में जन्म प्रमाण पत्र में नाम कैसे बदलें
When is it a gazette matter after all?
When you are changing the name rather than correcting the record. If the certificate correctly records the name you were given and you now wish to be known by a different one, that is a change of name and the gazette route applies. The test is simple: was the entry wrong when it was made, or is it right but no longer what you use?
What are the common mistakes in a Chhattisgarh name change?
Almost every one of these costs weeks, and almost every one is free to avoid.
Letting three typists spell your district three ways
A three part hyphenated district name written differently on the affidavit, the notice and the proforma. One sheet of paper, handed to everybody, prevents it.
Not reading the newspaper proof before it prints
And discovering the district misspelling only when the file comes back. Read the proof. It is the cheapest check in the process.
Trying to reconcile the old district with the new one
Inside the same application. Use your current district only, and leave the older documents alone.
Treating an older certificate as an error
Because it names Madhya Pradesh, Koriya or Rajnandgaon. It is accurate for its date and needs no correction.
Travelling to look for a Central Gazette counter
There is not one anywhere in Chhattisgarh. The Central file goes to Delhi by post, from any post office in the state.
Booking a Raipur edition that does not reach your district
Ask the agent which districts the edition actually circulates in before booking, not after.
Arranging a demand draft
Central payment is on BharatKosh only. A draft in favour of a Controller of Publications in Raipur names an officer who does not exist.
Using a gazette for a birth certificate clerical error
A Registrar correction under Section 15 was the answer, and it was far cheaper. Ask which tool you need before you buy one.
Should you do it yourself or take professional help?
This is paperwork rather than law, and no lawyer is required.
From any district headquarters in the state, with the affidavit and the notices arranged locally, doing it yourself is entirely practical, and this guide has the sequence in the order you need it.
Where help actually earns its fee here
The route decision. Working out whether your case needs the state Rajpatra or the Gazette of India decides the cost and decides whether you end up doing it twice.
Then the checking. On the Central route one mismatch, including a district name spelled two ways, means the file comes back after weeks with a non-refundable fee already gone, which from Bastar or Surguja is a fortnight each way before you can even start again.
What a service can and cannot do
The Central Gazette accepts applications only from the applicant directly, or by post or courier. So an honest service prepares and checks your file while you sign and send it. Nobody can lawfully hand it in on your behalf.
And an honest service tells you plainly when the state route would have done the job, when a Registrar correction was the whole answer, and when it does not know a state figure and you should ring the directorate yourself. That is how Documentadvisor works.
Your Trust and Security First
Your documents stay private
Papers are handled by our own desk in Burari, Delhi, used for your file and nothing else.
We name your route first
Rajpatra or Gazette of India, decided from your records and the institution you must satisfy, before any money changes hands.
We settle the name and the district
One form of each, matched to your address proof, so all three papers in the file say exactly the same thing.
We will not send you to a counter that is not there
There is no Controller of Publications in Chhattisgarh. We say so plainly, because people have travelled on pages that say otherwise.
We say when we do not know
We do not print a state fee or a state turnaround we could not confirm. We tell you which office to ring instead.
We do not quote figures we cannot stand behind
The Central schedule is revised each financial year, so we send you to deptpub.gov.in rather than printing a number that may be stale.
Everything You Need, In One Place
Choosing between the two routes
Rajpatra or Gazette of India, decided from your records and the institution you must satisfy, so you do not pay for the wrong one and then repeat it.
Settling the name and the district form
One spelling of each, matched to your address proof, carried identically across the affidavit, both notices and the proforma.
Name change and gazette filing
Drafting the affidavit, wording and booking the Hindi and English notices, and preparing the application on whichever route your case belongs to.
File checking before dispatch
The proforma, the soft copy, the witness proofs and the matching certificate, checked against the Department's own list so the file is accepted the first time.
Government service deeds
The deed of change of name routed through the department under the 1987 Home Ministry memorandum, so the service book and the gazette agree from the start.
Birth and death certificate work
Registrar corrections under Section 15 through whichever municipal corporation, nagar palika or gram panchayat registered the record.
How It Works
Book
Call or WhatsApp us with photographs of every document carrying your name, including your address proof, and tell us whether a passport is in view and whether you are in Government service.
Schedule
We tell you which route your case needs, which written form of your name and your district should stand, and what the Government fee on that route will be.
Relax
We draft, word the notices and check the file. You sign and submit it, because on the Central route the rules allow nobody else to.
The questions Chhattisgarh applicants search for most
Why does my district have three names joined by hyphens?
Because several newer districts were formed by combining areas around more than one town. Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai, for example, takes in three towns, and Khairagarh and Chhuikhadan were separate princely states before independence. The names are long because the history is.
Does the district spelling really matter?
Yes, more than anything else in the file here. The district must appear identically on the affidavit, on both newspaper notices and on the proforma. Published sources spell these names several different ways and so do some official district websites, so typists do too, and a mismatch returns the file.
My old certificate names a different district. Is that a problem?
No. Chhattisgarh has gone from 16 districts to 33, and many people's district changed without them moving. The older certificate is accurate for its date. Use your current district in the new application and leave the old document alone.
Is there a Central Gazette office in Raipur?
No. The Controller of Publications sits in Delhi, and there is no Central Gazette counter anywhere in Chhattisgarh. Some pages print a Raipur address with a Delhi pin code attached, which is how you can spot the copy.
Does Chhattisgarh have its own gazette route?
Yes. The Chhattisgarh Rajpatra is the state's own official journal, and published state gazettes have been searchable online since the state e-Gazette site was launched in January 2015. Confirm the current form, fee and document list with the state directorate before you travel or pay.
Which newspapers should I use?
One Hindi and one English daily that genuinely circulate in your district. Hindi is the official language of the state. Ask the agent which districts the edition actually reaches before booking, not after.
Book your name change
Talk to the desk
Phone: 9540005002
WhatsApp: 9540005064
Email: support@documentadvisor.in
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM
Office: Near Hanuman Mandir, Metro Pillar No. 376, Near Burari Metro Station, Shop No. 2nd Ground Floor, Gali No. 1, Plot No. 31/12, Hardev Nagar, Jharoda Majra, Burari, Delhi 110084
Frequently asked questions on changing your name in Chhattisgarh
What is the commonest reason a file is returned in this state?
The district name. Several districts carry three part hyphenated names that published sources, and even some official district websites, spell inconsistently. So the affidavit, the notice and the proforma end up carrying different versions, and a reader in Delhi comparing three documents that do not match returns the file.
How do I prevent that?
Write your district exactly as it appears on your address proof, on one piece of paper, and give that paper to everyone who types anything for you. Do not let anybody correct it or shorten it. Then read the newspaper proof before it prints and the proforma before you sign it.
How many districts does Chhattisgarh have?
Thirty three. It had sixteen at formation on 1 November 2000, with two added in 2007, nine in 2012, one in 2020 and five in September 2022. The state is organised into five revenue divisions: Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Surguja and Bastar.
My district did not exist when my documents were made. What now?
Nothing needs correcting. Use your current district consistently in the new application, and do not try to reconcile the old and new names inside the same file. An older certificate naming Koriya or Rajnandgaon is accurate for the date it was issued and no office is entitled to reject it on that ground.
Do official Government sites really spell these names differently?
Yes. The official district website of Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur describes itself as created by bifurcating the Korea district and, in the same passage, names a neighbouring district as Gourla Pendra Marwahi, where that district's own name is Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi. That is not a criticism of anybody. It simply shows why a typist has no chance.
Which route do I need?
The Chhattisgarh Rajpatra for records inside the state, through the state printing and stationery directorate. The Gazette of India, Part IV, for a passport, a visa, a central Government post, a PSU, or anything outside the state. If both apply to you, the Central route satisfies everything and the state one does not.
Is there a Central counter in the state?
No. The file goes by post or courier to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. There is exactly one such office in the country and no branch of it anywhere in Chhattisgarh, so nobody should travel looking for one.
Why do several sites say Controller of Publications, Raipur?
Because they have pasted a Delhi address under a local heading. The 110054 pin code is Delhi's, and the Controller of Publications sits there. Treat the rest of such a page with the same caution, because a site that does not notice a pin code from another state has not checked anything else either.
Can I read the Chhattisgarh state gazette online?
Yes. Published state gazettes have been available online since the Chhattisgarh eGazette site was launched in January 2015. It lists the latest uploads in the Ordinary and Extra-Ordinary categories and allows searching by period of publication, department and gazette number, so you can find and print a published notification yourself.
My certificates say Madhya Pradesh. Are they valid?
Yes, fully. Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000 and earlier certificates were correctly issued by the undivided state. They remain valid and no office is entitled to reject one because the issuing state no longer covers this area. Where the name itself differs across the eras, one Central notification reconciles it in both states.
Can a gazette help with a caste or tribe certificate?
No. It records a change of personal name only. Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste status is decided by the competent authority under its own procedure and under the relevant Constitutional orders. If a service suggests otherwise, that is not what the instrument does.
Can a gazette alone correct my board certificate?
No. The Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education or your university runs its own correction process and decides the outcome. The gazette supports the application rather than replacing it, and it can usually be made by post. Complete the gazette first, then apply with it attached.
My birth certificate has a clerical error. Do I need a gazette?
Probably not. That is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the RBD Act, 1969, through the municipal corporation, nagar palika or gram panchayat that registered the birth. The portal is crsorgi.gov.in. Try that first, because it is usually the whole answer and much the cheapest one.
I am in Bastar. How much longer will it take?
A few extra postal days each way. The publication stage is the same for everyone, so plan 3 to 6 weeks and send the file complete the first time. Over these distances a returned application costs a fortnight in each direction, which is the real argument for checking rather than hurrying.
Can I change my name after marriage without a court order?
Yes. A simple name change needs the affidavit, newspaper and gazette stages only, with the marriage certificate attached. No court is involved and no lawyer is required. If you keep using your existing name and nothing on paper changes, you do not need a gazette at all.
How do I change a minor's name?
A parent or legal guardian applies with a parent-sworn affidavit and the child's birth certificate. On the Central route the minor fee, commonly Rs 1,700, applies with the usual revision caveat. Both parents signing avoids objections later, and no personal appearance by the child is required.
I am a Government employee. Anything extra?
Central Government employees follow MHA O.M. No. 190016/1/87-Estt.(A) dated 12 March 1987, executing a deed through the department so the service book is updated alongside the gazette. State employees should inform their department too. A mismatch surfaces at promotion or pension stage, when it is far harder to fix.
What is the Rs 250 per alias charge I keep reading about?
It is a misreading that has spread across a great many guides. The additional charge relates to a change of religion case, not to each additional alias name. Since the schedule is revised each financial year, read the current rate on deptpub.gov.in before you pay.
Where can you verify all of this yourself?
Every claim above can be checked at these sources. Type the addresses yourself rather than following a link from any guide, including this one.
- Guidelines for Change of Name, Department of PublicationThe whole Central file in one place: the notice for Part IV, the undertaking, the proforma computer typed in two copies with two witnesses, the MS Word soft copy, the matching contents certificate, the one year rule and the fee heads. Note what is absent: any CD, and any demand draft.
- Department of Publication, Government of IndiaThe Central Gazette office, at Civil Lines behind Delhi Vidhan Sabha Metro Station, Delhi 110054, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Read the address yourself before believing any page that attaches Raipur or Chhattisgarh to it.
- The Gazette of India, e-Gazette portalSearch and download your published Part IV notification free. Hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015. Use Control and F to find your name, then check the district spelling in the printed entry.
- BharatKosh, the Non-Tax Receipt PortalThe only accepted channel for the Central gazette fee. Demand drafts were discontinued, so any page telling you to prepare a draft in favour of a Controller of Publications is describing something that no longer exists.
- Government of ChhattisgarhThe state portal, and the route to the printing and stationery directorate. This is where to confirm the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra's current form, fee, document list and turnaround, which is the one part of this page we could not verify from a Government source.
- District Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur, Government of ChhattisgarhThe district's own official website: the formation date of 9 September 2022, the bifurcation from Korea district, the headquarters at Manendragarh and the six tehsils. Also where a neighbouring district is written as Gourla Pendra Marwahi.
- District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh, Government of ChhattisgarhThe district's own site: 1 September 2022 through bifurcation of Raigarh and Balodabazar-Bhatapara, and Sarangarh as one of the fourteen princely states, merged with the Union of India on 1 January 1948.
- District Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Government of ChhattisgarhThe district's own site, giving 2 September 2022 as its formation date, Rajnandgaon as the parent district and Mohla as the headquarters. Worth opening for the spelling alone.
- National Informatics Centre, Chhattisgarh eGazette launchThe Government's own record of the state e-Gazette going online on 5 January 2015: the Ordinary and Extra-Ordinary listings, the search by period, department and gazette number, and the statement that people can search and print a gazette themselves.
- Civil Registration System, Registrar General of IndiaBirth and death registration and Registrar corrections under Section 15 of the RBD Act, 1969. Read this before anyone tells you a gazette will fix a birth certificate.
- India Code, national repository of lawsSection 15 of the RBD Act, 1969, and the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000, under which Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000 and records issued by the undivided state remain valid.
- Unique Identification Authority of IndiaAadhaar name update rules and accepted proofs. Normally the first record to change after publication, because so many other updates read from it.
- Passport SevaRe-issue with a change of name. Worth reading before you choose a route, because a passport is the clearest case where only the Gazette of India will do.
- Ministry of Home AffairsThe source of Office Memorandum No. 190016/1/87-Estt.(A) dated 12 March 1987, under which a Central Government employee executes a deed through the department so the service book is updated alongside the gazette.
The short version
Everything on this page in ten lines
- Three stages: a notarised affidavit, two newspaper notices in a Hindi and an English daily, and then either the Chhattisgarh Rajpatra or the Gazette of India.
- Use the state Rajpatra for records inside Chhattisgarh. Use the Gazette of India, Part IV, for a passport, a visa, a central post, a PSU or anything outside the state.
- The thing most likely to cost you a month here is your district name, not your name. Several districts carry three part hyphenated names spelled inconsistently even on official sites.
- Write your district exactly as your address proof writes it, on one sheet of paper, and hand that sheet to everyone who types anything for you. Then read every proof.
- Chhattisgarh went from 16 districts in 2000 to 33 today, so many people's district changed without them moving. Older certificates naming the old district are accurate for their date.
- There is no Controller of Publications in Chhattisgarh and no Central Gazette counter anywhere in the state. Pin code 110054 belongs to Delhi.
- The Central fee is commonly Rs 1,100 adult, Rs 1,700 minor and Rs 3,500 from abroad, on bharatkosh.gov.in only. No demand draft, and the Rs 250 addition relates to a religion case, not to each alias.
- For the state fee and turnaround, ask the directorate. We do not print state figures we could not confirm. Published state gazettes are searchable online.
- Certificates issued by undivided Madhya Pradesh before 1 November 2000 remain fully valid, and one Central notification reconciles a name across both states.
- A gazette changes a personal name only. It does not affect Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste status, and a birth certificate clerical error is a Section 15 Registrar correction.
One district, one spelling, one piece of paper.
Send us your documents on WhatsApp today. We will tell you which of the two routes your case actually needs, which written form of your name and your district should stand on every paper, what the Government fee on that route is, and whether a Registrar correction would have done the job for a fraction of the cost. Across all thirty three districts, from Raipur and Bhilai to Jagdalpur, Ambikapur, Sakti and Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur.