Name Change Procedure in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh runs its own e-Gazette portal, and the office behind it publishes its address, phone number and email openly. Yet the guides you find online disagree with each other on basic points, including whether a minor can apply at all. This page covers both routes, the initials problem that brings most people here, and honest fees and timelines.
Andhra Pradesh residents have two routes. The state route: a notarised affidavit, newspaper advertisements in Telugu and English, then an application to the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase at Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada, with publication searchable on the AP e-Gazette portal. The central route: the same affidavit and notices, then a signed file posted to the Gazette of India in Delhi, published in Part IV in about 30 to 45 days and valid across India and abroad.
What does the name change procedure in Andhra Pradesh involve?
One decision, then three careful stages. The decision is which gazette, and in Andhra Pradesh it genuinely matters, because the state runs a real e-Gazette portal with a searchable archive and a named office behind it. What is not simple is the search result you land on: one page tells you that you must be at least eighteen to change your name here, while the same publisher's other page on the same state says a minor can apply through a parent. Two pages, one publisher, opposite answers on a question that matters to parents.
A Gazette notification is a formal announcement of your name change printed in the official journal of a Government. Once it carries a date and a page number, passport offices, UIDAI, banks, boards and employers treat it as the legal record of your new name. An affidavit on its own is the start of the change, not the finish.
At a glance
- State route
- The AP e-Gazette, with a search facility for published gazettes at apegazette.cgg.gov.in
- State office
- Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase, Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada, Krishna District, PIN 520011
- Published contact
- The office publishes its phone number and email on the state portal itself
- Central route
- Gazette of India, Part IV, a signed file posted to Delhi
- Central office
- Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. No branch in Andhra Pradesh
- Newspapers
- Two notices, one Telugu daily and one English daily circulating in your district
- Central fee
- Commonly Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor, on BharatKosh only, revised each financial year
- State charges
- Ask the Commissioner's office. Figures circulating online carry no source
- Most common real reason
- Expanding initials into full names, usually for a passport or a visa
- Where to download
- egazette.gov.in for Part IV. Hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015
Key takeaways
- Andhra Pradesh has a genuine state e-Gazette. The portal is apegazette.cgg.gov.in, and it lets you search published gazettes.
- The office behind it is the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase, Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada, Krishna District, PIN 520011, with the phone number and email published on the portal itself.
- Notices go in two newspapers, one Telugu and one English. Telugu matters here, because several state institutions expect to see the regional-language notice.
- Minors can absolutely have their names changed, through a parent or legal guardian. One widely shared guide claims you must be at least eighteen; the same publisher's own sister page says the opposite.
- The affidavit does not need two witnesses. The two-witness requirement belongs to the Central Gazette proforma, and two pages in this niche confuse the two.
- Expanding initials into full names is the most common real reason people here need a gazette, and the form you choose becomes the name on your passport and every visa issued against it.
- The Central fee is commonly Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor, on bharatkosh.gov.in only, revised each financial year. Demand drafts are not accepted.
- Anyone with records from before 2 June 2014 holds documents issued by united Andhra Pradesh. Those remain valid, and a Central notification is what reconciles them across both successor states.
- A birth certificate mistake is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. It is not a gazette matter.
The Andhra Pradesh name change process on video
Three short videos from our desk, placed next to the sections they explain.
How to change a name in Andhra Pradesh, and the gazette office question
- How to change a name in Andhra PradeshThe whole process, and where the file actually goes.
- Gazette office in Andhra Pradesh, and the address people search forThe Commissioner's office at Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada.
- How to make a gazette notificationPreparing the notification, in Hindi.
How did this state come to be called Andhra Pradesh?
It is worth pausing over, because it puts a spelling correction in perspective.
Potti Sreeramulu was born on 16 March 1901, in what was then the Madras Presidency. A sanitary engineer by training and a Gandhian by conviction, he had taken part in the Salt Satyagraha and the Quit India movement. On 19 October 1952 he began a hunger strike demanding a separate state for Telugu-speaking people, then part of the Madras Presidency. He kept it up for fifty-eight days, and died on the night of 15 to 16 December 1952, aged fifty-one.
The public outcry that followed prompted Prime Minister Nehru to announce, on 19 December 1952, that a separate Andhra State would be formed. It came into being on 1 October 1953, made up of eleven Telugu-speaking districts of Madras State together with three taluks of Bellary. Three years later, under the States Reorganisation Act, Andhra Pradesh itself was formed on 1 November 1956. Even the name was campaigned for: the Telugu daily Visalaandhra, founded in Vijayawada in June 1952 under the slogan of a single state for Telugu speakers, is credited with naming the new state. Sreeramulu is remembered as Amarajeevi, the Immortal Being.
AP e-Gazette or the Central Gazette: which one does your case need?
Many states leave private citizens with no practical state route. Andhra Pradesh does not.
Gazette work here is handled by the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase in Vijayawada, and the state maintains a searchable e-Gazette portal at apegazette.cgg.gov.in. Unusually for this niche, the office publishes its own address, phone number and email on that portal, which means you can check the details yourself rather than trusting a service company's page.
| Point | AP e-Gazette (state) | Central Gazette of India |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase, Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada 520011 | Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054 |
| Portal | apegazette.cgg.gov.in, with a search facility for published gazettes | egazette.gov.in, for downloading published Part IV issues |
| Contact published by the office | Phone number and email published on the state portal itself | Correspondence to the Controller of Publications |
| Newspaper notices | Two, one Telugu and one English | Two, one Telugu and one English, complete original pages kept |
| Fee | Ask the Commissioner's office for current charges | Commonly Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor, on BharatKosh, revised each financial year |
| Best for | Records that stay inside Andhra Pradesh, state boards, state service records | Passport, central Government jobs, banks in other states, anything abroad |
The gazette office people search for, on video
Gazette office in Andhra Pradesh, and the address people search for
Can a minor's name be changed in Andhra Pradesh?
Yes. This deserves its own section, because a parent searching in a hurry could be told the wrong thing by an apparently authoritative page.
One widely shared guide lists, under eligibility for Andhra Pradesh, that you must be at least 18 years old to change your name. A different page from the same publisher, also about Andhra Pradesh, answers the question directly: minors can apply through parents or legal guardians with supporting documents. Both cannot be right, and it is the second one that reflects how the process actually works.
How a minor's application actually runs
- A parent or legal guardian applies on the child's behalf
- The affidavit is sworn by the parent, not by the child
- The child's birth certificate is attached, along with the parent's identity proof
- On the Central route the minor fee applies, commonly Rs 1,700 with the usual revision caveat
- Both parents signing avoids objections later
- Where a surname is changing after a separation, expect to be asked for the other parent's consent or proof of sole custody
The wider lesson worth taking from this
When two pages on the same website disagree about the same state, neither was checked against a Government source. That is not a small thing when a parent might abandon a legitimate application because of it.
Before you act on any eligibility claim, ask whether the page can name the actual office, the actual portal and the actual fee channel. Most of them cannot. A page that knows the Commissioner's office is at Muthyalampadu and that payment runs through BharatKosh has probably checked something.
Why do initials cause so much trouble on a passport?
This is the practical heart of name changes in Andhra Pradesh, and no ranking page treats it properly.
Telugu naming does not work the way passport forms assume. The family or house name commonly comes first and the given name after, and in daily use most of it collapses into initials. K. Srinivasa Rao. M. V. Lakshmi. P. Sai Kumar. Inside Andhra Pradesh everyone reads these correctly. Outside, and increasingly inside computerised systems, they break.
How the mismatch shows up
- Passport and visa forms want a given name and a surname in separate fields. An initial is neither
- One document expands the initial, another keeps it, a third expands it differently, and a fourth drops it
- Airlines, foreign universities and employers split the name at a different point than Indian systems do
- Where the family name comes first, a foreign system may treat it as the given name and index you under it
What fixes it, and when to decide
A gazette notification fixes this at the root. You declare one exact expanded form, letter by letter and space by space, including which part sits in which field, and then every document afterwards inherits it.
Decide before drafting, not after. Expanding an initial into a full form is a decision with a long life, because that is the name your passport will carry and every visa issued against it. Fix it on the affidavit, reproduce it identically on both newspaper notices and on the application, and check the spacing.
Four claims about Andhra Pradesh that are wrong
Each of these is on a page ranking today, and each one costs somebody time or money.
That you must be eighteen to apply
One publisher's eligibility list says so, while its own sister page on the same state confirms that minors apply through parents or legal guardians. A parent acting on the first page could abandon a perfectly valid application.
That the affidavit needs two witnesses
Two pages in this niche say the affidavit must be signed by two witnesses and notarised. The two-witness requirement belongs to the Central Gazette proforma, not to the affidavit. Your affidavit is sworn by you before a notary; the witnesses come in later, on the Central form.
That you pay by demand draft
Several Andhra Pradesh pages, including older versions of pages we ourselves published, still instruct a demand draft. That route closed years ago. The Central fee is paid only through bharatkosh.gov.in, and no draft should be made out to any Controller of Publications.
The wrong Union ministry
One page credits the Gazette to a Ministry of Home and Urban Affairs. No such ministry exists. The Department of Publication is a subordinate office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. In fairness, at least one competitor gets this right on its Andhra pages, which is unusual for this niche.
My certificates say Andhra Pradesh but the institution is now in Telangana. Are they valid?
Yes. And the reason matters, because the usual explanation given online is not accurate.
Anyone schooled, employed or registered before 2 June 2014 holds documents issued by united Andhra Pradesh, and a great many families now have records spanning both successor states. Those older documents remain fully valid, and a certificate naming Andhra Pradesh does not become wrong because the issuing institution now sits in Telangana.
The real problem is not validity. It is that the name itself often differs across the two eras, because entries were made by different hands in different offices over decades. One gazette notification declaring the final form gives every office a single version to work from, and a Central notification is valid in both states, which matters if your degree is from one side of the line and your employer is on the other.
The AP e-Gazette route, step by step
Four stages, and the first one is a decision rather than a form.
Fix the exact name, then the affidavit
Including how the initials are expanded, then a notarised affidavit built around it.
Two newspaper notices
One Telugu daily and one English daily circulating in your district, complete original pages kept.
Apply at Vijayawada
To the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase at Muthyalampadu.
Step 1: fix the exact name, then notarise the affidavit
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 in Andhra Pradesh and a clear reason for the change, then sign it before a notary. Stamp paper and notary together usually cost Rs 100 to Rs 500. Settle the exact spelling, spacing and initials expansion at this stage, because everything after this has to match it letter for letter.
Step 2: publish in two newspapers, one Telugu and one English
Publish the same notice in two dailies that genuinely circulate where you live: one Telugu daily and one English daily. Choose editions that reach your district, whether that is the Visakhapatnam belt, the Vijayawada and Guntur region, Rayalaseema or the Godavari districts. The wording must match the affidavit exactly. Keep the complete original printed pages with the dates clearly visible, not cuttings. Two notices usually cost Rs 800 to Rs 4,000.
Step 3: apply to the Commissioner's office in Vijayawada
Submit your application with the affidavit, the newspaper proof, identity and address proof and photographs to the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase, Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada, Krishna District, PIN 520011. The office publishes its phone number and email on the state portal at apegazette.cgg.gov.in. Confirm the current format, submission method and charges before you go, because a wasted trip from Visakhapatnam or Tirupati is expensive.
Step 4: publication and retrieval
Once published, your notification becomes part of the state gazette record, and the portal carries a search facility for published gazettes. Keep a copy of the published page with your records, along with your affidavit details, because every office you approach afterwards will want its own copy. Print several rather than fetching a fresh one each time.
Making the notification, on video
How to make a gazette notification in Andhra Pradesh आंध्र प्रदेश में गजट नोटिफिकेशन कैसे बनाएं
The Central Gazette route, step by step
For a passport, a visa, a central Government job, a bank in another state, or anything abroad.
Step 1: the affidavit and the two newspaper notices
The same affidavit and the same two advertisements work, one Telugu and one English. Keep the complete original printed page of each newspaper, not cuttings, with the date clearly visible.
Step 2: prepare the file for Delhi
Per the Department's published guidelines the file contains: the original newspaper pages; a signed undertaking with your old and new name, parentage and residential address; two copies of the prescribed proforma, computer typed and attested, with the full details of two witnesses; a CD containing the print matter in MS Word without the witness portion; a certificate signed by you declaring the hard and soft copies match; self-attested identity of the applicant and each witness; two passport size photographs; and a request letter to the Controller of Publications. Keep every supporting document less than one year old.
Step 3: pay through BharatKosh only
The Central fee is paid only through bharatkosh.gov.in, commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult and Rs 1,700 for a minor, with an additional Rs 250 where an adult adopts a name of another religion without changing religion. The Department's guidelines state the fee varies each financial year and varies from case to case, so confirm the current amount on deptpub.gov.in before paying. It is not refundable, and no demand draft is involved despite what several Andhra Pradesh pages still say.
Step 4: send the file and download your notification
Send the complete file by post or courier to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, or hand it in there. Applications are entertained only from the applicant, which is why an honest consultant prepares and checks your file while you sign and send it. Your notification then appears in Part IV of the Gazette of India, in weekly Saturday dated issues, about 30 to 45 days after the file reaches Delhi. Since hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015, you open the issue on egazette.gov.in, search the PDF for your old or new name, and download the whole gazette as your own copy. It needs no further certification.
What documents are required for a name change in Andhra Pradesh?
One core list, plus what the Central route adds and what your case may need.
The core file, either route
- Notarised affidavit on non-judicial stamp paper, sworn by you, no witnesses needed on it
- Aadhaar or other Government photo identity showing the old name, self-attested
- Address proof in Andhra Pradesh: electricity bill, water bill or rent agreement
- Complete original newspaper pages of both notices, Telugu and English, dates visible
- The completed application form for the route you are using
- Two passport size photographs
What the Central route adds, and what your case may need
- Two copies of the prescribed proforma, typed, with the full details of two witnesses
- A CD with the print matter in MS Word, without the witness portion, and the matching-contents certificate
- Self-attested identity proof of each witness, and a request letter to the Controller of Publications
- Marriage certificate, if the change follows a marriage
- Divorce decree, if the change follows a divorce
- Birth certificate of the child and the parent's identity proof, where the applicant is a minor
- Deed attested by the Indian Embassy or Consulate, if you apply from abroad
- Departmental deed, if you are a Central Government employee
What does a name change in Andhra Pradesh really cost?
Short answer: the Central fee is commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult, and a realistic all-in total is Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000.
| Item | Typical amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp paper and notary | Rs 100 to Rs 500 | A local notary in any district. Ask what the current stamp paper value is. |
| Two newspaper notices | Rs 800 to Rs 4,000 | One Telugu daily and one English daily that circulate in your district. |
| AP Gazette charges | Ask the Commissioner's office | Figures quoted online are unsourced. Confirm at Vijayawada or on the portal. |
| Central Gazette fee, adult | Commonly Rs 1,100 | On BharatKosh only, revised each financial year, non-refundable. |
| Central Gazette fee, minor | Commonly Rs 1,700 | Applies to anyone under 18. Also on BharatKosh. |
| Religion related addition | Rs 250 | Where an adult adopts a name of another religion without changing religion, per the published guidelines. |
| Speed post to Delhi | Rs 50 to Rs 200 | The only distance cost on the Central route. |
| Applying from abroad | Around Rs 7,500 to Rs 9,000 | The Government fee plus embassy or consulate attestation of the deed and courier. |
| Gazette PDF retrieval | Free | Both gazettes are published online. Nobody should charge you to fetch a published issue. |
| Realistic self-done total | Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000 | Depends on the route and which newspapers you choose. |
How long does a name change take in Andhra Pradesh?
Short answer: 3 to 7 weeks on the Central route, and neither route sells a fast track.
Day 1 to 2
The exact name fixed in writing, initials expansion decided, documents collected, affidavit drafted and notarised.
Day 2 to 9
Notices booked in one Telugu and one English daily. Publication follows each paper's schedule, so allow 2 to 7 days, then collect the complete pages.
State route: the office cycle
Submission at Vijayawada, then the state gazette's own publication cycle. Ask the office for the current turnaround when you submit.
Central route: then 30 to 45 days
Two to four days to prepare and send, the fee paid on BharatKosh, then publication in Part IV after the file reaches Delhi.
Plan for 3 to 7 weeks on the Central route from the first phone call to a notification you can download. If you are running both routes, start them together rather than one after the other, because the same affidavit and the same two advertisements serve each.
Which parts of Andhra Pradesh do we serve?
Every district, and wherever you are currently studying or working. The Central route runs entirely by post, and we can prepare your file from anywhere.
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 complete name change service guide.
Related guides
Other states written up in the same detail, plus the national process, in case your records sit in more than one place.
What do the gazette terms actually mean?
The words that appear on every name change website, and the Andhra Pradesh ones, in language people actually use.
- Gazette notification
- A formal announcement printed in the official journal of a Government. For a name change it is what Aadhaar, PAN, passport offices, banks, boards and employers accept as legal proof. It is not a court order.
- AP e-Gazette
- The Government of Andhra Pradesh's gazette portal at apegazette.cgg.gov.in, with a search facility for published gazettes, run by the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase in Vijayawada.
- Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase
- The Andhra Pradesh office that handles state gazette work, at Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada, Krishna District, PIN 520011, with its phone number and email published on the portal.
- Central Gazette
- The Gazette of India, published by the Department of Publication in Civil Lines, Delhi. Accepted across India and by foreign missions.
- Part IV
- The section of the Gazette of India carrying notices from private people rather than from Government. Part IV belongs to the Central Gazette only.
- Controller of Publications
- The officer heading the Department of Publication, at Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. There is no Controller of Publications in Andhra Pradesh.
- Affidavit
- A written statement you swear is true, signed before a notary. It does not need two witnesses; that requirement belongs to the Central proforma.
- Proforma
- The prescribed application format the Department of Publication requires on the Central route, computer typed in two copies and signed by you and two witnesses, whose identity proofs are also enclosed.
- Initials expansion
- Declaring the full form of an initial, and which part goes in the given name field and which in the surname field. The most common real reason for a gazette notification in Andhra Pradesh.
- BharatKosh
- The Non-Tax Receipt Portal at bharatkosh.gov.in, the only accepted channel for the Central Gazette fee. Demand drafts were discontinued.
- Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014
- Act 6 of 2014, which formed Telangana out of ten districts with effect from 2 June 2014. It contains no standalone clause saving existing records, contrary to what several guides claim.
- Registrar correction
- A correction to a birth or death record under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, through the body that issued it. Not a gazette matter.
What do you update after the gazette, and in what order?
The notification is the middle of the journey, not the end. Doing this in the wrong order turns a four week job into a four month one.
| Order | Record | Why it comes here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aadhaar | Almost everything else verifies against Aadhaar. Update it at an enrolment centre with the gazette copy and your identity proof. |
| 2 | PAN card | The correction form asks for proof, and an updated Aadhaar makes this straightforward. |
| 3 | Bank accounts | Banks check the PAN and Aadhaar pair. Updating the bank before those two creates a mismatch you then have to undo. |
| 4 | Passport | Re-issue with the change of name, checking carefully how the given name and surname fields are filled, because that split is the whole point of an initials expansion. |
| 5 | Voter ID and driving licence | Straightforward once Aadhaar carries the new name. |
| 6 | EPFO or UAN and insurance | Employer linked records. HR usually needs the notification and the updated Aadhaar together. |
| 7 | Board, Intermediate and university records | Slowest of the lot. Each board and university runs its own correction process and charges its own fee. |
| 8 | Land, property, GST and business records | Through the registering authority and, where a firm is involved, the GST and business registrations. |
Aadhaar rules are on uidai.gov.in and passport re-issue rules on passportindia.gov.in.
Is a birth certificate mistake a gazette matter in Andhra Pradesh?
No. If the error sits in a birth certificate, whether it is a wrong spelling, a wrong parent name or a missing child name, the fix is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, through the body that issued the certificate: your Municipal Corporation, municipality or gram panchayat. The Civil Registration System portal is crsorgi.gov.in.
A gazette notification can support the file, but it does not rewrite the certificate itself, and agents who push every birth certificate case into a gazette application are charging you for the wrong process. The Registrar route is usually both cheaper and faster.
Which special situations come up most in Andhra Pradesh?
Four cases we see constantly.
Board, Intermediate and university records
A spelling on an SSC or Intermediate certificate that does not match the Aadhaar is a very common starting point. The board runs its own correction process and universities have theirs. The gazette notification supports that application, especially for an initials expansion, but their procedure decides the outcome. Ask which gazette they accept before choosing a route, since state records often accept the state notification, which is the closer office.
Working or studying outside the state
Andhra Pradesh sends large numbers of students and professionals to other states and abroad, and that is usually where a name mismatch surfaces rather than at home. The Central Gazette settles it nationwide, because Part IV is valid in every state and recognised by embassies. The file can be prepared and posted from wherever you are, and family at home can send it, as long as the papers carry your own signature.
Name change after marriage or after divorce
A woman adding her husband's family name, or in many families also changing the initial, follows the same stages with the marriage certificate attached. Reverting after a divorce follows the same route with the decree attached. If you keep using your existing name and nothing on paper changes, you do not need a gazette at all, and no court order is involved either way.
Land, property and business records
A gazette notification does not update a land or property record by itself. Take the published notification to the registering authority, and where a firm is involved to the GST and business registrations, and follow each process. The gazette is the proof you bring, not the update itself.
What changes for Government employees in Andhra Pradesh?
Central Government employees follow the Ministry of Home Affairs Office Memorandum No. 190016/1/87-Estt.(A) dated 12 March 1987: a deed of change of name is executed and routed through the department, so that the service book is updated alongside the gazette notification.
State Government employees in Andhra Pradesh should likewise inform their department rather than doing the gazette quietly. A service record that does not match the published name creates a second problem, usually at promotion or pension, years later. Ask your department one thing before you spend anything: which gazette they want on the record, and in what order, because for state service records the Andhra Pradesh notification is often what is asked for. Send us any departmental circular and we build the file around it.
What names does the law not allow, and what do you gain by doing it properly?
You may take almost any name you like. Almost.
Names that will not be accepted
- A name taken in order to hide your identity
- A name taken to escape a debt, a liability or a legal proceeding
- A name that is obscene or offensive
- A name containing punctuation marks or symbols
- A name that impersonates another person for gain
A change of name does not erase anything behind you. Your old records stay linked through the notification itself, which names both the old and the new name. That is the point of publishing it.
What you gain by doing it legally
- Official recognition that every department works from, public or private
- One exact expanded form that Aadhaar, PAN, bank, board and passport records all follow
- A given name and surname split that foreign systems can read the same way Indian ones do
- A single version that reconciles a united Andhra Pradesh certificate with a current record
- No lawyer and no court order needed, because this is an administrative process
What mistakes get Andhra Pradesh applications rejected?
Every one of these is avoidable, and on the Central route the fee is not refundable.
In the file itself
- Expanding an initial one way on the affidavit and another way in the newspaper notice or on the form. This is the single most common Andhra Pradesh failure
- Skipping the Telugu notice and publishing only in English
- Format mismatch or unclear newspaper text on the state file, which sends it back for correction
- Submitting cuttings instead of complete original newspaper pages with the date visible
- Documents older than one year in the Central file, or a handwritten proforma where a typed one is required
Wrong route, or bad advice
- Believing an eligibility claim that says minors cannot apply, and abandoning a legitimate application
- Collecting two witnesses for the affidavit, when they belong on the Central proforma instead
- Arranging a demand draft instead of paying the Central fee on BharatKosh
- Travelling to Vijayawada without confirming the current format, timings and charges
- Taking a birth certificate error to the gazette instead of the Registrar under Section 15
Should you do it yourself or take professional help?
Both routes are doable alone, and the AP portal makes it easier to see what has been published.
| Point of comparison | Doing it yourself | Using Documentadvisor |
|---|---|---|
| Money out | Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000, if nothing goes wrong | Government charge plus a quoted service charge |
| Your time | A notary visit, two newspaper bookings, and either a Vijayawada submission or the Delhi file and the post | About 30 minutes of sending scans and confirming the wording |
| The Andhra Pradesh specific risk | Getting the initials expansion wrong, which then follows you onto the passport and every visa after it | We settle the expanded form with you in writing, field by field, before anything is drafted |
| The judgement call | Which route your case actually needs, and whether this is a gazette matter at all rather than a Registrar or board correction | We settle that first, before anything is drafted or paid for |
| Risk of paying twice | The Central fee is non-refundable, and a format mismatch sends a state file back for a fresh round | Every field and every line checked before anything is submitted |
| Best if | A plain change, one clear spelling, records staying inside Andhra Pradesh | A passport or visa, an initials expansion, a pre-2014 certificate, a board record, or both routes together |
The judgement worth paying for sits earlier than the paperwork: which route your case actually needs, whether your problem is a name change or a Registrar correction, and above all how your initials should be expanded, because that decision follows you onto a passport and every visa after it. You can compare the whole range of name change services before deciding.
Your Trust and Security First
A name change means handing your identity documents to someone you have never met. We take that seriously, and we would rather be slow and correct than fast and wrong.
Your documents stay private
Your scans go to one advisor and one file. We do not resell your details, add you to a marketing list, or share your papers outside your case.
We work from the offices' own pages
Not from a search result. The state address on this page comes from the AP e-Gazette portal itself, and the Central fee and document list from the Department of Publication's published guidelines.
We settle the initials before anything is drafted
Which part is the given name, which is the surname, whether the initial expands, and exactly how it is spaced. We send it to you letter by letter and wait for your written confirmation.
We tell you what to ignore
No eighteen year minimum, no two witnesses on the affidavit, no demand draft, no expedited gazette. In this state, knowing which claims to discard saves more than knowing the process.
One advisor, start to finish
The same person handles your file from the first scan to the published notification, on the same number you first called, whether you are in Srikakulam or in Seattle.
Your originals come back to you
Original newspaper pages and the affidavit come back once the file is accepted, and we keep a scanned set so a lost document years later is not a fresh problem.
Everything You Need, In One Place
One place for the paperwork people find hardest: gazette notifications, affidavits, newspaper advertisements, rental agreements and property papers. Drafted, checked and filed by a team that does it daily.
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India's trusted documentation consultant and newspaper ad portal
How It Works
Booking a service with Documentadvisor is as easy as 1-2-3. Sit back and let our team do the work.
Book
Call, WhatsApp or fill the form. Tell us your old name, the complete new name you want including how the initials expand, your district and where the name has to be accepted, then send clear scans.
Schedule
We confirm the route and the exact expanded form with you in writing, draft the affidavit, then schedule the Telugu and English notices and prepare either the Vijayawada application or the Delhi file.
Relax
You submit or send the file, and we track it to publication, then send you a written checklist of which record to update next. No wrong route, no second round.
The questions Google gets asked most about Andhra Pradesh
How can I change my name legally in Andhra Pradesh?
Make a notarised affidavit, publish the change in two newspapers, one Telugu and one English, then apply either to the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase in Vijayawada for the state gazette, or to the Department of Publication in Delhi for Part IV of the Gazette of India.
Does Andhra Pradesh have its own gazette portal?
Yes. The AP e-Gazette portal is apegazette.cgg.gov.in, run by the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase at Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada, and it lets you search published gazettes.
Can a minor change their name in Andhra Pradesh?
Yes, through a parent or legal guardian, with the child's birth certificate attached. Any page claiming you must be at least eighteen is wrong, and at least one publisher contradicts that claim on its own sister page about the same state.
How do I expand my initials for a passport?
Decide the exact expanded form first, including which part goes in the given name field and which in the surname field, declare it through a gazette notification, then update Aadhaar and apply for the passport re-issue in that form. Use the identical form everywhere afterwards.
Does the affidavit need two witnesses?
No. The affidavit is sworn by you before a notary. The two-witness requirement belongs to the Central Gazette proforma, and two pages in this niche confuse the two.
What is the Central Government fee for a gazette name change?
Commonly Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors, paid only through bharatkosh.gov.in, with Rs 250 extra where an adult adopts a name of another religion without changing religion. The Department of Publication revises the fee each financial year, so confirm the current amount before paying.
Start your Andhra Pradesh name change today
Tell us your old name, the complete new name you want including how the initials should expand, your district and where the name has to be accepted. We will tell you which route your case needs, exactly what the file requires, the total cost and the timeline, before you pay anything.
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Frequently asked questions on name change in Andhra Pradesh
The questions we are asked on the phone every day.
Does Andhra Pradesh have a state gazette route for a name change?
What is the AP gazette office address?
Can minors apply for a gazette name change here?
Does the affidavit need two witnesses?
Do I need a Telugu newspaper notice?
What does the AP gazette route cost?
Is the AP state gazette valid outside the state?
My name is all initials. How do I fix it for a passport?
My certificates are from united Andhra Pradesh before 2014. Are they valid?
How do I pay the Central Gazette fee?
Will I get a printed Central Gazette copy by post?
What sends a state file back for correction?
Do I really need a CD for the Central file?
Can a gazette alone correct my SSC or Intermediate certificate?
Can I change my name after marriage without a court order?
My birth certificate has a spelling mistake. Do I need a gazette?
I live abroad. Can I apply without coming to India?
Are the Rs 999 offers real, and can I pay extra to publish faster?
People also search for: AP e-Gazette, gazette office in Vijayawada, apegazette.cgg.gov.in name change, expand initials for passport Andhra Pradesh, united Andhra Pradesh certificates after 2014, name change fees in Andhra Pradesh, SSC certificate name correction, name change agent in Vijayawada, name change in Visakhapatnam Guntur Tirupati, Telugu newspaper name change advertisement.
Where can you verify all of this yourself?
Every fact above can be checked at these sources. Please do check them, and please type the addresses rather than clicking a search result.
- AP e-Gazette portalThe Government of Andhra Pradesh's gazette portal, with a search facility for published gazettes, and the Commissioner's office address, phone number and email published on the site itself.
- Government of Andhra Pradesh official portalDepartment listings and district information across all districts, from Srikakulam to Anantapur.
- Department of Publication, Government of IndiaThe single Central Gazette office, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, with the published change of name guidelines, the proforma and the current fee. A subordinate office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
- The Gazette of India, e-Gazette portalSearch and download published Central Gazette notifications free. Your Part IV notification appears here, and hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015.
- BharatKosh, the Non-Tax Receipt PortalThe only accepted channel for the Central Gazette fee. Demand drafts and direct transfers were discontinued.
- Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, on India CodeAct 6 of 2014. Section 2 leaves the appointed day to notification, Section 3 formed Telangana out of ten districts, Section 95 continues admission quotas under Article 371D, Sections 100 and 101 deal with laws. No standalone section saves records.
- Board of Secondary Education, Andhra PradeshSSC certificates and the board's own correction process for names on them.
- Civil Registration System, Registrar General of IndiaBirth and death registration, and the framework for Registrar corrections under Section 15 of the RBD Act, 1969.
- Unique Identification Authority of IndiaAadhaar name update rules, accepted proofs and enrolment centre locations.
- Passport SevaRe-issue with a change of name, the documents required, and how the given name and surname fields are filled, which is the whole point of an initials expansion.
The short version
Everything on this page in ten lines
- Andhra Pradesh has a real state e-Gazette at apegazette.cgg.gov.in, run by the Commissioner of Printing, Stationery and Stores Purchase at Muthyalampadu, Vijayawada 520011.
- The Central route is Part IV of the Gazette of India, from Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, and it is what a passport, a visa or an employer outside the state will look for.
- Notices go in one Telugu daily and one English daily that circulate in your district.
- A minor can absolutely apply, through a parent or legal guardian. The eighteen year claim is wrong.
- The affidavit does not need two witnesses. That requirement belongs to the Central proforma.
- Expanding initials is the real reason most people here need a gazette. Decide the exact form before anything is drafted.
- Gazette first, then Aadhaar, then the passport. Doing the passport first means doing it twice.
- Central fee: commonly Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor, plus Rs 250 in one specific case, on BharatKosh only and never by demand draft.
- Pre-2014 united Andhra Pradesh certificates stay valid, but not because of any savings clause, because the Act has none.
- A birth certificate mistake is a Registrar correction under Section 15 of the RBD Act, 1969, through the municipal body or gram panchayat.
Change your name once, and change it properly
Send us your documents on WhatsApp today. We will tell you which route your case needs, settle how your initials should expand, and give you the total cost and the timeline before you pay anything. Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Nellore, Kurnool, every district, and applicants working abroad.