Name Change Procedure in Gujarat
Gujarat runs one of the better state gazette systems in India, with its own online Change of Name and Surname service. Most guides never mention it, and several still tell you to attach a demand draft. This page covers all 34 districts: both routes, which one your case actually needs, the middle name problem that causes most Gujarati document mismatches, and honest fees straight from the Department's own published guidelines.
Gujarat residents have two routes. The state route: a notarised affidavit, newspaper notices in Gujarati and English, then an online application on the Gujarat e-Gazette portal under its Change of Name and Surname service. The central route: the same affidavit and notices, then a signed file sent 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 Gujarat involve?
One decision, then three careful stages. The decision is which gazette, and in Gujarat it genuinely matters, because the state has a real online route that most guides never mention. The stages are simple enough. What is not simple is the search result you land on: one page still tells Gujarat readers that the Central fee is usually accepted online payment or demand draft, another credits the Gazette to a Ministry of Home and Urban Affairs that has never existed, and a third lists Gazette Name Change in Haryana inside a Gujarat page's own link list.
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, GSEB, universities 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
- Where it applies
- All 34 districts of Gujarat, grown from the 17 the state was formed with in 1960
- State route
- Gujarat e-Gazette, with a dedicated Change of Name and Surname service, applied for online
- State department
- Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery, Gandhinagar, under the Industries and Mines Department
- Central route
- Gazette of India, Part IV, a signed file sent to Delhi
- Central office
- Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. No branch in Ahmedabad
- Newspapers
- Two notices, one Gujarati and one English. The Gujarati notice matters here
- Central fee, in India
- Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor, on BharatKosh, revised each financial year
- Central fee, from abroad
- Rs 3,500 adult and Rs 5,100 minor, per the Department's published guidelines
- Date of birth change
- The state portal lists this service. The Central Gazette does not publish it at all
- Where to download
- egazette.gov.in for Part IV, or the state portal for a Gujarat notification
Key takeaways
- Gujarat has a genuine state e-Gazette with a dedicated Change of Name and Surname application, run through the Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery at Gandhinagar under the Industries and Mines Department.
- The same portal also lists a birth date change service. The Central Gazette does not publish date of birth changes at all, so for that particular correction the state route is the only gazette option there is.
- Notices go in two newspapers, one Gujarati and one English. Several Gujarat institutions specifically expect to see the Gujarati notice.
- The Central fee is Rs 1,100 for adults and Rs 1,700 for minors in India, and Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 for Indians living abroad, paid only through bharatkosh.gov.in. The Department's own guidelines say the fee varies each financial year and varies from case to case, so confirm before paying. Demand drafts are not accepted, whatever some Gujarat guides still say.
- Fix the exact spelling, spacing and middle name before anything is drafted. In Gujarat, where a father's given name is commonly carried as the middle name, how that middle name is written is the single most common source of document mismatches.
- The Department of Publication accepts applications only from the applicant, personally or by post or courier. Its published guidelines say in plain words that no other channel is permissible, naming agents, advocates and touts. Any service claiming it will hand your file in for you is describing something the rules do not allow.
- There is exactly one Central Gazette office: Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Nobody from Gujarat needs to travel there.
- 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.
Video: the name change procedure in Gujarat
Prefer to watch? These two cover the whole process end to end. Twelve more sit beside the sections they belong to, and most are in Hindi.
How to change a name in Gujarat
The process in short
The name change process in Gujarat गुजरात में नाम बदलने की प्रक्रिया
Every video on this page
- The gazette office in GujaratWhere it is, and where it is not.
- The procedure, and making the notificationTwo videos on the process itself.
- The document listWhat the file actually needs.
- Aadhaar, father name and driving licenceThree videos, in update order.
- Birth certificate correctionsThe Registrar route, not the gazette.
- Class 10 marksheet and board recordsTwo walkthroughs.
- Government employeesThe departmental deed and the service book.
- What the process really involvesBefore you decide to do it alone.
Did a writer invent the name of this state before the state existed?
Yes, twenty three years before. And the state only became real when an Act and a notification said so.
The writer and politician K. M. Munshi coined the term Mahagujarat at the Karachi meeting of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1937, decades before any such state existed. It stayed an idea until the States Reorganisation Commission recommended keeping Bombay as a single bilingual state.
On 8 August 1956, college students went to the Congress House near Lal Darwaza in Ahmedabad to press for a separate Gujarati speaking state. The Chief Minister refused to hear them, police fired, and students were killed. The protest became a movement. Indulal Yagnik, known across Gujarat as Indu Chacha, came out of political retirement and founded the Mahagujarat Janata Parishad to lead it. Accounts of how many students died differ across sources, so this page does not put a number on it.
Four years of agitation followed. Parliament then passed the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 (Act 11 of 1960), which received assent on 25 April 1960. Section 2 fixed the appointed day as 1 May 1960, and Section 3 formed the State of Gujarat out of seventeen named districts of the State of Bombay, plus specified villages, taking in Kutch and the Saurashtra districts of Amreli, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar. Dr Jivraj Narayan Mehta became the first Chief Minister.
Gujarat e-Gazette or the Central Gazette: which one does your case need?
Many states leave private citizens with no practical state route. Gujarat does not, and that changes the decision.
Gujarat's e-Gazette portal carries a dedicated Change of Name and Surname application where you enter your old name, new name, address and district or taluka and attach the supporting documents, and once published you can search and download the gazette from the same portal. The Director of Government Printing and Stationery at Gandhinagar is the nodal agency for printing and publishing Government of Gujarat gazettes, under the Industries and Mines Department.
What the state gazette is good for is the separate question. A state notification is a lawful public record and it is often exactly what a Gujarat board, a state university or a regional office wants. It is not what a passport office, a central Government employer, a bank in another state or a foreign authority looks for. Those want Part IV of the Gazette of India. There is also one thing the state route can do that the Central route simply cannot, covered below.
| Point | Gujarat e-Gazette (state) | Central Gazette of India |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery, Gandhinagar, under the Industries and Mines Department | Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054 |
| How you apply | Online, through the Change of Name and Surname service on the state portal | Signed physical file, by post or courier, or in person |
| Services offered | Change of name and surname, and a separate birth date change service | Change of name and public notices in Part IV. Date of birth changes are not published |
| Newspaper notices | Two, one Gujarati and one English | Two, one Gujarati and one English, complete original pages |
| Fee | Non-refundable publication fee, shown on the portal | Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor in India; Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 from abroad, on BharatKosh |
| Getting your copy | Search and download from the state portal | Download free from egazette.gov.in |
| Best for | Records inside Gujarat, and the only gazette route for a date of birth change | Passport, central Government jobs, banks in other states, anything abroad |
Where the gazette office actually is, on video
Gazette office in Gujarat and the address people search for
Three claims about Gujarat that are wrong
Each of these is on a page ranking today, and each one costs somebody time or money.
That you can pay by demand draft
One page tells Gujarat readers that submission is usually accepted online payment or demand draft. The demand draft route closed years ago. The Central fee is paid only through bharatkosh.gov.in, the Government's Non-Tax Receipt Portal, and no draft is involved at any stage.
A Union ministry that does not exist
Another widely copied page credits the Gazette to the Ministry of Home and Urban Affairs. There is no such ministry. The Department of Publication is a subordinate office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
An invented surname procedure
A surname page claims a Gujarat change needs genealogical documentation, census records, affidavits from relatives and a court order, and even lists witness protection as a reason. The same page says each state government in Gujarat has the authority, which is template text that survived a find and replace. An ordinary surname change needs none of it.
The middle name problem that trips up Gujarati documents
This is the practical section, and it matters more here than most guides realise.
Gujarati names commonly follow a three part pattern: a given name, the father's given name as a middle name, and the family surname. Rakesh Dineshbhai Patel. Nikita Rameshbhai Shah. Inside Gujarat everyone reads that instantly. Outside it, and increasingly inside computerised systems, it produces trouble, because every form and database treats the three parts differently.
How the mismatch shows up
- The middle name written in full on a school certificate, abbreviated to an initial on a PAN card, and dropped entirely on a passport
- The bhai or ben suffix present on some documents and not others, so Dineshbhai and Dinesh read as two different middle names
- Surname spellings varying across records: Shah and Shaha, Patel and Patell, Desai written two ways in two certificates
- Airlines, universities and foreign immigration systems splitting the name at a different point than Indian systems do
What it costs, and what fixes it
None of it is anyone's mistake. It becomes a problem only when two documents have to match, and then it stops a passport application, a bank KYC or a visa file cold, usually at the worst possible moment.
A gazette notification declaring one exact written form, with the middle name written the same way every time, is the clean fix. Decide the form deliberately: whether the middle name is written in full or as an initial, and whether the bhai or ben suffix stays. Then never vary it again.
How does the name change procedure in Gujarat work, step by step?
Five stages, and the first one decides whether your file passes.
Fix the exact name, then the affidavit
One exact form including the middle name treatment, then a notarised affidavit built around it.
Two newspaper notices
One Gujarati daily and one English daily circulating where you live, with the complete original pages kept as proof.
State portal or Delhi file
The online Change of Name and Surname application, or the signed file sent to Delhi with the fee on BharatKosh.
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 Gujarat and a clear reason for the change. It is signed by you and notarised by a Notary Public, or attested before a First Class Magistrate. Stamp paper values in Gujarat are modest, so ask your notary what is current rather than assuming a figure. Settle the exact spelling, spacing and middle name treatment at this stage, because everything after this has to match it letter for letter.
Step 2: publish in two newspapers, one Gujarati and one English
Publish the same notice in two dailies that genuinely circulate where you live: one Gujarati and one English. The Gujarati notice matters here, because several state institutions, universities and regional offices specifically expect to see one. The notice must carry your old name, new name, full address, age, father's or husband's name and the affidavit date, in exactly the form used on the affidavit. Keep the complete original printed pages with the dates clearly visible, not cuttings. Two notices usually cost Rs 800 to Rs 4,000.
Step 3A: the state route, on the Gujarat e-Gazette portal
Open the Change of Name and Surname service on the Gujarat e-Gazette portal, fill in your old name, new name, address and district or taluka exactly as they appear on the affidavit, and attach the documents the form asks for. The publication fee is non-refundable, so check every field before you submit rather than after: the gazette prints exactly what you typed. Once published, search the gazette on the same portal and download your notification.
Step 3B: the central route, file prepared for Delhi
For the Gazette of India, the Department's published guidelines list: the original newspaper page, a signed undertaking, two copies of the prescribed proforma typed and signed by you and two witnesses, a CD containing the print matter in MS Word without the witness portion, a certificate signed by you declaring that the hard copy and soft copy contents match, two self-attested passport size photographs and a self-attested photocopy of photo identity, and a request letter to the Controller of Publications with the fee. Keep every supporting document less than one year old.
Step 4: pay the central fee through BharatKosh only
The Central fee is paid only through bharatkosh.gov.in. Per the Department's own guidelines it is Rs 1,100 for an adult and Rs 1,700 for a minor in India, and Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 for Indians living abroad, with an additional Rs 250 where an adult adopts a name of another religion without changing religion. The guidelines state plainly that the fee varies each financial year and varies from case to case, so confirm the current figure on deptpub.gov.in before paying. It is not refundable, and no demand draft is involved.
Step 5: send the file and download your notification
Send the complete Central file by post or courier to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, or hand it in there yourself. Applications are entertained only from the applicant, personally or by post or courier, 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. Hard copies ceased on 1 October 2015, so 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.
The procedure and the notification, on video
How to change a name in Gujarat, step by step गुजरात में नाम कैसे बदलें
How to make a gazette notification in Gujarat गुजरात में राजपत्र अधिसूचना कैसे बनाएं
What documents are required for a name change in Gujarat?
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, or attested before a First Class Magistrate
- Aadhaar or other Government photo identity showing the old name, self-attested
- Address proof in Gujarat: electricity bill, water bill or rent agreement
- Complete original newspaper pages of both notices, Gujarati and English, dates visible
- Two self-attested passport size photographs
- The online application on the state portal, or the Central file below
What the Central route adds, and what your case may need
- Two copies of the prescribed proforma, typed, signed by you and two witnesses
- A CD containing the print matter in MS Word without the witness portion, and the certificate declaring hard and soft copies match
- A request letter to the Controller of Publications with the fee
- Marriage certificate, if the change follows a marriage
- Divorce decree, if the change follows a divorce
- Birth certificate of the child, where the applicant is a minor, with a parent or guardian applying
- Adoption papers, where relevant
- Deed attested by the Indian Embassy or Consulate, if you apply from abroad
- Departmental deed, if you are a Central Government employee
Documents required for a name change in Gujarat नाम परिवर्तन के लिए आवश्यक दस्तावेज़
What does a name change in Gujarat really cost?
Short answer: the Central fee is Rs 1,100 for an adult in India, 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 | Gujarat uses modest stamp paper values. Ask your notary what is current. |
| Two newspaper notices | Rs 800 to Rs 4,000 | One Gujarati daily and one English daily circulating where you live. |
| Gujarat e-Gazette fee | Non-refundable, shown on the portal | Check the current amount on the portal before submitting. Private figures disagree. |
| Central fee, adult in India | Rs 1,100 | On BharatKosh only. Add Rs 250 where an adult adopts a name of another religion without changing religion. |
| Central fee, minor in India | Rs 1,700 | Applies to anyone under 18. Also on BharatKosh. |
| Central fee, from abroad | Rs 3,500 adult, Rs 5,100 minor | The Department's published rate for Indians living abroad, before embassy attestation costs. |
| Applying from abroad, all in | 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 | A published gazette is a public record. Nobody should charge you to fetch it. |
| Realistic self-done total | Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000 | Depends on the route and on which newspapers you choose. |
| Documentadvisor assistance | Quoted per case | Charged separately from Government charges. Call 9540005002 for a fixed quote before you commit. |
How long does a name change take in Gujarat?
Short answer: a few weeks on the state route, 3 to 7 weeks on the Central route, and no paid fast track on either.
Day 1 to 2
The exact name fixed in writing, middle name treatment decided, documents collected, affidavit drafted and notarised.
Day 2 to 9
Notices booked in one Gujarati and one English daily. Publication follows each paper's schedule, so allow 2 to 7 days, then collect the complete pages.
State route, then a few weeks
The online application on the e-Gazette portal, then the portal's publication cycle. Complete applications usually finish within a few weeks.
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 about 30 to 45 days after the file arrives.
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.
Why do NRI applicants from Gujarat run into this more often?
Because foreign systems split a name at a different point than Indian ones, and Gujarat sends more people abroad than almost any other state.
Few states have a larger diaspora, and name mismatches surface far more often outside India than inside it. The usual trigger is the same every time: a passport that splits the name one way, a degree certificate that splits it another, and an immigration form that will accept only one. Nothing was wrong until three systems had to agree.
The Central Gazette is the right anchor for these cases, because Part IV is valid in every Indian state and recognised by embassies. A state notification, however convenient, will not carry the same weight at a foreign mission.
How it works from outside India
- Execute the deed and get it attested by the Indian Embassy or Consulate
- Publish the two notices in Gujarat as usual, in Gujarati and English
- Apply to the Department of Publication in Delhi by post or courier
- Family in Gujarat can send the file, but the papers must carry your own signature
- Download the published Part IV notification from egazette.gov.in, anywhere in the world
The fee is different from abroad
This is the detail almost every guide misses. The Department of Publication's published guidelines set a separate rate for Indians living abroad: Rs 3,500 for an adult and Rs 5,100 for a minor, against Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,700 inside India.
Budget around Rs 7,500 to Rs 9,000 all in, because embassy or consulate attestation and international courier sit on top of the Government fee. And remember the Department's own caveat that the fee varies each financial year.
Which parts of Gujarat do we serve?
Both routes run online and by post, so your district does not matter, and neither does your country. We support applicants across all 34 districts.
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 Gujarat 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.
- Gujarat e-Gazette
- The state gazette portal, carrying a dedicated Change of Name and Surname application and a separate birth date change service, with search and download after publication.
- DGPS
- The Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery at Gandhinagar, the nodal agency for printing and publishing Government of Gujarat gazettes, under the Industries and Mines Department.
- 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 Gujarat.
- Affidavit
- A written statement you swear is true, signed before a notary or attested before a First Class Magistrate, recording your old name, new name, parentage, address and the reason for the change.
- Proforma
- The prescribed application format the Department of Publication requires on the Central route, typed in two copies and signed by you and two witnesses.
- BharatKosh
- The Non-Tax Receipt Portal at bharatkosh.gov.in, the only accepted channel for the Central Gazette fee. Demand drafts were discontinued.
- Middle name
- In the common Gujarati pattern, the father's given name carried between the given name and the surname. How it is written, in full or as an initial, with or without the bhai or ben suffix, is what most document mismatches turn on.
- GSEB
- The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, which issues SSC and HSC certificates and runs its own correction process for names on them.
- 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 gazette 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 what foreign systems read. |
| 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 | GSEB, board and university records | Slowest of the lot. Each board and university runs its own correction process and charges its own fee. |
| 8 | Property, society, GST and business records | Through the registering authority and your society or firm, with the published notification as your proof. |
Aadhaar rules are on uidai.gov.in and passport re-issue rules on passportindia.gov.in.
Aadhaar first, then the rest
How to change a name in Aadhaar in Gujarat गुजरात में आधार में नाम कैसे बदलें
How to correct the father name in Aadhaar in Gujarat गुजरात में आधार में पिता का नाम कैसे ठीक करें
How to change a name in the driving licence in Gujarat गुजरात में ड्राइविंग लाइसेंस में नाम कैसे बदलें
Is a birth certificate mistake a gazette matter in Gujarat?
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. You apply to the body that issued the certificate: your Municipal Corporation, Nagarpalika 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 sell it that way are selling the wrong process. The Registrar route is usually both cheaper and faster.
Birth certificate corrections, on video
How to correct the father name in a birth certificate in Gujarat जन्म प्रमाण पत्र में पिता का नाम कैसे ठीक करें
Which special situations come up most in Gujarat?
Four cases we see constantly, starting with the one that decides your route for you.
Date of birth corrections
If your problem is a wrong date of birth rather than a wrong name, the route question answers itself. The Central Gazette does not publish date of birth changes at all, so an application there will not help you. Gujarat's e-Gazette portal does list a birth date change service, which makes it the only gazette route that exists for this. Be realistic about what it achieves: a gazette records your declaration and creates a public record; it does not by itself rewrite a school certificate, a board record or a birth certificate. Boards and the Registrar run their own correction processes, and date of birth changes are scrutinised far more closely than name changes, because so many entitlements depend on them.
GSEB and university records
A spelling on an SSC or HSC certificate that does not match the Aadhaar is one of the most common reasons people here start the process. The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board runs its own correction process, and universities have theirs. The gazette notification supports that application, especially for a bigger change, but the board's own procedure decides the outcome. Ask the board or university which gazette it accepts before choosing a route, since state records often accept the state notification.
Marriage, divorce and a minor child
A woman adding a husband's surname, or in many Gujarati families also changing the middle name to the husband's given name, 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. For a minor, a parent or legal guardian applies with the child's birth certificate; on the Central route the minor fee applies, and where a surname is changing after a divorce, expect to provide the other parent's consent or proof of sole custody.
Society, property and business records
A gazette notification does not update a property or society record by itself. Take the published notification to the registering authority, your co-operative housing society 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.
Class 10 marksheet and board records, on video
How to change a name in the class 10 marksheet in Gujarat गुजरात में 10वीं की मार्कशीट में नाम कैसे बदलें
Changing a name in the class 10 marksheet, walked through गुजरात में 10वीं की मार्कशीट में नाम कैसे बदलें
What changes for Government employees?
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 Gujarat 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 Gujarat notification is often what is asked for. Send us any departmental circular and we build the file around it.
How to change the name of a Government employee in Gujarat गुजरात में सरकारी कर्मचारियों का नाम कैसे बदलें
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 spelling that Aadhaar, PAN, bank, GSEB and passport records all follow
- A middle name written the same way on every document, including abroad
- A dated public record you can show any office that questions the change
- No lawyer and no court order needed, because this is an administrative process
What mistakes get Gujarat applications rejected?
Every one of these is avoidable, and on both routes the fee is not refundable.
In the file itself
- The middle name written in full on one paper and as an initial on another, or the bhai or ben suffix present in one place and missing in another. This is the single most common Gujarat failure
- Newspaper wording that does not match the affidavit, even by one letter or space
- Skipping the Gujarati notice and publishing only in English
- Submitting cuttings instead of complete original newspaper pages with the date visible
- Documents older than one year in the Central file
Wrong route, or bad advice
- Applying to the Central Gazette for a date of birth change, which it does not publish at all
- Typing a field wrongly on the state portal, where the fee is non-refundable and the gazette prints exactly what you entered
- Arranging a demand draft for the Central fee instead of paying on BharatKosh
- Collecting genealogical papers or a court order that no gazette office asked for
- Letting an agent claim they will submit the file for you, when the Department entertains applications only from the applicant
Should you do it yourself or take professional help?
Gujarat's state portal makes the local route genuinely self-serviceable, and plenty of people finish without paying anyone.
| 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, the portal application or the Delhi file, and the follow-up | About 30 minutes of sending scans and confirming the wording |
| The judgement call | Whether your problem is a name change, a date of birth correction or a Registrar matter, and which route each needs | We settle that first, before anything is drafted or paid for |
| The Gujarat specific risk | The middle name. How it is written decides whether your passport, visa and board records ever agree | We fix one written form with you in writing, and use it on every paper |
| Risk of paying twice | Both fees are non-refundable, and the state portal prints exactly what you typed | Every field and every line checked before anything is submitted |
| Best if | A plain change, one clear spelling, records all inside Gujarat | A passport or visa, an NRI case, a GSEB or university record, a date of birth question, or both routes together |
The value of help sits in the judgement calls, not the typing: which route your case actually needs, whether this is even a gazette matter, and how the middle name should be written so it survives a passport and a visa. On the Central route one mismatch means the file comes back after weeks with the fee gone, and on the state route the fee is non-refundable too. You can compare the whole range of name change services before deciding.
What the process really involves, on video
Changing a name in Gujarat, what the process really involves गुजरात में नाम कैसे बदलें
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 department's own guidelines
Not from a search result. The fees, the document list and the submission rule on this page come from the Department of Publication's published guidelines and the Gujarat portal, which is why they differ from what several ranking pages tell you.
We settle the route before you spend
State e-Gazette or Central, and whether your case is a name change at all rather than a date of birth or Registrar correction. Getting this wrong costs a non-refundable fee and six weeks.
One exact written form, agreed in writing
Middle name in full or as an initial, bhai or ben suffix in or out, spacing fixed. We send it to you letter by letter and wait for your written confirmation before anything is typed or booked.
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. You never repeat your case to somebody new.
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.
Document Services
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 including how you want the middle name written, your district and where the name has to be accepted, then send clear scans.
Schedule
We confirm the route and the exact written form with you in writing, draft the affidavit, then schedule the Gujarati and English notices and prepare either the portal application or the Delhi file.
Relax
You sign and send the file, and we track it to publication, then send you a written checklist of which record to update next. No travel, no queues, no wrong route.
The questions Google gets asked most about Gujarat
Does Gujarat have its own gazette for a name change?
Yes. The Gujarat e-Gazette portal carries a dedicated Change of Name and Surname application, run by the Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery at Gandhinagar under the Industries and Mines Department, with search and download after publication.
How can I change my name legally in Gujarat?
Make a notarised affidavit, publish the change in two newspapers, one Gujarati and one English, then apply either through the Change of Name and Surname service on the Gujarat e-Gazette portal or to the Gazette of India in Delhi with the fee paid on BharatKosh.
Which gazette should I choose, state or Central?
State for records that stay inside Gujarat, and for a date of birth change, which the Central Gazette does not publish at all. Central for a passport, a visa, a central Government job, a bank in another state or anything abroad. When in doubt, Part IV covers more ground.
Can I pay the Central Gazette fee by demand draft?
No. Payment is only through bharatkosh.gov.in. The demand draft route closed years ago, though several Gujarat guides still mention it.
What does the Central Gazette fee actually cost?
Per the Department of Publication's published guidelines, Rs 1,100 for an adult and Rs 1,700 for a minor in India, and Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 for Indians living abroad, with Rs 250 extra where an adult adopts a name of another religion without changing religion. The guidelines say the fee varies each financial year, so confirm before paying.
Can an agent submit my Central Gazette file for me?
No. The Department's guidelines state that an application is entertained only when submitted personally or sent by post or courier, and that no other channel is permissible, naming agents and advocates. An honest service prepares and checks your file, which you then sign and send yourself.
Start your Gujarat name change today
Tell us your old name, the complete new name you want including the middle name treatment, 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.
- 📞Call 9540005002
Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM - WhatsApp 9540005064
Send your scans here, it is the fastest way - ✉️support@documentadvisor.in
- 📍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 name change in Gujarat
The questions we are asked on the phone every day.
Does Gujarat have its own online gazette route?
What does the state gazette cost?
Can the Gujarat gazette change my date of birth?
Do I need a Gujarati newspaper notice?
My middle name is my father's name. How should I write it?
Why do NRI applicants face more problems?
How do I pay the Central Gazette fee?
Can an agent submit my Central Gazette application for me?
Do I really need a CD for the Central file?
Where is the Central Gazette office?
Is a gazette notification the same as a court order?
Can a gazette alone correct my GSEB certificate?
My birth certificate has a spelling mistake. Do I need the gazette?
What happens if I make a typing mistake on the state portal?
Are the Rs 999 offers real, and can I pay extra to publish faster?
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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.
- Gujarat e-Gazette portalThe state route, with the Change of Name and Surname service, a separate birth date change service, and gazette search and download after publication.
- Directorate of Government Printing and Stationery, GujaratThe nodal agency at Gandhinagar for printing and publishing Government of Gujarat gazettes, under the Industries and Mines Department, with its own FAQs.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 (PDF)Act 11 of 1960, assented 25 April 1960. Section 2 fixed the appointed day as 1 May 1960 and Section 3 formed Gujarat out of seventeen named districts of the State of Bombay.
- Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education BoardThe board that issues SSC and HSC certificates and runs its 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.
- Government of Gujarat official portalDepartment listings and district information for all 34 districts, grown from the seventeen the state was formed with in 1960.
The short version
Everything on this page in ten lines
- Gujarat has two real routes. The e-Gazette portal runs a dedicated Change of Name and Surname service online through Gandhinagar; the Gazette of India publishes Part IV from Civil Lines, Delhi 110054.
- Choose by where the name has to work. State for records inside Gujarat, Central for a passport, a visa, central jobs, banks elsewhere and anything abroad.
- Only the state route can help with a date of birth change. The Central Gazette does not publish date of birth changes at all.
- Notices go in one Gujarati and one English daily. Several Gujarat institutions specifically expect the Gujarati one.
- The middle name is the Gujarat specific trap. Decide in full or as an initial, bhai or ben in or out, before the affidavit is drafted, then never vary it.
- Central fee: Rs 1,100 adult and Rs 1,700 minor in India, Rs 3,500 and Rs 5,100 from abroad, plus Rs 250 in one specific case. On BharatKosh only, and never by demand draft.
- The Department's own guidelines say the fee varies each financial year, so confirm it before paying. Both routes are non-refundable.
- The guidelines also say applications are entertained only from the applicant, personally or by post or courier, and rule out agents and advocates by name.
- The published guidelines still list a CD containing the print matter in MS Word for the Central file, so prepare it.
- 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, the total cost and the timeline before you pay anything. Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, every Gujarat district, and NRI families abroad.