How to Change Your Name After Your Wedding in India?

Introduction

Anywhere in the world, Marriage is a life-changing decision. It places responsibilities on the husband as well as on wife. Whereas, in India, the responsibilities of the Husband is little more than of wife. While she has to leave her parents home and start living with the Husband’s family, she is also supposed to change her name. Indian law does not mandate name change for anyone. It is upon total discretion of the parties to change their name or not.  Name changing is a simple procedure. And it is common for all the states.

Before moving further, it must be noted that; Law allows a person to change his/her name only once during the lifetime. So before taking such decisions, one must be sure about it.

Registration of Marriage in India

Before applying for the name change, a person needs to acquire a marriage certificate. For that, registration of marriage is required. In short, registration of marriage provides a Marriage Certificate. You can download the form from the state government’s site and submit it at Sub Registrar’s Office. You need to attach photocopies of the documents like PAN card, AADHAR card etc., whose list you can find on the government’s Website. Once the marriage registration is complete, you will get the marriage certificate.

Read Also: Women, No Need to Change Your Name on Passport After Marriage

Procedure to Change Name After Marriage in India

After the Marriage Certificate, the procedure is straightforward but it may take some time. As mentioned above, it is not mandatory by law and you can change your first name only once.

• Making Of Affidavit

An affidavit is a written statement confirmed by Oath and Affirmation. For the name change, you need to create an affidavit with your detail and your wish to change the name. You need to provide details like your maiden name, proposed new name, husband’s name, and the new address. Also, with the affidavit, you need to supply the copy of the Marriage certificate. Moreover, you need to self attest the document with your recent photographs. Once the affidavit is complete, Print the document on an Rs. 10 stamp paper.

• Notarize the Affidavit

After printing the Affidavit, you need to get it Notarize. You can visit a Notary to get this done. A notary is a person who has the authority of government to witness signature on documents. In case a person is living abroad, the same can be done from the embassy. Once the affidavit is notarized, you are almost done with the name change.

• Publication of Name Change

After the Notarize, you need to get proof of your name change. Means, you need to get a statement from the third party stating that you have changed your name. Even if the statement is from the third party, you need to submit proclamation of the same yourself. For this, one has to do the following two things:-

1. Place an Advertisement– Publish an Ad in two daily locals regarding the same, that you have changed your name in the presence of the notary. Whereas one Ad should be in the local language daily and others in the English language. Every newspaper has designated columns for such kind of Ads. Once done, keep a few copies of such Ads for future reference.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Sample-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    “ I, (insert your maiden full name) married to (insert your husband’s full name), on (insert wedding date in DD-MM-YYYY format) residing at (insert your current permanent address) have changed my name to (insert your new name) with Affidavit dated (insert date of affidavit) sworn before Notary (insert name and city of the notary)”                                 
2. Gazette Publication– You need to make an announcement of name change in the Gazette of India. Gazette of India is an official government journal and it is published by the government. However, you need to submit an application form to the Department of Publication, which works under the Ministry of Urban Development. Moreover, you need to attach the Affidavit of the name change with the Application.

At this point, you can notify all the institutions, such as your bank, college, and workplace, that your name has changed after marriage.

Conclusion

Changing a name after marriage in India is a simple process and it has its own benefits. Name changing can be an exciting and important part of the marriage. But one must do it the right way to avoid headaches. One must take help of a family law attorney while changing the name. Name change after the marriage has several effects. Name change after marriage helps in the documentation. While purchasing a joint property, it is easy to prove the Husband-wife relationship with a common surname with husband. Also, it is less complicated for children to write two surnames after the marriage or choosing the one.