Name Change Procedure After Marriage in india

Changing your Surname after Marriage “Now, don’t roll your eyes. I know this is the second time I’m changing my name, but I promise it’s the last. I am so excited to be honoring my husband by taking his surname and I wanted to share it with all of you. So, as of 2006, you’ll have to get used to me as Bethany Galeotti. Perhaps even sooner, as you may notice the change in the One Tree Hill opening credits.” - Bethany Joy Galeotti, American actress and singer

 A woman’s life changes drastically after marriage, and if she’s willing, so does her surname. 

The Indian Law states that a woman is not legally bound to take her husband’s surname after marriage and has a right to choose between her maiden surname and husband’s surname. The Law also states that this is her personal choice. These days however, women, especially the urban professional kind are resorting to double-barreled surnames which essentially accommodate both their maiden and husband’s surname. This trend is further endorsed by celebrities such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Malaika Arora Khan among others. Surname change after Marriage Then there are those who juggle both the maiden surname and the husband’s surname and sometimes even use both of them together. I for instance, still use my maiden surname legally but switch to my dual surname for representing myself at informal occasions. I refer to my maiden surname when it comes when dealing with the law, banks, office, etc. 

but when it comes to representing myself on websites or writing my name on a gift tag, I suffix my husband’s surname to my maiden surname. And I must confess that this has caused a major identity crisis ever since I’ve been married, which is 5yrs now. Switching on and off between both surnames and carrying a marriage certificate everywhere is both problematic and irksome. So, a few days back I finally decided to assume my marital surname legally and resolve my dual identity issue. But then it’s easier said than done when it comes to dealing with Government Offices. 

So, I did some home work on the process of changing my maiden surname to post marital surname. Not surprisingly, the whole name change game is quite tedious but then it given its importance it is not that difficult. For the benefit of all those happily married women who wish to change to their surname after marriage, here is a step by step procedure:

 1. Marriage Certificate A marriage certificate is a pre requisite for adopting your husband’s surname as it serves as the proof of the legal existence of your marriage. A marriage certificate can be obtained from the State Office of the Registrar of Marriage. However this process differs from state to state and sometimes even city to city. This procedure can take anywhere between 7-days to up to 3-months and will cost you a nominal registration fee. You are required to submit Government Issued ID Cards, Proof of Marriage (Wedding Invitation, Photographs) and generally need a few witnesses to testify. 

 2. Application for Name Change Request Once you receive the marriage certificate, you can apply for a Name Change Request at the Office of State Government Gazette. The Office will include your new name in the official name change announcements in a local newspaper and hence you will again be charged a nominal fee for the same. A copy of this advertisement would suffice to serve as a legal document for your new surname. However there exists an alternative method in case you do not want to spend your time haggling with State Government’s Gazette Office. A Public Notary also has the authority to issue a Joint Notarized Affidavit that will result in a legal name change. You will have to present the notary with all your personal and marriage details along with a your wedding photograph. This is an equally valid document. 

 3. New PAN Card Having secured a legal proof of your name change, the next thing to do in the transformation of your legal identity is to have your PAN Card (Permanent Account Number) reflect the name change. For this you will have to make a fresh application for the change of surname. The new PAN Card will bear your new name but have the same PAN Number as earlier. Please ensure that you do not apply for a new PAN number altogether as having more than one PAN Number is a legally punishable offence. 

 4. New Passport The Passport is the single most important Government approved ID and it is important that it reflects your legal name. Changing the surname in the passport requires you to handover your original passport, a copy of your marriage certificate and your husband’s passport to the Passport Office. This procedure can easily take over a month. When I had gotten married, my passport naturally beared my maiden name. So when I had to relocate to Denmark with my husband, I had to submit my marriage certificate for every legal formality for not having gotten my surname changed on the passport. To add to that, I had to keep a copy of both, my Marriage Certificate and my husband’s passport besides carrying my original passport wherever I went in a foreign land. To avoid all these hassles, it is advisable to get your name changed on your passport. For more details > www.passport.gov.in/cpv/checklist.htm

 5. Application for a Surname Change request in Banks If you wish to update your existing bank account with your husband’s surname, then you will be required to give a surname change request in your bank as well. You can ask you bank to give you detailed information on the procedure and necessary documents to do the same. Generally both Private and Public Banks will expedite the procedure in a matter of days upon submission of necessary documents. 

 6. Miscellaneous Surname Change Requests You will need to apply for a surname change request in following documents as well: Driving license Voters ID card Credit card Loan Insurance Property Investment 7. Informing the Local Authorities and Institutions You must also update your new surname with your: Local Municipal Authority Place of Employment Children’s school Residential Society Other Utility Service Providers It is a common custom worldwide to for women to assume their husband’s surname after marriage. However it is solely up to them to decide what surname they want to retain and it is not mandatory but only advisable to maintain homogeny across all your documents and have a single legal identity. Tags: birth surname, changing surname after marriage, changing surname after matrimony, double barreled surname, dual surname, husband's surname, maiden surname, marital surname, married surname, spouse's surname, Surname after marriage This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2012 at 12:24 am and is filed under Marriage Experience, Marriage Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Once the perfect wedding ceremony has finished and husband/wife return from their beautiful honeymoon - it is time to start settling into your new happily married life. For the wife amongst other changes, this could also mean a change of surname (or adding a middle name, as is becoming a statement in India's new age society)! Changing your name sounds a lot easier than the actual process is in reality and most married couples don't understand the legal ways in which this could be done. EasyLaw tries to give you an overview of the two procedures that can be followed to get the name / surname of a wife changed after marriage. 

 [A]. WHEN ONLY CHANGE IN SURNAME IS REQUIRED In cases where only the surname of wife is to be changed to husband's surname. For example: when you want your surname to be replaced by your husband’s surname. For example: Sunita Kumari (Maiden Name) to Sunita Gupta (Post marriage New Name). Marriage Registration Certificate + Joint Notarized Affidavit: The above can be achieved using the marriage registration certificate and a joint notarized affidavit. To utilise this option to change your maiden name, you will need to follow the below mentioned steps: Get your marriage registered - We have already written a detailed article on this in our blog and you can read the procedure for marriage registration in Delhi under Hindu Marriage Act HERE. Get a joint affidavit sworn by both husband and wife regarding change of name duly attested by notary public. EasyLaw covers this under its Marriage Registration Package. Now you can use the marriage registration certificate along with the joint notarized affidavit to change your name in your Passport / Bank account / PAN / Driving license / etc. individually.

 [B]. WHEN A CHANGE IN FIRST NAME OR VARIATION IN NAME IS REQUIRED What can a married couple do if they discover belatedly that the wife's name change was not done during their marriage registration or if they prefer some further variation. In all such cases, the respective marriage registrars may allow for procedure similar as above (please enquire locally). In case no such change is allowed for through marriage registration, one can always take recourse to the civil procedure of name change through advertisement in government gazette. The following name change procedure can always be used when a change in first name or variation in name is required. For example: When you want any change / variation in your name such as Sunita Kumari to Sunita K. Gupta or Sunita Kumari Gupta or Savvi Gupta. 

Official Advertisement in the Government Gazette: This process usually entails preparing / obtaining the following before filling application for publication in the Gazette: Advertisement of change of name in a leading local daily newspaper with particulars such as Old Name, New Name, Father’s / Husband’s name and the residential address. Please retain original copies of this advertisement. (full page of newspaper where the advertisement appeared and not just the cutting) Original affidavit duly attested by Notary / Oath Commissioner/ First Class Magistrate showing therein full details of father’s / husband’s name along with residential address before taking oath in the affidavit. In case of Indians married and living abroad, she will need the affidavit to be duly attested by the respective Indian Embassy or Indian High Commission. A printed sheet specifying old name, new name, fathers / mothers /husbands name, employers name and residence address, which has been signed by wife in her old name in the presence of 2 witnesses (who sign the document as well). Identity proof for wife such as birth certificate, ration card, election voter ID, passport (of old name) Two Passport size photographs As the above documentation is in place, the wife can apply for change of name advert to be published in the Gazette and this takes on average 35-45 days. Three original copies of gazette are given armed with which change in name is legally established. Once you have the copies of the Gazette, you can attach the copy of the Gazette, as proof of your new name to get all your other proofs changed to your new name.