Gazette Corrigendum: How to Fix a Mistake in a Published Gazette Entry
Your name change was published and the entry is wrong. A letter transposed, a middle name dropped, the wrong father's name printed. It is not the disaster it feels like, but there is a clock on it. The department's own guidelines set a six-month window for applying for a corrigendum, and who pays depends on whose mistake it was. Here is how it works and what to do first.
A corrigendum is a correction notice published in the gazette that corrects an earlier entry. Apply to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, with your published entry, the file references and the corrected text. The department's notification guidelines state a corrigendum must be applied for within six months of publication. A printing error attracts no charge. An error you supplied does.
Gazette corrigendum at a glance
- What it is
- A correction notice in a later gazette issue, tied to the original entry
- The window
- Six months from the date of publication, per the department's guidelines
- Who pays
- Nobody, for a printing error. You, if your submitted text carried it
- What survives
- Both documents. The original is never deleted or rewritten
- Where to apply
- Controller of Publications, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054
- How to apply
- Personally, by post or courier. Agents are not a permissible channel
- The evidence
- Your published entry plus a copy of what you originally submitted
- Any payment
- On bharatkosh.gov.in, where a charge applies
- Timeline
- Broadly two to six weeks, in the weekly Part IV issues
- Meanwhile
- Tell every office holding the wrong copy, and do not update Aadhaar with it
Key points
- A corrigendum corrects the published entry. It does not delete or replace the original.
- The department's guidelines set a six-month window from the date of publication.
- If the department mis-set your text, there is no charge. If your application carried the error, charges apply.
- Both the original entry and the corrigendum stay on record, and that is normal.
- Do not start a fresh name change application to fix a spelling. That is a different, more expensive thing.
- Deal with any office that already acted on the wrong entry while the corrigendum is pending.
What a Gazette Corrigendum Actually Is
A corrigendum is a formal correction notice published in a later issue of the gazette. It identifies the earlier notification by its issue details and states what the entry should have said.
What it does. It puts the correct version on public record, tied to the original entry, so that anyone reading either one can see the true position.
What it does not do. It does not erase the original. Gazettes are a record of what was published, and published issues are not rewritten. Both documents exist, and when an institution asks for your gazette you produce both together.
That surprises people, and it should not. A marginal correction alongside an original entry is how official registers work generally, from birth registers upward, where Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 likewise corrects an erroneous entry by a marginal note beside the original rather than by rewriting it. The pairing is the proof, not a weakness in it.
A small aside on the word itself: in publishing, an erratum traditionally corrects a production error while a corrigendum corrects an author's error. The gazette uses corrigendum for both, but the same split survives in the charging rule below, where a printing error and a submitted error are treated differently.
What the Ranking Pages Get Wrong
We read what currently ranks for this search before writing. None of it answers the question, and some of it answers it wrongly.
They answer the opposite question
Nearly every ranking page is about using the gazette to fix a name in your documents: spelling correction services, gazette application guides, provider pitches. Somebody whose gazette itself printed wrong finds pages selling them the process that just went wrong for them. The corrigendum, the actual instrument for a wrong published entry, appears on none of them.
"A gazette is permanent and irrevocable, nothing can be done"
Half true, and the wrong half is the one that matters to you. Published issues are indeed never rewritten or withdrawn. But the department's own notification guidelines provide for a corrigendum, applied for within six months of publication, and the corrected position then sits on the public record beside the original. Permanent does not mean uncorrectable.
"Fee Rs 700 to 1,500, pay by demand draft"
The same outdated numbers follow this topic around. Where a fresh application genuinely is the answer, the adult fee is a fixed Rs 1,100, and every payment to this department, corrigendum charges included, goes through bharatkosh.gov.in. Demand drafts have not been accepted since 2018.
Why this matters
The gap has a real cost: people who cannot find the corrigendum route either give up on a fixable entry, or file a fresh name change to paper over it, creating a public record of a name they never used. The six-month window and the who-pays rule on this page are taken from the department's published guidelines, linked in the sources so you can verify both.
The Six-Month Window
The Department of Publication's guidelines for publishing notifications in the Gazette of India state that where a corrigendum is to be published by a party, it must be applied for within six months from the date of publication of the notification.
That is the clearest deadline anywhere in this subject and it appears on no other website.
What is not in doubt is the practical advice: do not sit on it. Whatever window applies to your case, it is running from the date your entry appeared, not from the date you noticed.
Whose Mistake Was It? That Decides Who Pays
The same guidelines draw a clear line.
Where the error occurred on the party's side, meaning the text you submitted carried the mistake, an amount as per the existing charges has to be deposited along with fresh sets of the corrigendum.
Where the error was in the government printing, meaning your submitted text was correct and it was set incorrectly, no charge is stated.
So the first thing to do, before you write to anyone, is to pull out your own file and check what you actually submitted. Get out your copies of:
- The proforma you sent, both copies if you kept them
- The soft copy you supplied
- Your undertaking
- The newspaper page
- The affidavit
If all of those carry the correct spelling and the published entry does not, that is a printing error and you should say so plainly in your application. If your own proforma carries the error, the charge is yours and there is no point arguing it.
Corrigendum, Fresh Entry, or Nothing at All?
Not every discrepancy needs a corrigendum. Work through this before applying.
| What is wrong | What you need |
|---|---|
| A letter or two wrong in your name, against a correct submission | Corrigendum, printing error |
| A letter or two wrong because your proforma carried it | Corrigendum, charges apply |
| Father's or husband's name wrong | Corrigendum |
| Address wrong but the name is right | Often nothing. Most institutions read the name, not the address. Ask before spending |
| The wrong new name entirely, not a typo | Speak to the department. This may need a fresh application rather than a corrigendum |
| You have changed your mind about the name | A fresh name change application, not a corrigendum |
| The entry is correct but a bank says the spelling does not match their record | Nothing to correct in the gazette. Fix the record that disagrees |
That last row matters. People sometimes apply for a corrigendum when the gazette is right and another document is wrong. Check which is which first, using our name and spelling correction guide.
How to Apply for a Corrigendum
- 1. Download your published entry from egazette.gov.in and note the issue date, the part and section, and the gazette or notification number. The department identifies your entry by those, not by your name.
- 2. Assemble your original file references, including your BharatKosh challan and any acknowledgement you received.
- 3. Write to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, setting out the published entry details, exactly what is wrong, exactly what it should say, and whether the error came from the printing or from your own submission.
- 4. Attach the evidence: a printout of the published entry, copies of your submitted proforma and soft copy text, the newspaper page and the affidavit. The guidelines are explicit that the published copy and a photocopy of what was originally submitted are required for a corrigendum to be issued.
- 5. Prepare fresh sets of the corrigendum text in the same form as the original submission, since the guidelines refer to fresh sets accompanying the application, and where English and Hindi sets apply, type them on separate sheets as the guidelines require.
- 6. Pay if it is your error, through bharatkosh.gov.in as before, and enclose the challan. Confirm the amount and the head on the portal or with the department rather than guessing.
- 7. Submit personally or by post or courier. As with any application to this department, agents and advocates are not a permissible channel. The Controller also reserves the right to reject material that is incomplete, vague or misleading, so write the correction plainly.
- 8. Watch the weekly issues at egazette.gov.in for the corrigendum to appear.
What It Costs
Confirm the applicable charge with the department before paying anything. Fee heads are revised from time to time, commonly each financial year, and a page cannot tell you the current figure for your specific case with confidence, so this one will not pretend otherwise.
| Situation | Charge |
|---|---|
| Error in government printing, your submission was correct | No charge stated in the guidelines |
| Error in the text you submitted | Existing charges, deposited with fresh sets of the corrigendum |
| Fresh name change application instead, where a corrigendum is not appropriate | Rs 1,100 for an adult, plus affidavit and newspaper |
| Postage or courier | Rs 50 to Rs 200 |
How Long It Takes
| Stage | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Checking your own submitted file | Same day | This decides the printing-error question |
| Writing and assembling the application | 1 to 2 days | Entry details, evidence, fresh sets |
| Reaching the department | Same day to a week | In person in Delhi, or Speed Post |
| Corrigendum appearing in the weekly issues | Roughly 2 to 6 weeks | Longer if the department raises a query |
| Downloading the corrigendum | Same day | Free from egazette.gov.in, no attestation |
There is no online tracker. Search the weekly issues at egazette.gov.in, or telephone during public dealing hours with your original gazette details to hand.
What to Do While You Wait
This is the part that actually causes damage, and no other page addresses it.
Your wrong entry may already be in circulation. If you gave the gazette copy to a bank, an employer, a university or the passport office, they may have acted on it, and a correction that arrives after they updated their records leaves you with a fresh mismatch.
Do these now, not after:
- Tell every office you have given the copy to. A short email saying a corrigendum has been applied for, with the details, protects you and is usually enough for them to hold the file.
- Do not update Aadhaar with the wrong spelling. You have only two name updates in a lifetime, and spending one on an error you are already correcting is the worst outcome on this page.
- Pause any passport, PAN or bank application that relies on the wrong entry, rather than letting it go through and correcting two records instead of one.
- Keep the sequence intact. Once the corrigendum publishes, produce both documents together, in date order, wherever the gazette is asked for.
If You Miss the Six-Month Window
Speak to the department directly rather than assuming the position, because a page cannot tell you how a specific late case will be treated.
What you should not do is quietly start a fresh name change application to paper over the problem. A second entry changing your name from the misspelt version to the correct one creates a public record saying you were once known by a name you never used, and that is harder to explain later than a corrigendum.
If the department cannot help within the window that applies to your case, take advice before filing anything new.
Errors the Department Will Not Treat as a Corrigendum
- A change of mind. Wanting a different name now is a fresh application.
- A name that was wrong in your affidavit and newspaper notice too. If the error runs through the whole file consistently, you did not have a printing error and you may be looking at a fresh application. Ask.
- A dispute with a third party about which name is correct.
- A mismatch where the gazette is right and another document is wrong. Correct the other document.
How to Never Need One
Every corrigendum on this page traces back to a check that was not done. Three habits prevent almost all of them.
Read the proforma aloud before you sign it. Letter by letter, including your father's or husband's name. Reading silently is how the eye skips a transposition.
Compare all four documents side by side before the envelope is sealed: the affidavit, the newspaper page, the proforma and the soft copy text. They must be identical, letter for letter and space for space.
Check the published entry the week it appears, not months later when a bank rejects it. The window runs from publication, and the person most likely to spot an error in your name is you.
Our apply for name change guide sets out the whole file item by item, including the two requirements most applicants miss.
Mistakes People Make After a Wrong Entry
Timing and instrument mistakes
- Waiting. The clock runs from publication.
- Filing a fresh name change instead of a corrigendum, creating a public record of a name they never used.
- Updating Aadhaar with the wrong spelling and burning one of two lifetime updates.
- Losing the original gazette details, which is how the department identifies the entry.
Evidence mistakes
- Not checking their own submitted file before claiming a printing error.
- Not telling the offices that already hold the wrong copy.
- Assuming a service provider will handle it silently. Ask them for the copies they submitted.
Corrigendum Help From Any State
The application goes to one address in Delhi and travels by post from anywhere, so the process is identical from every state below. If you are in Delhi, go in person.
The wider process is in our name change process in India guide, and the full price list is on name change service in India.
Get help with a corrigendum
All contact options and office directions are on our contact page.
Send us your published gazette entry and, if you have them, copies of what was originally submitted. We will tell you whether it is a printing error or a submission error, whether a corrigendum is the right instrument, and what it should cost. If your own file shows the error came from your side, we will tell you that plainly rather than let you argue a case you cannot win.
- 📞Call 9540003316
Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM - WhatsApp 9540005064
Your published entry and the original file copies are enough to start - ✉️support@namechange.in
- 📍Building No. 31/12, 1st Shop, Street No. 1, Hardev Nagar, near Burari Metro Station Pillar No. 337, Delhi 110084
Gazette Corrigendum: The Questions People Ask Most
What is a gazette corrigendum?
A correction notice published in a later gazette issue that corrects an earlier entry. It sits alongside the original rather than replacing it.
Is there a time limit to apply for a corrigendum?
The department's notification guidelines state a corrigendum must be applied for within six months of publication. Confirm the position for a Part IV personal entry with the department.
Who pays for a gazette corrigendum?
Where the error was in the printing, no charge is stated. Where the text you submitted carried the error, the existing charges apply along with fresh sets.
Does the wrong entry get deleted?
No. Published issues are not rewritten. You produce the original and the corrigendum together.
Can I just do a fresh name change instead?
You can, but it creates a public record showing a name you never used. Ask the department about a corrigendum first.
How do I identify my entry when applying?
By the issue date, the part and section, and the gazette or notification number, all shown on the copy you download from egazette.gov.in.
Will institutions accept a corrected entry?
Yes, when you produce both documents together in date order. Tell any office that already holds the wrong copy as soon as you apply.
What do I do about a mistake in a gazette notification?
Apply for a corrigendum, within the window, with your original submission as evidence of whose error it was.
My gazette name spelling is wrong. Whose fault is it?
Check your own submitted proforma first. That determines whether the charge falls on you.
What is the corrigendum application format?
A letter to the Controller of Publications giving the published entry details, the error, the correct text, and fresh sets of the corrigendum.
Can a gazette notification be cancelled?
Published issues are not withdrawn or rewritten. Corrections are published as separate notices.
What are the gazette correction charges?
No charge stated for a printing error. Existing charges apply where the submitted text carried the error. Confirm the current figure with the department.
Frequently Asked Questions on Gazette Corrigendum
My gazette entry has one wrong letter. Is it usable?
Where do I apply?
What is the time limit?
Do I need a new affidavit?
Do I need a fresh newspaper notice?
Who identifies my entry?
What if my service provider made the error?
Can an agent apply for the corrigendum for me?
How long does publication take?
Will I be told when it publishes?
Should I update Aadhaar meanwhile?
What if the address is wrong but the name is right?
What if the whole file carried the wrong name?
Does the corrigendum need attestation?
Do I keep the original entry?
Can I apply by email?
How do I avoid this next time?
People also search for: mistake in gazette notification, gazette name spelling wrong, corrigendum application format, can a gazette be cancelled, gazette correction charges, gazette erratum, wrong name published in gazette, gazette correction after publication.
Official Sources for This Page
The window and the charge rule are checkable. Check them.
- Department of Publication, Guidelines to Publish Notification in the Gazette of IndiaThe six-month corrigendum window, the rule that charges apply where the error occurred on the party's side while a printing error attracts none, the fresh-sets and separate English and Hindi sheets requirements, and the Controller's right to reject incomplete or vague material. Note that this document governs notifications in Part III Section IV, so confirm the position for a Part IV personal entry with the department.
- Department of Publication, Guidelines for Change of Name for Adult (Major)The original application requirements and the line that agents and advocates are not a permissible channel.
- The Gazette of India, e-Gazette portalDownloading your published entry and the issue details you will need to quote.
- BharatKosh, the Non-Tax Receipt PortalAny charge that applies.
- Civil Registration System, Office of the Registrar General of IndiaSection 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, the marginal-entry principle that official registers correct beside the original rather than by rewriting it.
Final Word on Gazette Corrigendum
Everything on this page in ten lines
- A wrong gazette entry feels like the whole exercise has been wasted. It has not.
- A corrigendum is the ordinary instrument for this: a correction notice in a later issue, tied to the original by its issue details.
- Both documents live together on the record, produced in date order, and institutions accept the pair.
- The department's guidelines set a six-month window from publication, so apply fast, from the date it appeared, not the date you noticed.
- Who pays follows whose mistake it was: a printing error attracts no stated charge, an error in your submitted text does.
- Check your own file first. The proforma and soft copy you submitted decide the printing-error question before anyone in Delhi does.
- While it is pending, tell every office holding the wrong copy, and never update Aadhaar with a spelling you are already correcting.
- Do not paper over a wrong entry with a fresh name change: that publishes a record of a name you never used.
- Prevention is three habits: read the proforma aloud, compare all four documents side by side, and check the published entry the week it appears.
- How easily it goes is decided by speed, by what your own file shows, and by who you told before they acted on the wrong copy.
Wrong entry published? Move before the window does.
Send your published gazette entry and whatever you have of the original file to 9540005064 on WhatsApp, or call 9540003316. We will tell you whether it was a printing error or a submission error, plainly.