Name Change and Correction in Passport: Two Newspapers, One Annexure, and the Rule That Catches People Out
If you have just been through a gazette name change, you published one newspaper notice because that is what the Department of Publication asks for. The passport office asks for two, and not the two you might guess. That single mismatch sends more applications back than anything else on this page. Here is what a passport name change or correction actually needs, who is allowed to attest your affidavit, and what it costs.
Passport Mein Naam Kaise Badlein: Watch, Then Count Your Newspapers
A few minutes in plain Hindi on changing the name in your passport. Watch it, then read the rule below that sends more files back than any other: the affidavit route asks for two newspaper notices, and not the two most websites describe.
Tap to play. The video opens in a privacy-friendly player, and this page adds the two-newspaper rule as the annexure states it and who may attest the affidavit.
Both a change and a correction are handled as a reissue. Apply on passportindia.gov.in, select reissue and change in existing personal particulars, book an appointment at a Passport Seva Kendra, and attend with your old passport, your supporting document and the prescribed affidavit. Fees start at around Rs 1,500 for a 36 page booklet.
Passport name change and correction at a glance
- Application type
- A reissue, under change in existing personal particulars, for both cases
- The notices
- Two newspapers on the affidavit route: your residing area and your permanent address area
- The affidavit
- The specimen deed poll annexure, on non-judicial stamp paper of minimum value
- Who attests
- A Judicial or Executive Magistrate, a Notary Public, or a Consular Officer abroad
- After marriage
- The marriage certificate normally does it, no notices needed
- Spouse's name
- A separate endorsement application, now on a joint declaration
- Fees
- Around Rs 1,500 for 36 pages, Rs 2,000 for 60, confirmed at payment
- Tatkaal
- Generally not available for a major name change
- The order
- Aadhaar, then PAN, then passport
- The number
- A reissued passport carries a new number. The old booklet is cancelled
Key points before you apply
- A name change and a spelling correction are both reissue applications, not fresh ones.
- The affidavit route asks for two newspaper notices, one where you live and one covering your permanent address.
- The affidavit must be attested by a Judicial or Executive Magistrate, a Notary Public, or a Consular Officer at an Indian Mission.
- Adding a spouse's name is a different application from changing your own name.
- Update Aadhaar and PAN before the passport, not after.
- Tatkaal is generally not available for a name change, so plan around normal processing.
Change or Correction? Both Are a Reissue
People get stuck at the first screen, so this is worth stating plainly.
Whether you are changing your name entirely or fixing one wrong letter, you apply for a reissue of the passport and select change in existing personal particulars. You are not applying for a fresh passport, and you do not surrender your old one until the counter asks for it.
The difference between the two cases is not the application type. It is the supporting document you produce.
The Two-Newspaper Rule, and Why It Differs From the Gazette
Here is the mismatch nobody explains.
The gazette route asks for the notice in one daily local leading newspaper. That is what the Department of Publication's guidelines require for the application to Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, for the Gazette of India, Part IV, and it is what you will have done if you already have a gazette entry.
The passport route, where you are relying on the affidavit rather than a marriage certificate, asks for advertisements in two reputed newspapers: one local newspaper of the area in which you are residing, and a second in a newspaper of the area of your permanent address.
Read that again, because it is not the "one English, one Hindi" split most websites describe. It is a geographic split, not a language one. The specimen affidavit itself sets no language requirement.
| Point | Gazette route | Passport affidavit route |
|---|---|---|
| How many notices | One | Two |
| Which papers | One daily local leading newspaper | One where you reside, one covering your permanent address |
| The split | Not applicable | Geographic, not by language |
| What you submit | The full newspaper page with the file | The original newspapers at the appointment |
What this means in practice. If you are doing a gazette change and a passport reissue, publish both notices at the start. One page satisfies the gazette requirement and both together satisfy the passport office. Doing the gazette first with a single notice and discovering the passport rule afterwards costs you a second round of booking and another wait.
What the Ranking Pages Get Wrong
We read what currently ranks for this search before writing this page, and checked the claims against the specimen affidavit itself. Four problems repeat.
"Two newspapers, one English and one local language"
Repeated across page one and not what the annexure says. The specimen affidavit's own note requires one paper of the area in which you are residing and a second of the area of your permanent address, with the original newspapers submitted at the application. It is a geographic rule. No language is prescribed anywhere in it.
Nobody repeats who may attest
The annexure is specific: the deed poll is signed and attested before a Magistrate, a Notary Public, or a Consular Officer at an Indian Mission abroad, on non-judicial stamp paper of minimum value. Ranking pages say "get an affidavit made" as if any witness would do, and files come back for exactly this.
Tatkaal presented as an option
Guides list Tatkaal fees beside the normal slab as if a name change could ride it. Tatkaal is reported as generally unavailable for a major change of name, which goes through the normal track with police verification. If a visa date or job start depends on the new booklet, plan on normal processing and confirm your specific case at the Kendra.
Adding a spouse's name conflated with changing your own
Since the joint-declaration relaxation, pages have merged the two. Adding a spouse's name is an endorsement, now possible on a joint declaration with a joint photograph. Changing your own name is a reissue with changed particulars and its own documents. Removing a spouse's name after divorce is a third thing again, on the decree.
The Affidavit and Who Can Attest It
The prescribed affidavit for this is the specimen affidavit for change in name, deed poll or sworn affidavit, long published as Annexure E, executed on non-judicial stamp paper of minimum value. In it you declare that you wholly renounce, relinquish and abandon the use of your former name or surname, that you assume the new one, and that you authorise others to address you by it. If that wording sounds familiar from our government employee guide, it should: the official deed for government servants runs on the same renunciation formula.
Who may attest it is the part almost no page repeats, and it is stricter than a routine affidavit:
- A Judicial Magistrate
- An Executive Magistrate
- A Notary Public
- A Consular Officer at an Indian Mission abroad
Which Documents for Which Situation
| Your situation | What you normally produce |
|---|---|
| Surname change after marriage | Marriage certificate, or the joint declaration where that route applies |
| Return to maiden name after divorce | Decree of divorce |
| Full legal name change | Gazette notification, plus the affidavit and two newspaper notices |
| Spelling correction | Supporting documents carrying the correct spelling, with the affidavit where the passport office asks for it |
| Minor's name | Birth certificate, with both parents' consent as the passport rules require |
| Applying from abroad | The same, with the affidavit attested by a Consular Officer at your mission |
For a routine surname change after marriage, the marriage certificate normally does the work and the newspaper notices are not required. The affidavit and advertisements belong to the broader name change route, and the gazette notification for that route costs Rs 1,100 for an adult, paid on BharatKosh, per our apply for name change guide. If the gazette PDF you plan to produce itself carries an error, fix that first through a gazette corrigendum rather than carrying the mismatch into your passport file. On a minor's birth certificate, an erroneous entry is corrected at the Registrar by marginal note under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, before it anchors the passport application.
Adding a Spouse's Name Is Not the Same Application
Worth its own section, because the two have been conflated across the web since the documentation was relaxed.
Adding your spouse's name to your passport is an endorsement. The Ministry of External Affairs now allows a joint declaration signed by both spouses, with a joint photograph, in place of a marriage certificate.
Changing your own name is a reissue with change in personal particulars, and it needs the documents in the table above.
Removing a spouse's name after a divorce is a third thing again, and it needs the decree. A joint declaration cannot do it, for the obvious reason that it would need the signature of the person you have just divorced.
Our name change after marriage and name change after divorce guides cover each side.
What It Costs
| Booklet and scheme | Reported fee |
|---|---|
| 36 pages, normal | Around Rs 1,500 |
| 60 pages, normal | Around Rs 2,000 |
| Tatkaal supplement, where available | Around Rs 2,000 extra |
| Minor, under 15, 36 pages | Lower slab applies |
Unlike the gazette fee heads, which move commonly each financial year, passport fee slabs are revised on their own schedule, and the exact slab depends on your booklet size, validity and applicant category. Confirm the amount with the fee calculator on passportindia.gov.in at the point of payment. Your affidavit, stamp paper, notary and newspaper costs sit on top of this.
Tatkaal: Usually Not Available for This
Plan around this rather than discovering it late.
Tatkaal is reported to be generally unavailable for a major change of name, which has to go through the normal track. If a visa appointment or a job start date depends on the new passport, build in normal processing time and do not assume you can buy your way past the queue.
If your case is urgent, ask your Passport Seva Kendra directly what applies to your specific application rather than relying on a general statement, including this one.
How to Apply, Step by Step
- 1. Do Aadhaar and PAN first. See the next section for why.
- 2. Publish your newspaper notices if you are on the affidavit route, and keep the full original pages.
- 3. Execute the affidavit in the prescribed annexure, attested by one of the officers listed above.
- 4. Register on passportindia.gov.in and start a reissue application.
- 5. Select change in existing personal particulars, then the name field.
- 6. Fill the new name exactly as it appears on your gazette notification or marriage certificate, spacing included.
- 7. Pay and book an appointment at your nearest Passport Seva Kendra. Slots move, so book as soon as the payment clears.
- 8. Attend with originals and photocopies: old passport, the supporting document, the affidavit, the newspaper pages, and your updated Aadhaar and PAN.
- 9. Keep your application reference number and track it on the portal.
Do Aadhaar and PAN First
This is the ordering rule that saves a second application.
Your passport application is checked against your other identity records. If your Aadhaar and PAN still carry the old name while your passport application carries the new one, you have introduced a mismatch at exactly the moment somebody is looking for one.
So the order is Aadhaar, then PAN, then passport. Our name change in Aadhaar guide covers the two-update lifetime limit that makes the Aadhaar step worth thinking about carefully, and the PAN card correction guide covers which portal to use.
Timeline and Police Verification
| Stage | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Aadhaar and PAN updates first | Days to two weeks | The ordering rule above |
| Newspaper notices and affidavit | 2 to 5 days | Both notices at the start if a gazette is also planned |
| Appointment at the Kendra | Slot dependent | Book as soon as payment clears |
| Processing and police verification | Roughly 1 to 4 weeks | Verification is the variable, longer after a recent move |
| Dispatch of the new booklet | By Speed Post | A reissued passport carries a new number |
A fresh police verification is commonly required for a change of name even where your last passport was recently issued. That verification is the variable. It depends on your local police station, your address history and whether you have moved recently. If you have changed address since your last passport, expect the longer end of the range.
Applying From Abroad
The same application, submitted through your Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate, or its outsourced centre.
The advantage abroad is that a Consular Officer at the Indian Mission can attest your affidavit, which the annexure expressly permits and which avoids any question about foreign notarisation or apostille. Note that missions publish their own annexure variants with local adaptations, so use the version your mission provides.
The disadvantage is time. Appointment availability and courier legs at both ends mean an overseas application usually takes longer than one filed in India. Our NRI name change guide covers the wider sequence, including the Rs 3,500 gazette fee that applies to Indian citizens living abroad.
If Your Application Is Held
Common causes and what each means:
- Documents inconsistent with each other. The name on the affidavit, the notices and the application must match letter for letter.
- Only one newspaper notice where the affidavit route required two.
- Affidavit attested by someone outside the permitted list.
- Aadhaar or PAN still carrying the old name.
- Police verification pending on an address you have recently left.
- An outdated annexure format downloaded from a blog rather than the portal.
Ask at the Passport Seva Kendra or your Regional Passport Office what the recorded reason is, fix that specific point, and submit the missing document rather than starting a new application.
Official channels for a held file
The Passport Seva National Call Centre runs on 1800-258-1800, toll free, with citizen service executives from 8 AM to 10 PM and automated IVRS support around the clock. Application status also comes by SMS: send STATUS followed by your file number to 9704100100, or use the mPassport Seva app. For anything the call centre cannot resolve, the escalation runs through your Passport Seva Kendra to the Regional Passport Office, and Passport Seva also answers on X at @passportsevamea.
Mistakes People Make
Notice and affidavit mistakes
- Publishing one newspaper notice because the gazette only asked for one.
- Publishing in English and Hindi when the annexure asks for a geographic split rather than a language one.
- Getting the affidavit attested by an ordinary witness instead of a Magistrate, Notary or Consular Officer.
- Downloading an annexure from a blog rather than the portal.
- Trimming the newspaper page instead of keeping it whole.
Sequence and expectation mistakes
- Applying for the passport before Aadhaar and PAN.
- Assuming Tatkaal is available and booking travel around it.
- Confusing adding a spouse's name with changing your own.
Passport Name Change Help From Any State
Passport Seva Kendras run nationwide and the rules are the same everywhere, so the questions that matter, which route, how many notices and in which papers, and what order, are identical from every state below.
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 your passport name change
All contact options and office directions are on our contact page.
Tell us what is changing, whether you already hold a gazette notification, and where you live. We will tell you whether you need the affidavit route or whether your marriage certificate will do, how many newspaper notices to book, and the order to do everything in.
If you are running a gazette change and a passport reissue together, we will set the newspaper notices up so one round of publication serves both files.
- 📞Call 9540003316
Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM - WhatsApp 9540005064
What is changing and where you live is 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
Passport Name Change: The Questions People Ask Most
How many newspaper advertisements do I need?
Two on the affidavit route: one local newspaper where you reside and one in the area of your permanent address. That is a geographic split, not a language one.
Who can attest the affidavit?
A Judicial Magistrate, an Executive Magistrate, a Notary Public, or a Consular Officer at an Indian Mission abroad.
Is a name change a fresh passport or a reissue?
A reissue, under change in existing personal particulars.
Do I need a gazette notification?
For a full legal name change, yes, alongside the affidavit and notices. For a surname change after marriage, the marriage certificate normally does it.
Can I use Tatkaal for a name change?
Generally not for a major name change. Plan around normal processing and confirm with your Passport Seva Kendra.
What does a passport name change cost?
Around Rs 1,500 for a 36 page booklet on normal processing, with a higher slab for 60 pages. Confirm on the portal at payment.
Should I update Aadhaar first?
Yes. Aadhaar, then PAN, then passport. A mismatch at application is a common reason a file is held.
What is Annexure E for a passport?
The specimen affidavit for change in name, deed poll or sworn affidavit. Download the current version from passportindia.gov.in, since annexure lettering has been reorganised before.
What about a passport name change after marriage?
The marriage certificate normally suffices and the newspaper notices are not required.
How does a passport spelling correction work?
Also a reissue, with documents carrying the correct spelling, and the affidavit where the passport office asks for it.
How is a spouse's name added to a passport?
Through a separate endorsement application, now possible on a joint declaration with a joint photograph in place of a marriage certificate.
Will my passport number stay the same?
No. A reissued passport carries a new number, and the old booklet is cancelled at the counter.
Frequently Asked Questions on Passport Name Change and Correction
Is a spelling correction treated differently from a name change?
Do I surrender my old passport?
How many newspapers exactly?
What if both addresses are the same city?
Does the annexure specify a language?
Can a friend witness the affidavit?
Will there be police verification?
How long does it take?
Can I apply from outside India?
Do I need the gazette before the passport?
Is the marriage certificate enough after marriage?
What about removing a spouse's name after divorce?
What if my file is held?
Should I keep the newspaper pages?
Which annexure letter should I use?
Can I change my child's name in their passport?
Does my new passport keep the old number?
People also search for: Annexure E passport, passport name change after marriage, passport spelling correction, passport name change fees, adding spouse name in passport, passport reissue name change documents, passport name change police verification, passport name change for NRI.
Official Sources for This Page
The annexure and the portal, rather than blogs.
- Annexure E, Specimen Affidavit for Change in Name, Deed Poll or Sworn AffidavitAs published by Indian Missions: the renunciation wording, the two-newspaper requirement split by area of residence and permanent address, the original-newspapers submission rule, and the Magistrate, Notary or Consular Officer attestation.
- Passport Seva, Ministry of External AffairsThe current annexure, the reissue application type, the document advisor and the fee calculator. Download the annexure fresh from here, since lettering has been reorganised before.
- Department of Publication, Guidelines for Change of Name for Adult (Major)The gazette side and its one-newspaper requirement, which is where the two-notice mismatch comes from.
- Unique Identification Authority of IndiaThe Aadhaar step that comes first, and its two-update lifetime limit.
- Income Tax DepartmentThe PAN step that comes second, checked against Aadhaar.
Final Word on Passport Name Change and Correction
Everything on this page in ten lines
- The passport step is where a name change either lands cleanly or unravels, and it usually unravels for one of two reasons.
- The first is the newspaper rule: the gazette asked for one notice, the passport affidavit route asks for two, split by where you live and your permanent address.
- If you are doing both, publish both notices at the start so one round of publication serves both files.
- The split is geographic, not by language. The annexure sets no language requirement.
- The affidavit is attested only by a Judicial or Executive Magistrate, a Notary Public, or a Consular Officer abroad, on stamp paper of minimum value.
- The second reason is order: Aadhaar, then PAN, then passport. An old name on your Aadhaar at the counter is an avoidable problem.
- Both a change and a correction are a reissue under change in existing personal particulars, and the reissued booklet carries a new number.
- A married surname runs on the marriage certificate with no notices. Adding a spouse's name is a separate endorsement on a joint declaration.
- Tatkaal is generally not available for a major name change, so plan travel around normal processing and police verification.
- Download the annexure fresh from the portal or your mission, match every document letter for letter, and keep the full newspaper pages.
Running the gazette and the passport together?
Call 9540003316 or message 9540005064 on WhatsApp. We will plan the sequence so one round of newspaper notices serves both your gazette and your passport file.