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NAME CHANGE PROCEDURE AFTER MARRIAGE
Once a couple gets hitched and ready to begin a new life, there are some legal requirements to be fulfilled. This includes marriage certification, changing name on financial records and government documents, updating driver’s license, notifying any service providers, if any and so on. Out of all these, in India it is a customary practice for a lot of women to change their maiden names after marriage, however it is not mandatory. To make it official, a set of procedures has to be followed. These are not complicated and can be done easily and at the earliest with the assistance of legal experts.
The instructions that need to be followed are:Step 1:
The initial step is to procure the marriage registration certificate from the Registrar office within 45 to 60 days from the date of marriage.
Step 2:An affidavit has to be created with details and the wish to change name. The other details required are maiden name, proposed new name, husband’s name, address and a copy of the marriage certificate. The affidavit has to be signed and a photo has to be attached. Once ready, it has to be printed on Rs 10 stamp paper.
Step 3:The next step is to notarize the affidavit by visiting a Notary public. If the candidate is out of the country, the same can be done by getting it attested by the embassy of that particular country in India.
Step 4:After the notarization of the affidavit is done, a newspaper advertisement about the name change has to be made. It could be one in a local language newspaper and the other in a national daily. This should be easy as most newspapers have a section dedicated to such ads.
Step 5:The final step is the Gazette notification which was only for government employees but then was made mandatory for all others. The applicant has to visit the Controller of Publication of any Government Gazette along with the attested affidavit, copies of valid ID proofs, copies of the published newspaper advertisements, marriage certificates and other important documents. At this point, the applicant can send notifications about the name change to all the important institutions like banks, workplaces, etc.
It has to be noted that there is no Indian law that mandates women belonging to other religions to change their names after marriage. Irrespective of the religion a woman belongs to, whether Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, etc., it solely depends on oneself whether to change or not and it is an individual’s preference.
Changing name in PAN after marriage
PAN or Permanent Account number is one of the most essential documents not only for financial transactions but also it serves as important ID proof and hence changing name in PAN is preferrable. The process can be done online. The documents that are required to change the name in PAN are:
- Copy of the marriage certificate
- Marriage invitation
- Name change publication in the Official Gazette
- Certificate by the Gazetted Officer
Changing name in bank statements
Updating all the financial documents with the new name is yet another important thing. A marriage certificate is important along with the affidavit, a written letter to the respective bank manager stating the detailed reasons for the new name change, old name, new name, contact details like residential address, mobile number and email address. In addition, a self-attested copy of the Gazette notification and a copy of the newspaper publication.
