Name change affidavit instructions made simple to understand -

Name change affidavit is little complicated at first but if you read couple of time you get it. Find name change affidavit along with instruction by VFS here.

The following cases would not be considered as change of name (No Name change affidavit required):

1. Spelling correction/change of spelling that phonetically does not result in a change in name (e.g., D’Souza to De Souza);
2. Variation of a name as mentioned in the birth certificate (e.g., Sanjiv to Sanjeev);

Supporting documents for 1 and 2 cases:
corrected Government ID and birth certificate.

3. Marriage/Re-Marriage/Divorce
3.1 Adding Spouse name
3.2 Changing surname to spouse name
3.3 Divorce – change of name/surname or deletion of spouse name
3.4 Re-married – changing name or spouse’s name

Submit supporting documents for 3 cases:
Marriage certificate or Divorce document or Re-married certificate, and spouse’s passport.

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The following cases would be considered as change of name and a Name change affidavit is required:

4 Shifting of words/changing arrangement of various parts of the existing name without inserting/deleting any words/letters in the existing name (eg., Parameshwaran Shiva Kumaran to Shiva Parameshwaran Kumaran). However, shifting the name will not be allowed in cases where the initial name/abbreviation or the last name is the father’s name.
5 Splitting of given name into First Name and Surname (eg., if a passport shows Dilip Kumar as Given Name with Surname blank, he may be allowed to enter Dilip as First Name and Kumar as Surname.

Supporting documents for 4 and 5 will be:
a) Two public/educational documents in the desired name i.e.
Voter ID, Aadhar Card, Any government ID (both Indian or US, if applicant residing in the USA continuously for over 3 years), School Certificate, etc
b) Name change affidavit (notarized)

The following cases would be considered as change of name and a name change affidavit is required:

6) Married women wishing to revert to maiden name (not divorced /widowed)
7) Change of name upon attaining adulthood from childhood
8) Minor (small) change in name
9) Change/addition of surname
10) all other circumstances for change of name

Supporting documents for cases 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 will be:
a) Gazette notification of the state government concerned or clippings of two newspapers (One from India and the other from The USA)
b) At least Two public/educational documents in the desired name i.e. Voter ID, Aadhar Card, Any government ID (both Indian or US, if applicant residing in the USA continuously for over 3 years), School Certificate etc
c) Name change affidavit (notarized)

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Feel free to contact Ashuni Notary services in Plano, Tx if you have any further queries, I am more than happy to help you.

Disclaimer: This information is purely for your guidance, I highly encourage checking on the VFS website for more updated information. Share this Article if you find it helpful to your friends and family.