Gazette Notification for Central Government Employees: A Deed, Not an Affidavit
If you are a central government employee, your name change is governed by a departmental order of 12 March 1987, and it works differently from a private application. You execute a deed changing name in the prescribed form, which the Department of Publication accepts in place of the ordinary affidavit. And if you are a woman changing only her surname on marriage, the order asks for no deed, no newspaper and no gazette at all.
Get Call and Name Change Format
Name Change for a Central Government Employee (Quick Answer)
The order of 12 March 1987 supersedes the earlier instructions of 1948 and 1952 and sets out three situations. For a change, addition or deletion of a name or surname, you execute a deed changing name in the prescribed form, attested by a gazetted officer, and follow it with publication in a prominent local newspaper and in the Gazette of India, at your own expense. For a female employee changing only her surname on marriage or remarriage, the route is formal intimation to the appointing authority with the husband's particulars for the Service Book, and no deed, newspaper or gazette is prescribed. Reverting to a maiden name on divorce, separation or widowhood is also handled by intimation. In every case the change reaches your record through the Service Book entry, not through the gazette by itself.
| Your situation | Deed? | Newspaper and gazette? | What the order asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adopting a new name, or any change to your existing name | Yes | Yes, at your own expense | Deed, then publication |
| Adding or deleting a surname | Yes | Yes, at your own expense | Deed, then publication |
| Female employee, surname change on marriage or remarriage | No | No | Intimation to the appointing authority, husband's particulars for the Service Book |
| Female employee, reverting to a maiden name on divorce, separation or the husband's death | No | No | Intimation regarding the change in marital status |
| You are a West Bengal state government employee | Ask | Ask | Your own service rules, not this order |
On This Page
- Three situations under one order
- The deed changing name
- The marriage route needs no gazette
- Tell your establishment section first
- Newspaper and gazette, at your expense
- Downloading the gazette yourself
- The Service Book entry is the point
- The Gazette of India route, step by step
- If you work for the state government
- FAQ
- Enquiry form
Central Government Employee Name Change: Three Situations Under the 1987 Order
The procedure for a name change by government employees was reviewed and reissued on 12 March 1987, in supersession of all previous orders on the subject, the earlier ones dating from 1948 and 1952. It was reissued precisely because the older instructions did not cover every situation.
It deals with three. A change, addition or deletion of a name or surname. A surname change on marriage or remarriage for a female employee. And reverting to a maiden name on divorce, separation or the death of a husband.
They are not handled the same way, and that is the single most useful thing on this page.
Work out which is yours first
Two of the three need no publication at all. Establishing which situation applies to you, before anybody quotes you a price, is the difference between a formality and an expense.
Deed Changing Name for Government Employees, Not an Affidavit
A private applicant swears an affidavit. A government employee executes a deed changing name in the form prescribed with the order, and the Department of Publication expressly accepts that deed in place of the affidavit it would otherwise require.
The deed records your former name, the name you are adopting, and your undertaking to use the new name at all times and to be known by it. It is attested by a gazetted officer, with their official address and stamp.
So if a service centre hands you a plain notarised affidavit and calls it done, they have prepared the document for the wrong applicant.
Get the form right
A specimen deed is annexed to the order itself, and the Department of Publication publishes it too. Use the specimen rather than a general template, because the wording is what makes it acceptable.
Surname Change After Marriage for Government Employees: No Gazette Needed
This is the finding worth the most to readers of this page. Where a female government employee wishes to change only her surname on account of marriage or remarriage, the order does not ask for a deed, a newspaper advertisement or a gazette notification.
What it asks for is a formal intimation to her appointing authority of the marriage, together with a request for the change, and the particulars of the husband so that the necessary entries can be made in the Service Book.
Reverting to a maiden name on divorce, separation or a husband's death is handled the same way, through an intimation regarding the change in marital status.
Why this matters commercially
Gazette notifications are sold for both of these situations routinely. We prepare gazettes for a living and would still rather tell you that the order does not require one here. Ask your establishment section before you pay anybody.
Inform Your Establishment Section Before the Gazette Notification
A private applicant can publish first and inform people later. A government servant should not, because the department is the reason the process exists at all.
Your establishment section or Head of Office can confirm which situation of the order applies to you, what your own service rules add, and what it wants alongside the deed. That conversation costs nothing and it prevents the expensive mistake, which is publishing something the department then tells you was not the right instrument.
Ask about the file, not just the rule
Ask who in the office actually makes the Service Book entry and what they need from you. That person, not the rule book, is who your file has to satisfy.
Newspaper Advertisement and Gazette of India at Your Own Expense
Where the deed route applies, the order says the execution of the deed should be followed by publication of the change in a prominent local newspaper as well as in the Gazette of India, and it states expressly that this is at the government employee's own expense.
So do not expect the department to meet the cost or to reimburse it. Individual change of name notifications appear in Part IV of the Gazette, and the Department of Publication sets requirements on how recent your supporting documents must be, so check those before filing rather than after.
Keep the original newspaper page
Not a clipping and not a photograph of one. The same rule that catches private applicants catches government ones.
Download the Gazette Notification Yourself: No Certification Needed
Individual name change notifications moved to electronic publishing in October 2015. You locate your issue on the gazette site, search it for your old or new name, and download the file.
The Department of Publication states that the downloaded copy needs no further certification from the department. So if somebody offers to obtain a certified copy for you at a price, that is a service the department itself says is unnecessary.
Check every letter on the day
Read your entry the moment it appears, including your father's or husband's name and the address. Correcting a published notification is far harder than checking one.
Service Book Name Change Entry by the Head of Office
People publish, file the gazette away, and assume the job is finished. It is not. The gazette is the public notification. The change reaches your working record when the deed and the notification go to your Head of Office and the entry is actually made in your Service Book.
That record is what your pension, your seniority and every future verification will read. Ask to see the entry once it is made rather than assuming it happened, and keep a copy of the page with your own papers.
Then everything else
Aadhaar, PAN, bank and the rest still need updating separately afterwards. A gazette corrects no record on its own, in service or out of it.
West Bengal State Government Employees Follow a Different Order
The order described on this page governs central government employees. A state government employee is governed by their own service rules and departmental instructions, which may set out a different procedure.
We are not going to tell you that the central order automatically applies to you, because it does not follow that it does. Ask your establishment section which instructions govern your service, and get the answer before preparing anything.
The same caution for other services
Defence personnel, public sector employees, railway and banking staff may each have their own departmental procedure. The principle holds everywhere: your employer's rules come first, and the ordinary gazette routes come after.
Gazette of India Name Change for Government Employees, Step by Step
Where the deed route applies, this is what the filing actually involves. It is the central gazette, not the state one, and it runs 30 to 45 days. The one substitution that matters for you: the deed takes the place of the affidavit a private applicant swears.
Fix the exact new name first
Every letter, including your father's or husband's name and your address as they will appear. This wording goes into the deed, the newspaper notice and the notification identically. A difference of one letter between them is what gets a file objected to.
Execute the deed changing name
In the specimen form annexed to the order, recording your former name, the name you are adopting and your undertaking to be known by it. Attested by a gazetted officer, with their official address and rubber stamp. This is your substitute for the affidavit, so do not file both and do not file the wrong one.
Publish in a prominent local newspaper
Carrying the old name, your father's or husband's name, your residential address and the new name. Keep the original newspaper page, not a clipping, and check the Department of Publication's limit on how old the notice may be when you file.
Prepare the printing matter
The text as it is to appear in the Gazette, typed in the prescribed specimen format and complete in every respect. This is the part the department reproduces, so proofread it against your single agreed spelling before it goes.
Sign the undertaking and the certificate
An undertaking showing your old and new name with your father's or husband's particulars and address, declaring the facts are true to your knowledge. Add the forwarding letter listing everything enclosed, so the department can check the envelope against it.
Pay and send the file to the Department of Publication
Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, in your own name. Agents are not permitted to file on your behalf. The fee is payable through the government payment portal, and the cost of both the newspaper and the gazette is yours, as the order states.
Download from the e-gazette, then go to your office
Published in Part IV within roughly 30 to 45 days. Find your issue, search it for your old or new name, and download it. No departmental certification is needed. Then take the deed and the notification to your Head of Office for the Service Book entry, which is the step that actually changes your record.
Living outside West Bengal or holding a passport changes nothing here: a central government employee uses the central route either way. How the state and central routes compare for everyone else.
Government Employee Name Change: Frequently Asked Questions
Is the process different for a government employee?
Yes, and this is the part most people are never told. A central government employee changes a name formally by a deed changing name under the departmental order of 12 March 1987, which supersedes the earlier instructions of 1948 and 1952. The Department of Publication accepts that deed in place of the affidavit a private applicant would file.
What is the deed changing name?
A prescribed instrument in which you record your former name, the name you are adopting, and your undertaking to use the new name at all times. A specimen form is annexed to the order itself, and it is attested by a gazetted officer. It is not the same document as an ordinary notarised affidavit.
Do I still need a newspaper notice and a gazette?
For a change or addition or deletion of a name or surname, yes. The order says the execution of the deed should be followed by publication of the change in a prominent local newspaper and in the Gazette of India, and it says expressly that this is at the government employee's own expense.
I am a woman changing only my surname after marriage. What do I need?
Under the same order, for a change of surname on account of marriage or remarriage, a female government employee gives formal intimation of her marriage to her appointing authority and requests the change, with her husband's particulars supplied for entry in the Service Book. No deed, no newspaper advertisement and no gazette are prescribed for that situation. It is worth knowing before anyone quotes you for one.
And reverting to my maiden name after divorce or my husband's death?
The order deals with that too, again through intimation to the appointing authority regarding the change in marital status, rather than through a deed and publication. Ask your establishment section what it requires in your case before spending anything.
Who pays for the gazette?
You do. The order states plainly that publication is at the government employee's own expense, so the department does not meet the cost and you should not expect reimbursement.
Does the gazette update my service record?
No. The gazette is the public notification. The change reaches your record when the deed and the notification go to your Head of Office or establishment section and the entry is made in your Service Book. People sometimes publish and stop there, and then find their record unchanged years later.
Do I need the department to certify my downloaded gazette copy?
No. Since individual name change notifications moved to electronic publishing in October 2015, you download the relevant issue yourself, and the Department of Publication states that the downloaded copy needs no further certification from the department.
Which part of the Gazette of India is this published in?
Individual change of name notifications are published in Part IV. The Department of Publication also sets requirements on the age of supporting documents, so check that your newspaper notice and any affidavit are recent enough before filing.
I work for the West Bengal government, not the centre. Does this apply to me?
This order governs central government employees. A state government employee is governed by their own service rules and departmental instructions, which may differ. Ask your establishment section rather than assuming the central order applies to you, and do not let anyone tell you the answer is obvious.
Should I tell my department before or after publishing?
Tell them first. Your establishment section can confirm what your service rules require, which situation of the order applies, and what it wants alongside the deed. That conversation costs nothing and prevents publishing the wrong thing.
What do you handle?
We prepare gazette documentation, including the deed and the filing for the Gazette of India. Where the order shows your case needs only an intimation to your appointing authority, as with a surname on marriage, we will tell you that and you need nothing from us.
Official Sources for Government Employee Name Change
The 1987 order
O.M. No. 190016/1/87-Estt. dated 12 March 1987, setting out the procedure for change of name by government employees in supersession of the 1948 and 1952 instructions, with the specimen deed annexed.
Department of Publication
egazette.gov.in: the guidelines for a change of name, the acceptance of the deed for central government employees, and the electronic gazette itself.
Your establishment section
The office that keeps your Service Book. It is the authority on which instructions govern your service and what your file needs.
Understanding the Gazette in West Bengal
What the gazette is, who files what, and what nobody can do for you.
Get Call and Name Change Format
Ask Your Establishment Section Before You Pay Anyone
Two of the three situations in the order need no gazette at all, and a surname change on marriage is one of them. Tell us which situation you are in and we will tell you whether you need us. Where the deed route applies, we prepare the deed and the filing. Monday to Saturday, across West Bengal.