Quick answer: Decide the deponent before the wording. If his name is wrong in your documents, you swear it and describe your own records. If his own name is changing, only he can swear it, and nothing you sign substitutes. If he has passed away, you swear it with his death certificate and surviving records as support. And for a Board or university file, the affidavit must also name the examination, year and roll number, or the office cannot locate you. Four situations, four formats, all below.
Most affidavit trouble in this cluster is not bad wording; it is the wrong person signing. A son swears a declaration attempting to change his father's name and it achieves nothing, because a change of name can only be declared by its owner. Or a father swears a beautifully drafted affidavit when the actual problem was a clerk mistyping his name on his son's marksheet, which is the son's document and the son's application. Getting the deponent right is most of the work, and the four formats below are simply what follows from that choice.
Choosing the Format at a Glance
| His name wrong in your documents | You swear it: Format One |
| His own name genuinely changing | He swears it: Format Two |
| He has passed away | You swear it, with support: Format Three |
| Board or university file | Format Four, with examination details |
| The shared clause | Both versions are one and the same person, namely your father |
| Stamp paper | Non-judicial; value varies by district, so ask the notary |
| Typical cost | Rs 100 to 500 including stamp paper and notary |
| Signing | In the notary's physical presence, never beforehand |
Key Takeaways
- The deponent is decided by whose records are wrong, not by whose name appears in them.
- A child cannot declare a change to a father's name, however carefully the affidavit is drafted.
- The one-and-the-same clause must name your father, with your relationship established in a separate clause.
- A deceased father's affidavit is sworn by you and leans on his surviving records rather than on anything he signs.
- Board and university versions need the examination, year and roll number, because the office locates you before assessing you.
Drafting Rules: Quick Facts
| Name both versions exactly | Letter for letter as printed on each document |
| Identify each document | By name, number and issuing authority |
| State your relationship | In its own clause, not implied |
| Reason | One line: a clerical or transliteration variation |
| Do not | Explain how the error happened or assign blame |
| Do not | Promise anything about future use |
| Length | Four or five clauses; short is careful, not lazy |
| Witnesses | Not usually needed on an affidavit, unlike the gazette Public Notice |
Table of Contents
- Deciding the deponent
- Format one: you swear it
- Format two: he swears it
- Format three: he has passed away
- Format four: for a Board or university
- The four drafting mistakes
- Central Gazette: the complete process and file format
- Areas we serve
- Related guides
- Why choose our office
- FAQs
Deciding the Deponent
Notice that the test is not "whose name is it" but "whose document is it". Your father's name appearing on your marksheet does not make the marksheet his; it remains your document, your application and your affidavit. That is why a son can and should swear the ordinary correction affidavit, and it is also why he cannot swear the other kind, as our marksheet page explains.
Format One: You Swear It
The common case. His name is wrong in your records and you are asking an authority to correct its own entry.
Clause one is the one people omit and it is the one that makes the rest coherent: it establishes that the person swearing has standing to speak about this man at all. Clause five must say "namely my father", not "namely myself", which is the single commonest error when a general template gets adapted.
Format Two: He Swears It
Where your father's own name is genuinely changing, or where his own documents are the ones being corrected. He is the deponent and the wording shifts accordingly.
The bracketed alternative is the whole distinction between a correction and a change, in one clause. "My correct and actual name is" asserts that nothing has changed and a record is wrong. "I shall hereafter be known as" declares something new, and it is the wording that a gazette notification requires. Our correction versus change page covers which of the two your case is.
Format Three: He Has Passed Away
You are the deponent, and the affidavit does two extra things: it records the death and it points to the records that survive him.
Two deliberate details. The word "late" appears throughout rather than only once, so a reader is never uncertain. And clause three names the specific surviving record you are relying on, which turns your claim into a document comparison rather than a family recollection. Send the file complete, since nothing further can be produced later.
Format Four: For a Board or University
Same substance, plus the details an examination office needs to find you in a register before it can assess anything.
Clause one is why this format exists. A Board does not begin by weighing your claim; it begins by locating your entry in a register, and the examination, year, roll number and registration number are what make that possible. An affidavit missing them is a slower affidavit even when everything else is right.
The Four Drafting Mistakes
| Mistake | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| "one and the same person, that is, myself" in a father's affidavit | Reads as though you are claiming to be your own father; use "namely my father" |
| No relationship clause | Establishes nothing about your standing to speak for him, so the reader has to infer it |
| Explaining how the error happened | Nobody is deciding that, and speculation about a 1994 form weakens rather than strengthens the document |
| Using "shall hereafter be known" for a correction | Turns a correction into a declared change, which invites a demand for a gazette you do not need |
The fourth is the expensive one. A correction affidavit that borrows change wording tells the reader you are asking for something new, and the file inherits the heavier proof burden for no reason. Keep the two vocabularies separate: "is recorded as ... the correct name is" for corrections, and "I shall hereafter be known as" only where a name genuinely changes.
Central Gazette: the Complete Process and File Format
Our core service: where publication is needed, the affidavit above is only the first document in the envelope. This is the full file as the Department receives it.
Stage 1: The gazette affidavit
Note how much shorter this is than the correction affidavits above. The gazette version carries the substance and the verification, nothing else, and it names the documents specifically so the published notice is usable afterwards.
Stage 2: The Public Notice, in two copies
Each witness gives signature, full name and address, and both sign both copies at one sitting. Unlike the affidavits earlier on this page, the Public Notice does require witnesses, which is a difference worth noticing.
Stage 3: The CD and CD-Certificate
Stage 4: Newspapers, fee, covering letter and dispatch
Publish in two newspapers
One Hindi daily of your district and one English paper, booked the day the affidavit is sworn, keeping complete original pages with masthead and date, and buying two copies of each edition.
Pay Rs 1,100 on BharatKosh
Before the envelope is sealed, with the function head, PAO and DDO confirmed on the confirmation screen, and two receipts printed.
Write the covering letter
To The Controller, Publication Department, Civil Line, Delhi 110054, stating that the formalities are complete and the documents are enclosed, with your mobile number and email added.
Assemble, check and photocopy
Affidavit, Public Notice in two witnessed copies, CD with CD-Certificate, both newspaper pages, identity and address proof, photographs and the receipt, with a full copy set kept at home.
Courier it, tracked
One to three days in transit from most UP districts, with no counter to visit.
Search Part IV after 25 to 45 days
Weekly Gazette, Part IV, a Saturday date range covering your window, then download the whole issue and note the issue number and date.
Two Affidavits, Two Vocabularies
Anyone who ends up needing both a correction affidavit and a gazette affidavit should see them side by side once, because they read similarly and do opposite work.
Where you need both a correction affidavit and the gazette version, have them drafted together and sworn at one notary sitting. One trip, one stamp paper purchase, and the two documents stay consistent with each other, which matters when a counter later reads both.
Gazette Fees, Time and the File
| Affidavit | Rs 100 to 500 including stamp paper and notary |
| Adult gazette fee | Rs 1,100 on BharatKosh, where publication is needed |
| Newspaper advertisements | A few hundred rupees per paper, edition-dependent |
| Board correction fee | Around Rs 1,000 per application |
| Aadhaar Care of correction | A nominal Seva Kendra fee |
| Publication window | 25 to 45 days after the Department receives the file |
| Our service | Basic from Rs 999, Complete from Rs 1,999, quoted separately |
The envelope in one line: covering letter with your phone and email, affidavit (notarised), Public Notice typed in two copies with two witnesses on each, CD in MS-Word format with the signed CD-Certificate, both complete newspaper pages, photo identity proof, address proof, photographs and the BharatKosh receipt.
Before You Apply: Check These
- Settle the deponent first, because the wrong signature makes even perfect wording useless.
- Check that the one-and-the-same clause names your father rather than you.
- Include a relationship clause; do not leave it to be inferred.
- Keep correction vocabulary and change vocabulary separate, or the file inherits a burden it does not need.
After the Gazette: What Updates Next
Take the notice and the affidavit to each authority named in it: the Board through your school, the registrar for a birth record, the Tehsil for certificates and your employer for a service record. Each runs its own application, since the notice is evidence rather than an instruction. Keep the affidavit, the notice, both newspaper pages and his supporting documents in one folder permanently.
What Other Websites Get Wrong
- Wrong: one affidavit template covers every father's name case. Right: the deponent changes with whose documents are wrong.
- Wrong: a child can declare a change to a father's name. Right: only its owner can declare a change of name.
- Wrong: "that is, myself" is standard wording. Right: in a parent's affidavit it must read "namely my father".
- Wrong: a longer affidavit is stronger. Right: every extra assertion is something that can be questioned.
- Wrong: affidavits and the Public Notice follow the same rules. Right: the Notice needs two witnesses; the affidavits usually do not.
Areas We Serve in Uttar Pradesh
Notaries sit in every district court complex and tehsil, so this step never requires travel. We draft the wording and you print it on stamp paper locally, across all 75 districts, most often these:
| Awadh and central UP | Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao, Raebareli, Sitapur, Hardoi, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Amethi, Bahraich |
| Purvanchal and eastern UP | Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Ballia, Deoria, Mirzapur, Basti, Ghazipur, Mau, Sonbhadra |
| Western UP and NCR | Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, Mathura, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Hapur, Firozabad |
| Rohilkhand and Bundelkhand | Bareilly, Moradabad, Rampur, Shahjahanpur, Budaun, Pilibhit, Bijnor, Amroha, Jhansi, Banda, Mahoba, Chitrakoot |
Stamp paper values and notary charges vary a little between districts, which is why the honest range is Rs 100 to 500 rather than a single figure. Our chamber is at Chamber No. 19, Sadar Tehsil, Sector 5, Gomti Nagar Vistar, Lucknow 226010, with the city guide on our Lucknow page. Call 9540003316 or WhatsApp 9540005002 from any district.
Related Guides on This Site
Every guide here is part of one connected map, so whichever counter your case lands at next, the page for it already exists:
- father's name corrections: the pillar covering every document.
- father's name in a UP Board marksheet: where Format Four is used.
- his name across your documents: mapping the split before drafting.
- father's name in Aadhaar: the Care of field and its lighter rules.
- the affidavit pillar: stamp paper, notaries and execution.
- spelling affidavit drafts: the four formats for your own name.
- correction versus change: which vocabulary your case needs.
- the proforma format: the published declaration in detail.
- mother's name corrections: the same formats with the parent changed.
- the full cost breakdown: government fees and service fees, line by line.
- contact the office: Lucknow office, phone and WhatsApp.
- after adoption or a step-parent: where the record was never wrong.
- mother's name in a UP Board marksheet: which of her two names belongs there.
- mother's name affidavit formats: four drafts with the bridge clause.
Why We Ask Who Is Available
Our second question on any father's name enquiry is whether your father is alive and available to sign. Not because the case fails otherwise, but because it decides the format, and drafting the wrong one wastes a notary visit and a stamp paper. Vipin Chauhan, B.Tech LL.B, has drafted all four of these many times.
- We settle the deponent first: whose document is wrong, which is the question that picks the format.
- We get the parent clause right: "namely my father", with your relationship in its own clause.
- We keep the vocabularies separate: correction wording for corrections, change wording only where a name genuinely changes.
- We draft both at once where both are needed: correction affidavit and gazette affidavit, sworn at one sitting.
Associate office at Chamber No. 19, Sadar Tehsil, Gomti Nagar Vistar, Lucknow, serving all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, Monday to Saturday, 10 AM to 6:30 PM. Call 9540003316 or WhatsApp 9540005002.
Tell Us Who Will Sign
Uttar Pradesh Name Change
Associate Office: Chamber No. 19, Sadar Tehsil, Sector 5, Gomti Nagar Vistar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 226010
Head Office: Metro Pillar 337, Hardev Nagar, Street 1, Shop No 1 (Shri Sham Documentation)
Call: 9540003316
WhatsApp: 9540005002
Email: info@uttarpradeshnamechange.com
Hours: Mon to Sat, 10 AM to 6:30 PM
Tell us which document is wrong, both spellings exactly as printed, and whether your father is available to sign. We will return the right draft ready for stamp paper.
Get Call and Name Change Format
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Father's Name Affidavit: FAQs
Who should swear the affidavit, me or my father?
Whoever owns the wrong document. If his name is wrong on your marksheet or birth certificate, those are your documents and you swear it. If his own Aadhaar or service record is wrong, he swears it.
Can I swear an affidavit changing my father's name?
No. A change of name can only be declared by the person whose name it is. What you can swear is that in your own documents his name was recorded wrongly and what it actually is.
What is the most common wording mistake?
Writing "one and the same person, that is, myself" in a parent's affidavit. It must read "namely my father", or the document reads as though you are claiming to be your own father.
Do I need a relationship clause?
Yes, and in its own clause rather than implied. It establishes your standing to speak about him, which is exactly what a reader needs before accepting the rest.
My father has passed away. Which format?
Format three, sworn by you, using "late" throughout, recording the date of death with the certificate enclosed, and naming the specific surviving record you rely on for his correct name.
What extra does a Board affidavit need?
Your examination, year, roll number and registration number, because the office locates your entry in a register before assessing anything. Without them it is a slower affidavit even when otherwise perfect.
Should I explain how the mistake happened?
No. Nobody is deciding that, and speculating about a form filled decades ago adds statements that can be questioned without helping the application.
What stamp paper value should I use?
There is no single national figure, so ask the notary drafting it in your district. The whole affidavit usually costs Rs 100 to 500 including stamp paper and notary.
Do affidavits need witnesses?
Usually not. The gazette Public Notice does require two witnesses giving signature, full name and address, but the affidavits on this page are signed by the deponent before a notary.
Can one affidavit cover both my parents?
Yes, and it often should. Add a clause for each parent, keeping the one-and-the-same wording separate for each, since families with a spread of variants are usually affected on both sides.
Why does using "shall hereafter be known" matter?
Because it declares something new and turns a correction into a change, which invites a demand for a gazette you may not need. Keep correction wording for corrections.
Can I sign it before visiting the notary?
No. The signature must be made in the notary's physical presence, and an affidavit signed beforehand is not properly executed however neat it looks.
Official Sources
- Affidavit formats published by Indian Missions and professional bodies, which use the one-and-the-same-person declaration in the same structure.
- The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad correction process, in which affidavits accompany rather than replace an application.
- The Department of Publication's requirements for the gazette affidavit, Public Notice and CD-Certificate.
- Our own drafting experience across Boards, universities, employers and Tehsil offices in Uttar Pradesh.
Facts on this page are checked against these sources and our own casework. Receiving authorities occasionally prescribe their own wording, which always takes precedence; the deponent test and the parent clause are the stable core.
The Short Version
Decide the deponent before writing a word, and decide it by asking whose document is wrong rather than whose name appears in it. Your father's name on your marksheet is still your document, so you swear that affidavit and describe your own records. His own Aadhaar or service record is his, so he swears that one, and only he can ever declare that he shall hereafter be known by a new name. Where he has passed away, you swear it using "late" throughout, recording the date of death and naming the surviving record you rely on. For a Board or university, add the examination, year, roll number and registration number, because the office finds you before it assesses you. And in every parent's affidavit, the one-and-the-same clause reads "namely my father", never "that is, myself".