Quick answer: The parent or guardian is the deponent, so the opening line is your name, not your child's, and every clause says "my said minor child". Establish your standing in the first line by naming the relationship. Where both parents are available, having both sign is worth doing even when only one is asked for, because it removes a question later. Four formats follow, for a school, a birth registrar, a gazette filing and a passport application.
Affidavit templates online are almost all written for adults, and the natural thing to do is swap the name. It reads fine, the notary may not query it, and the failure appears at the counter when somebody notices that a nine-year-old has sworn to something. The fix takes no extra effort at all; it is simply a matter of writing the document the right way round from the start.
At a Glance
| Who swears it | The parent or guardian, always |
| Opening line | Your name and the relationship |
| Throughout | "my said minor child", not "I" |
| Both parents | Worth having, even where one is asked |
| Stamp paper | Non-judicial; value varies by district |
| Typical cost | Rs 100 to 500 with notary |
| Witnesses | Not needed on an affidavit |
| Signing | In the notary's presence, never before |
Key Takeaways
- An adult template with the child's name substituted is void, not merely weak.
- Name the relationship in the opening line; that is what establishes your standing.
- Both parents signing prevents a question that costs a second visit.
- Say whether this is a correction or a change; the verb decides the route.
- A guardian who is not a parent needs the order that made them one.
Which Format You Need: Quick Facts
| School register correction | Format one |
| Birth certificate | Format two |
| A gazette filing | Format three |
| A passport application | Format four |
| Correction, not change | Use "wrongly written as" wording |
| Guardian, not parent | Add the guardianship or adoption order |
| Single parent | State the position plainly, without explanation |
| Child over 18 | They swear their own; this page no longer applies |
Table of Contents
- Why a child cannot swear
- Establishing your standing
- Format one: for a school
- Format two: for a birth registrar
- Format three: for a gazette filing
- Format four: for a passport
- Central Gazette: the complete process and file format
- Areas we serve
- Related guides
- Why choose our office
- FAQs
Why a Child Cannot Swear
Everything else follows from that switch. Where an adult affidavit says "my name has been recorded as", a minor's says "the name of my said minor child has been recorded as". Where an adult says "I shall hereafter be known as", a minor's says "the said minor shall hereafter be known as".
Read your draft once with that in mind and every clause that needs changing becomes obvious in a minute.
Establishing Your Standing
- Name the relationship in the opening line: father, mother or legal guardian of the minor. This is what tells the reader you are entitled to speak.
- Give the child's age, which confirms they are a minor and explains why you are the deponent.
- Both parents where possible, either on one affidavit signed by both or on two matching ones. It costs a little more stamp paper and removes a question.
- A guardian who is not a parent attaches the order that made them one, since the relationship is not obvious from names alone.
- Where one parent is unavailable, state the position plainly in one line and do not explain further than necessary.
Format One: for a School
Naming the school and class helps a Principal locate the register entry without asking. Note that clause two uses correction wording rather than change wording, because most school cases are corrections and the lighter route follows from saying so. The timing that decides whether a school can act at all is on our school records page.
Format Two: for a Birth Registrar
Clause two carries this one, so name the supporting document properly: its type, and the office that issued it. Where the name field is blank rather than wrong, change clause two to say that the field was left blank at registration and that the child has since been named. The route is on our child birth certificate page.
Format Three: for a Gazette Filing
This is the only one of the four that uses change wording, because a gazette publishes a declaration rather than a correction. If your case is really a correction, you are probably using the wrong format and possibly buying a gazette you do not need, which our correction versus change page settles in a few minutes.
Format Four: for a Passport
Include the existing passport number and, where one exists, the gazette issue number. The passport office works from a file rather than a conversation, so an affidavit that names both saves a question. Before applying at all, check the expiry date, since a minor passport lasts five years or until eighteen, as our minor passport page explains.
The Four Mistakes
| Mistake | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The child as deponent | A minor cannot swear, so the document is void rather than weak |
| No relationship stated | Nothing establishes why you may speak for the child |
| Change wording for a correction | Signals a gazette requirement that was never there |
| Only one parent, where both were available | Invites a question that a second signature would have prevented |
All four are decided before you buy stamp paper, which is the encouraging part. Read the draft once for the deponent, once for the relationship line, and once for the verb.
Central Gazette: the Complete Process and File Format
Our core service: where format three applies and a child is genuinely being renamed, this is the guardian-filed route as we run it from Lucknow.
Stage 1: The affidavit, as format three above
Stage 2: The Public Notice, in two copies
Each witness gives signature, full name and address, and both sign both copies at one sitting. The witnesses attest the guardian's signature, not the child's.
Stage 3: The CD and CD-Certificate
Stage 4: Newspapers, fee, covering letter and dispatch
Publish in two newspapers and buy four copies
One Hindi daily of your district and one English paper, complete original pages.
Pay Rs 1,700 on BharatKosh
The minor fee rather than the adult Rs 1,100, with two receipts printed.
Write the covering letter
To The Controller, Publication Department, Civil Line, Delhi 110054, in the guardian's name.
Assemble, check and photocopy
Including the child's birth certificate and the guardian's identity and address proof.
Courier it, tracked
One to three days from most UP districts.
Publish, download, then use it
Twenty-five to forty-five days, then the school, the registrar or the passport office.
Get Both Parents on It
This is the cheapest insurance in the whole process. The exception is where one parent genuinely cannot be involved, in which case say so in one line and move on, as our minor passport page covers for the consent question generally.
Gazette Fees, Time and the File
| Affidavit | Rs 100 to 500 including stamp paper and notary |
| Both parents on one | Slightly more stamp paper, one trip |
| School register correction | Usually free before board registration |
| Birth certificate correction | The registering office's fee |
| Minor gazette fee | Rs 1,700 on BharatKosh |
| Newspaper advertisements | A few hundred rupees per paper |
| Publication window | 25 to 45 days, where publication applies |
The envelope in one line, where publication applies: covering letter with your phone and email, guardian's 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, the child's birth certificate, guardian's identity and address proof, photographs and the BharatKosh receipt.
Before You Print: Check These
- Confirm the deponent is you, not your child, in the opening line.
- State the relationship and the child's age in that same line.
- Choose correction or change wording deliberately, since the verb decides the route.
- Have both parents sign where both are available.
After the Gazette: What Updates Next
The school register first if admission has happened, then the birth certificate if it needs correcting, then Aadhaar, then a passport only if it is worth reissuing. Keep the affidavit with the gazette permanently, because several offices ask to see both together, and your child will need this chain again at eighteen when they apply for things themselves.
What Other Websites Get Wrong
- Wrong: use an adult template with the child's name. Right: a minor cannot swear, so that document is void.
- Wrong: the relationship is obvious from the names. Right: it has to be stated, and a non-parent guardian needs the order too.
- Wrong: one affidavit fits every office. Right: a school, a registrar, a gazette and a passport each want different details named.
- Wrong: always use change wording. Right: most children's cases are corrections, and saying so is cheaper.
- Wrong: a child signs alongside the parent. Right: the child signs nothing at any stage.
Areas We Serve in Uttar Pradesh
Notaries sit in every district court complex and tehsil, so this step needs no travel. We draft the wording and you print it on stamp paper locally, across all 75 districts, most often these:
| 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 |
| Awadh and central UP | Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao, Raebareli, Sitapur, Hardoi, Barabanki, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sultanpur, Ayodhya, Amethi, Bahraich |
Stamp paper values and notary charges vary between tehsils, which is why the honest figure is a range. Where both parents work in different districts, a single visit on a weekend usually solves the two-signature problem. 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
Whichever counter you reach next, there is a guide for it here:
- minor name change: the timing decision across all a child's records.
- school records: the register, and the date that decides the route.
- a child's birth certificate: why now is easier than later.
- a minor passport: check the expiry before paying for anything.
- the affidavit guide: stamp paper, notaries and execution.
- correction versus change: the verb that decides the route.
- surname affidavit formats: the same test applied to surnames.
- the gazette guide: the route format three begins.
- problems and mistakes: what to do when a counter refuses.
- the full cost breakdown: government fees and our fees, line by line.
- contact the office: Lucknow office, phone and WhatsApp.
Why We Read the First Line First
When a parent sends us a draft affidavit we look at one thing before anything else: whose name is after the word "I". A surprising number have the child's, copied from a template, and no amount of good wording below rescues that. Vipin Chauhan, B.Tech LL.B, rewrites those from the top rather than patching them.
- We put the parent in the deponent line: and state the relationship and the child's age.
- We match the format to the office asking: school, registrar, gazette or passport.
- We choose the verb deliberately: since most children's cases are corrections.
- We get both parents on it: where both are available, as cheap insurance.
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.
Send Us the Draft
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
Send the draft you have, your child's age, and which office asked for it. We will tell you in one reply whether it will work.
Get Call and Name Change Format
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Minor Name Change Affidavit: FAQs
Can my child swear the affidavit?
No. A minor cannot make a sworn statement, so an adult template with your child's name in the opening line is not a weak document, it is not a valid one.
Whose name goes after "I"?
Yours, followed by your relationship to the child and the child's age. That line is what establishes your standing to speak for them.
How does the wording change?
Everywhere an adult affidavit says "my name" or "I shall hereafter be known", a minor's says "the name of my said minor child" and "the said minor shall hereafter be known".
Should both parents sign?
Where both are available, yes, even if only one was asked for. It costs a little stamp paper and prevents a second visit weeks later.
I am a guardian, not a parent. What changes?
State that in the opening line and attach the order that made you one, since the relationship is not obvious from names alone.
Do I need different affidavits for different offices?
The structure is the same, but a school wants the class and register named, a registrar wants the birth record number, and a passport office wants the passport number.
Should I use change wording or correction wording?
Correction for most children's cases, since a wrong entry is not a name change. Change wording signals a gazette requirement that was probably never there.
Do I need witnesses?
No. An affidavit is signed by the deponent before a notary. Only the gazette Public Notice needs two witnesses.
Does my child sign anywhere?
No, at no point in the whole filing. Witnesses attest your signature, not the child's.
What does it cost?
Rs 100 to 500 including stamp paper and notary, varying by district. Adding a second parent costs a little more stamp paper.
Can I sign before going to the notary?
No. The signature must be made in the notary's presence, or the affidavit is not properly executed.
What if my child has turned eighteen?
Then they swear their own affidavit and this page no longer applies. The adult formats are on our affidavit guide.
Official Sources
- Affidavit practice under which a sworn statement is made by a person competent to do so, which excludes a minor.
- The Department of Publication's guidelines for change of name, including publication filed by a guardian at the minor fee.
- UPMSP correction practice, under which a school application is accompanied by a parent's affidavit.
- Passport Seva declaration requirements for minor applications, including single-parent and guardian situations.
Facts here are checked against these sources and our own drafting experience. Receiving authorities occasionally prescribe their own wording, which always takes precedence; the requirement that an adult be the deponent is the stable part.
The Short Version
A minor cannot make a sworn statement, so an adult template with your child's name typed into the opening line is not a weak affidavit, it is not an affidavit. The parent or guardian is the deponent throughout: your name after "I", your relationship to the child and their age in the same line, and every clause afterwards saying "my said minor child" rather than "I". That single switch is most of the work. Beyond it, match the details to whoever asked: a school wants the class and the register named, a birth registrar wants the record number and your supporting document, a gazette filing uses change wording while the others use correction wording, and a passport office wants the existing passport number. Where both parents are available, have both sign even when only one was asked for.