Apostille Name Mismatch in Uttarakhand: Attestation of Documents for Use Abroad
For people in Uttarakhand sending degrees, certificates and other papers abroad, whose name on them differs from the passport: what an apostille is, what it does not do, how a difference is corrected or linked before attestation, and where a Gazette notification comes in.
An apostille name mismatch is not cured by the apostille. The ministry certifies the signature on a document and takes no responsibility for its contents. So settle the names first: correct a certificate at its issuer, or attach the paper that links the two names, such as a marriage certificate or a Gazette notification.
A nurse leaving for a job abroad, or a student admitted to a foreign university, is told to have papers apostilled. The papers come back apostilled. Then the foreign authority writes that the name on the degree is not the name on the passport. An apostille name mismatch is found after the money is spent. This page explains apostille name mismatch, and how to prevent it.
We do not arrange apostilles. What an apostille is, what the ministry attests and how documents are submitted are from the Ministry of External Affairs' own page. The state's part is from guides. For certificates themselves, read name change in education documents.
What Are Apostille and Attestation, in Brief?
Apostille
- A certificate placed on an Indian public document for use abroad
- For countries party to the apostille convention
- The ministry says no further attestation is then required
Attestation
- The ministry's ordinary attestation of a document for use abroad
- For other countries
- Often followed by that country's own embassy
Both tell a foreign reader one thing: that the document is a real one, signed by a real Indian authority. Neither says anything about the person named in it.
What Does the Ministry Say?
From the Ministry of External Affairs' page on attestation and apostille.
| Point | What the ministry says |
|---|---|
| What it attests | Original documents, or true copies, for use abroad |
| Which documents | Personal ones such as birth, death and marriage certificates, affidavits and powers of attorney. Educational ones such as degrees, diplomas and matriculation and secondary certificates |
| On what basis | It legalises documents on the basis of the signature of the designated signing authorities of the state Government, union territory or chamber of commerce |
| Contents | Hence it does not take responsibility for the contents of the documents |
| How to submit | It does not accept documents directly from individuals. They go through its designated outsourced agencies, or its online service for documents that are covered |
| Fee and time | Rs 50 for an apostille, and normal attestation free. Apply well in advance |
The third and fourth rows are the whole of this page. The ministry looks at who signed a paper. It does not look at what the paper says about you.
Who Reads the Name, and When?
| Who | What they look at | Do they compare your name with your passport? |
|---|---|---|
| The office that issued the paper | Its own record | Only if you ask for a correction |
| The state's authenticating office | That the paper is a real one of the state | Not as its task |
| The ministry | The state authority's signature | No |
| The foreign university, employer or authority | The paper, beside your passport | Yes. This is where a mismatch is found |
Three Indian offices handle the paper and none of them is asked to compare it with your passport. The first person who does is abroad, at the end.
What Kinds of Mismatch Are There?
A slip on the certificate
- A spelling, a parent's name, a date of birth
- Made by a school, a board or a Registrar
- Corrected by that office, before attestation
A surname changed by marriage
- A degree in a maiden name, a passport in a married one
- Both right, at different times
- Linked by the marriage certificate
A name changed by choice
- Certificates in the old name, a passport in the new
- Old certificates are usually not reprinted
- Linked by a Gazette notification
The third is where our work comes in. A person who changed a name informally, and never published it, has nothing to link old certificates to a new passport.
Which Case Is Yours?
| The situation | Route | Gazette? |
|---|---|---|
| A degree with a spelling slip | Correct it at the university, then attest | No |
| A birth certificate with a wrong parent's name | The Registrar corrects it, then attest | No |
| A degree in a maiden name | Attest it as it is, with the marriage certificate | No |
| Initials on a certificate, a full name on the passport | Ask the issuer. Or ask the foreign authority what it accepts | No |
| The passport is the paper that is wrong | Re-issue the passport first | No |
| Already apostilled, and the mismatch found later | Send a linking paper. Re-attest only if a paper is replaced | No |
| A name changed by choice, never published | Gazette, then the passport, then the set | Yes |
| A name changed by Gazette already | Send the notice with the set | You have one |
In two rows of eight a Gazette is the linking paper. In the others a Registrar, a university or a marriage certificate does the work.
How Do You Prepare the Set?
This is the general method. The sixth step saves the most money.
Step 1: List every paper the foreign authority has asked for
Degree, mark sheets, birth certificate, marriage certificate, and any other.
Step 2: Lay each one beside your passport
Your name, your parents' names and your date of birth, on each.
Step 3: Mark every paper whose name differs from the passport
And say how: a spelling, a maiden name, a missing surname, a new name.
Step 4: Correct what can be corrected, at the office that issued it
A birth or marriage certificate by its Registrar. A school paper by the board, within its rules.
Step 5: For a paper that will not be reissued, gather the linking paper
The marriage certificate, or the Gazette notification, that joins the two names.
Step 6: Ask the foreign authority what it accepts to explain a difference
Before paying for any attestation. Its answer decides what you send.
Step 7: Have each paper authenticated by the state, then apostilled or attested
Through the agencies the ministry has designated, or its online service where the paper is covered.
Step 8: Send the linking paper with the others, attested the same way if asked
So that the whole set tells one story.
What Does an Apostille Not Do?
- It does not check that the name on a certificate is yours.
- It does not compare a certificate with your passport.
- It does not correct a spelling, add a surname or update a maiden name.
- It does not make a wrong certificate right. It makes it an officially recognised wrong certificate.
- It does not join two documents to each other.
- The ministry says so itself: it acts on a signature, and takes no responsibility for the contents.
Anyone who offers to "get the name corrected in attestation" is offering something that does not exist. Read affidavit vs newspaper vs Gazette, on what each paper can do.
When Is a Paper Corrected First?
- Where a certificate carries a plain slip, the office that issued it can correct it.
- A birth or marriage certificate is corrected by its Registrar.
- A degree or mark sheet is corrected by the university or board, within its own rules and time limits.
- Do this before attestation. A corrected or reissued paper is a new paper, and an earlier apostille does not pass to it.
- Where the issuer will not correct, or cannot in time, the paper goes as it is, with an explanation.
- Count the weeks honestly. A correction at a university can take longer than the whole of the rest.
Read name change in education documents, name change in birth certificate and name correction in a marriage registration certificate.
How Are Two Names Linked?
- A certificate that was right when issued is usually not reprinted for a later change of name.
- Then a second paper is sent with it, to show that the two names are one person.
- For a surname taken on marriage, that paper is the marriage certificate.
- For a name changed by choice, it is the Gazette notification.
- The ministry lists affidavits among the documents it apostilles. Some foreign authorities accept an affidavit that both names are one person. Many prefer an official paper.
- Have the linking paper attested in the same way as the certificates, where the foreign authority asks for it.
We could not confirm how a Gazette notification is put through for apostille. Ask the designated agency. Read name change affidavit in Uttarakhand and gazette name change in Uttarakhand.
What Is the State's Step?
- The ministry acts on the signature of the state's designated signing authorities.
- So a document issued in Uttarakhand is authenticated by the state before it goes to the ministry.
- Guides say educational papers go through the state's education department, and personal papers through its home department.
- The state office looks at whether the paper is a real one of the state. It verifies with the issuer where it needs to.
- A paper that has been corrected by hand, laminated or damaged can be held up here.
- The ministry also has an online service for documents held in a digital repository. Ask if yours are covered.
We did not confirm which office in Uttarakhand does this, or its present procedure. Ask the designated agency, or the state's education or home department.
Why Ask the Foreign Authority First?
- The university, licensing board or immigration office abroad decides what it will accept.
- Some accept a marriage certificate for a changed surname without question.
- Some ask for an affidavit, some for an official notice of change of name, some for a letter from the university.
- A licensing body for nurses or doctors may ask for more than a university does.
- Write and ask, giving both forms of the name. Keep the reply.
- Then attest exactly what it asks for. Not less, and not a pile of papers it never wanted.
Read visa application name mismatch and nursing council registration name mismatch.
Where Does a Gazette Come In?
Where your own name has changed by choice, and old certificates have to be linked to a passport in the new name. It links. It does not reprint, and it is not needed for a slip or a married surname.
Step 1: Confirm that your own name has in fact changed
A spelling on a certificate is corrected by its issuer. A married surname is linked by the marriage certificate.
Step 2: Understand what the Gazette does for old certificates
It does not reprint them. It is the paper that links them to your passport.
Step 3: Fix the exact new name
As it stands, or will stand, in the passport's two boxes.
Step 4: Make the affidavit and publish the newspaper notice
Sign before a notary. Publish in a daily local leading newspaper, and keep the original newspaper.
Step 5: Type the form and sign the undertaking
Two typed copies of the specimen, signed in your old name with two witnesses, and the undertaking.
Step 6: Prepare the CD, photographs and certificate
The same text on a CD in MS Word, two self-attested photographs with identity proof, and a certificate that both copies match.
Step 7: Pay the charge on BharatKosh
Commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult. It is not refunded.
Step 8: Send the file yourself, then update the passport, and ask how the notice is attested
Send it to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054.
See gazette name change in Uttarakhand and documents to update after a Gazette name change.
Which Gazette Should You Use?
The notice will be read by someone in another country, beside a passport. The Gazette of India is the one to use.
Step 1: Remember where the papers are going
To a university, an employer or an authority in another country.
Step 2: Remember what they are read against
The passport.
Step 3: Use the Gazette of India
It is the national Gazette, and the one a passport office recognises.
Step 4: Contact the Roorkee press only if a state notice suits another purpose
Take the contact from govtpress.uk.gov.in and ask if a private change of name notice is being accepted.
Step 5: Download the notice
Search egazette.gov.in and save the PDF.
For the difference between the two, read Uttarakhand Gazette vs Gazette of India.
Which Mistakes Do People Make?
| Mistake | What to do |
|---|---|
| Thinking an apostille settles the name | It certifies a signature |
| Attesting a certificate you know to be wrong | Correct it first |
| Never comparing the papers with the passport | Lay each beside it |
| Sending a maiden-name degree with no marriage certificate | Send the linking paper |
| Not asking the foreign authority what it accepts | Ask first, in writing |
| Laminating certificates | Leave them as issued |
| Paying an agent to "correct" a name in attestation | Only the issuer corrects |
| Starting a month before the deadline | The ministry says well in advance |
| A change of name never published | Publish it, then update the passport |
A typical case we handle: a nurse in Dehradun had her degree and registration apostilled for a job abroad. They were in the name "Priyanka Chauhan". Her passport, re-issued after marriage, read "Priyanka Rana". The licensing body abroad wrote back asking for proof that the two were one person. She asked us for a Gazette. She had not changed her name by choice, and needed none. Her registered marriage certificate carried both surnames. She had it apostilled and sent it, as the licensing body had said it would accept. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.
When you do not need us
For a slip on a certificate, a married surname and the attestation itself. The issuer, the marriage certificate and the designated agencies settle those. We are useful where a name was changed by choice and a Gazette notification is the paper that links old certificates to the passport.
Which Areas of Uttarakhand Do We Cover?
All 13 districts: Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh. Send photos of your passport and the papers you are sending abroad on WhatsApp, and we will tell you which of them differ and what links them.
People Also Ask About Apostille and Names
Does an apostille correct a name mismatch?
No. It certifies a signature.
Should the name on an apostilled degree match the passport?
The foreign authority will compare them.
Can a degree in a maiden name be apostilled?
Yes. Send the marriage certificate with it.
Where are documents submitted for apostille?
Through the ministry's designated agencies.
Is a gazette needed for an apostille name mismatch?
Only where the name was changed by choice.
Does the ministry check the contents of a document?
No. It says it takes no responsibility for them.
Since when has India been part of the Apostille Convention?
Since 2005, the Ministry of External Affairs says. India is a member of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, which abolished legalisation of foreign public documents between member countries.
Which countries need attestation instead of an apostille?
Countries that are not members of the Hague Convention. Guides name the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait among them, where the ministry's attestation is followed by that country's embassy. The name check abroad is the same either way.
Does a foreign apostille need attestation again in India?
No. The ministry says that, as India is a member, a document apostilled by another member country should need no further attestation for use in India. Its names are still read against your Indian papers.
What does the outsourced agency charge?
The ministry's table shows an agency fee of Rs 84 per document for normal attestation, on top of the ministry's own fee, which is Rs 50 for an apostille and nil for attestation. Agency charges for apostille are listed on the same page.
What is e-Sanad?
The ministry's e-service for verification and attestation of documents of Indian citizens. A document can go through it only if it is held in a digital repository; others go through the designated agencies.
How can an apostille be checked?
Guides say each apostille carries a unique serial number that can be verified online. Check that the name on the underlying document is right before it is apostilled, since the number verifies the stamp, not your name.
Find Out Which Papers Differ, Before You Attest
Send photos of your passport's first page and the papers you are sending abroad. We will tell you, free, which differ and what would link them. For a slip or a married surname there is nothing to pay us for, and we will say so. Where a Gazette is the linking paper, we prepare the file, and confirm the route and the total cost before you pay anything.
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Apostille Name Mismatch: Frequently Asked Questions
What is an apostille name mismatch?
What is an apostille?
Which documents does the ministry apostille?
Does an apostille confirm that the name on my degree is right?
Do I need a Gazette or an affidavit?
Where is a document submitted for apostille?
What is done before it reaches the ministry?
My degree is in my maiden name and my passport in my married name. Will the degree be reissued?
My degree has a spelling different from my passport. Should I get it apostilled as it is?
Can an affidavit saying both names are one person be apostilled?
Can a Gazette notification be apostilled?
What does an apostille cost?
How long does it take?
Is an apostille accepted in every country?
An agent says he can get a name corrected during attestation. Is that so?
Do you do apostille or attestation?
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Who Wrote and Reviewed This Page?
This page is written by the Documentation Desk Team of UttarakhandNameChange.com, the team that prepares Gazette files for people across Uttarakhand.
It is reviewed by Advocate Vipin Chauhan.
What the ministry attests, the documents it lists, that it legalises on the signature of the state's designated authorities and takes no responsibility for contents, that it does not accept documents directly from individuals, its fee, and its advice to apply well in advance, are from the Ministry of External Affairs' page on attestation and apostille. That educational papers pass through a state's education department and personal papers through its home department is from guides. We did not confirm which office in Uttarakhand authenticates documents, how a Gazette notification is apostilled, or what any foreign authority accepts. That an apostille does not cure a difference of name follows from the ministry's own statement. How names are linked is general guidance. The ministry and the foreign authority concerned are the authority.
Official Sources
- Ministry of External Affairs: attestation and apostilleWhat is attested, how, and the designated agencies.
- e-SanadThe ministry's online service for documents that are covered.
- Passport SevaThe passport every paper is read against.
- e-GazetteA Gazette notification, to download.
- Department of Publication: Change of Name and Public NoticesThe change of name guideline.
Apostille and Names: The Short Version
An apostille tells a foreign reader that a document is a real one. It says nothing about the name in it, and the ministry takes no responsibility for the contents. So lay every paper beside your passport before attesting. Correct a slip at the issuer. For a married surname send the marriage certificate, and for a name changed by choice send the Gazette notification. Ask the foreign authority what it accepts before you pay for anything.
To find out which of your papers differ, send photos on WhatsApp 9540005064, and we will reply in working hours.
An Apostille Certifies a Signature. Settle the Names Before You Attest.
Send your passport and the papers going abroad on WhatsApp. We tell you, free, which differ and what links them.