Name Change in OBC Certificate in Uttarakhand

A certificate for the other backward classes says two things, where a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe certificate says one.

• The second statement is why an OBC certificate has a shelf life, and why recruiting bodies ask for one issued within stated dates.
• It is also why the parents' papers matter. Their names appear in the file behind the certificate.
• A change of the candidate's name changes neither statement. The community entry and the creamy layer finding stay as they are.

So two things are checked on an OBC certificate that are not checked on most papers: its date, and its format.

• The candidate, whose name is compared with the class 10 certificate at verification.
• The father, through whom the community is traced. His name is compared with the candidate's marksheets and with his own papers.
• The mother, on some formats.
• The community, as spelt in the list.
• The village, tehsil and district.

The community's name on the certificate has to be the entry as it appears in the list, not the surname the family uses. A family name and a community name are two different things, and a surname added or dropped does not alter the community. Read removing a surname or caste name and father's name change and correction.

Step 1: Read the notice you are applying under

Note the format it prints, the list it refers to, and the dates within which the certificate has to be issued.

Step 2: Put the class 10 certificate beside the old OBC certificate

Compare the candidate's name and the father's name, letter by letter.

Step 3: Correct Aadhaar to the class 10 name, if it differs

The tehsil copies Aadhaar.

Step 4: Collect the father's papers

His identity proof, his own caste certificate or the family's older one, and the family register extract.

Step 5: Collect the parents' income papers

For the creamy layer finding. A current income certificate is usually asked for.

Step 6: Apply for a fresh certificate in the right format

On the state's service portal, at a common service centre or at the tehsil. Type the names yourself.

Step 7: Check the issued certificate the same day

The name, the father's name, the community as in the list, the format and the date.

Step 8: Keep the old certificate with the new one

The old one shows the family's community was certified earlier.

A fresh certificate cures a wrong name. But a fresh certificate also carries a fresh date, and that can create a different problem.

• Each recruiting body writes its own rule, and courts have ruled on these rules more than once. Read the notice, and ask the body in writing where it is unclear.
• So the time to check an OBC certificate is before the application form is filled, not at verification.
• Where the name is wrong and the dates have already passed, some bodies accept the old certificate with identity proof and an undertaking for a small spelling difference. That is their decision.
• We could not confirm the state's own validity rule. Ask the tehsil.

1. The panel reads the certificate against the class 10 certificate, for the candidate's name and the father's.
2. It checks the format, the list and the date against the notice.
3. It may check the certificate online against the issuing record.
4. A small difference may be passed on identity proof and an undertaking, or the candidate may be given time.
5. A larger difference, or a wrong format or date, can move the candidate to the unreserved category, or out.

A candidate moved to the unreserved category keeps the candidature only if the marks clear that cut-off too. So a wrong letter on this one paper can cost the post. Read name mismatch at document verification.

Step 1: Confirm that it is a change of name

A spelling is cured by a fresh certificate.

Step 2: Read how your recruiting body treats a changed name

Many say the matriculation name governs, and what proof they take for a change.

Step 3: Fix the exact new name, and list the name as on the certificates

Letter by letter.

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 and Rs 1,700 for a minor. It is not refunded.

Step 8: Send the file yourself, then update Aadhaar and apply for a fresh certificate

Send it to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Carry the published notification with the old and the new certificates.

The notice records a change of name only. It does not state, change or prove a community. See gazette name change in Uttarakhand.

A typical case we handle: a candidate from Udham Singh Nagar found, a month before a central recruitment closed, that his OBC certificate was in the state format and gave his name without the surname on his class 10 certificate. He asked us for a Gazette. He did not need one. He applied to the tehsil for a fresh certificate in the central format printed in the notice, in his class 10 name, with his father's papers and a current income certificate. It was issued before the closing date. 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 spelling, a missing surname, a wrong format or a stale date. Each is cured by a fresh certificate from the tehsil. We are useful only where a candidate has in fact changed a name since class 10, and a Gazette notification is wanted to link the certificates to it.

How do I correct a name in an OBC certificate?

Apply to the tehsil for a fresh certificate in the class 10 name.

Can an OBC certificate be edited after it is issued?

No. A fresh one is issued.

Is a gazette needed for an OBC certificate name correction?

Not for a spelling. Only where the name has in fact changed.

Does a change of name change my OBC status?

No. The community entry does not change.

Is a state OBC certificate valid for a central job?

Usually the central format is asked for. Read the notice.

Does a woman's OBC status change after marriage?

No. Her community is her father's.

What is the OBC creamy layer income limit?

Rs 8 lakh a year, set by the Department of Personnel and Training in 2017. Guides say it is tested on the parents' income over the three financial years before the application.

Is the creamy layer limit being raised?

Not so far. A parliamentary committee on OBC welfare has recommended revising the Rs 8 lakh limit, but the ministry has said no revision is under consideration.

Is salary or farm income counted for the creamy layer?

No. Income from salary and from agricultural land is not counted in the income test, though the parents' posts can still place a family in the creamy layer.

How long is an OBC non-creamy layer certificate valid?

Guides say one financial year, from 1 April to 31 March, for central purposes. Recruitment notices often ask for a certificate for the financial year of the advertisement.

Who is in the creamy layer regardless of income?

Children of certain high-ranking officials, such as Group A officers of the Government, fall in the creamy layer whatever the family income.

Does an OBC certificate have to say non-creamy layer?

For most central purposes, yes. A plain caste certificate that does not state non-creamy layer status is a common reason for rejection, so ask the tehsil for the format that states it.