Short Name and Full Name Difference in Documents in Uttarakhand

It is when two of your papers carry the same name, written out in full on one and shortened on the other. No word is misspelt. One record has simply used fewer letters.

It starts innocently. A school register had a narrow column. A clerk wrote "Kr." to save time. A form had too few boxes for the whole name. Years later, a bank's computer compares the two papers letter by letter and finds they do not match.

The names above are only examples of form.

Usually not. A change of name gives you a name you did not have before. Here you have one name, and one record has shortened it. Writing it out in full is a correction of that record.

• Initials and abbreviations stand for words that are already on your other papers.
• The Aadhaar rules allow certain name updates with a supporting document and no Gazette. Adding or editing initials is among them.
• Many offices will expand a short form on their own form, with a paper that shows the full name.
• Where an office will not change its record, it may accept a sworn statement that both forms are one person.

It does become a change of name if you want to drop a word for good, or add one that is on none of your papers. Then the name itself is changing, and not just the way it is written.

Aadhaar and PAN matter most, because the bank, the tax system and most other offices check against them. If those two carry the same full form, letter for letter, most of the trouble goes away.

A good share of "short and full name" problems are not about the name at all. A title was typed into the name box, and it now looks like part of the name.

• Leave titles out of every name box. Forms for identity papers ask for the name without them.
• A degree or a profession does not change your name. "Dr." or "Adv." before a name is a form of address.
• Where a record has a title joined to the name, ask that office to remove it. It is a clerical correction.

One word needs care. "Km." before a name is a title. "Kumari" after a name, as in Sunita Kumari, is part of the recorded name. They are not the same thing on paper. See changing Kumari or Devi to a husband's surname.

Your father's or mother's name appears on your certificates, your passport and many forms. It is shortened as often as your own.

• A marksheet that says "S/o H. C. Joshi", where your father's papers say Harish Chandra Joshi, is a short form in your record.
• The record is yours, so you apply to correct it, with your parent's identity proof as support.
• For a board certificate, the board's correction rules and time limits apply.
• Where a board wants Gazette proof, the notice is a public notice stating how the parent's name was written and what it actually is.

When you fill any form for yourself or your child, write the parent's name in full, as on that parent's own Aadhaar. A short form written today is a correction someone will need in twenty years.

Step 1: Confirm that a Gazette is needed

Get the refusing office to say so in writing, or check your case against the list above.

Step 2: Draft the notice and ask the Department

Write the forms in use, joined by alias, and the full form you will keep. Ask if it will be printed as drafted, and the charge.

Step 3: Make the affidavit

State every form in use and the one you will use from now on. Sign before a notary.

Step 4: Publish the newspaper notice

In a daily local leading newspaper, in the same wording. 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, with Rs 250 more for each alias. It is not refunded.

Step 8: Send the file yourself, then download the Gazette

Send it, with a request letter, to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Then check Part IV on egazette.gov.in each week.

The full route is on our gazette name change in Uttarakhand page.

A typical case we handle: a retired teacher in Almora had "B. P. Pant" in his service book and pension papers, and "Bhagwati Prasad Pant" on his Aadhaar and PAN. His pension account failed a verification, and he was told to change his name. Nothing needed changing. His class 10 certificate had the full form. The bank took a correction affidavit naming both forms with a copy of that certificate, and updated the account. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.

When you do not need us

For initials or a short form that an older paper spells out, you need only the office that holds the short record. We are useful where an office has refused in writing, where a word is missing across several papers, or where a passport depends on it. Send us the papers and we will tell you which, free.

Is a name with initials the same as the full name?

It is the same person and the same name, but records match letter by letter, so the two forms can fail a check.

Do I need a gazette to expand initials in my name?

Usually not. The office that holds the record can expand it with a supporting document.

Can I expand my initials in Aadhaar?

Yes, with a supporting document. Adding or editing initials is among the updates that need no Gazette.

My middle name is missing on one document. Is that a problem?

It can be, before a passport or a bank verification. Ask the office that lacks it to add the word.

Should I write Dr. or Smt. in the name field?

No. A title is not part of the name. Leave it out of every name box.

Which is better on documents, initials or the full name?

The full name, written out, on every paper.

Are initials allowed in an Indian passport?

No. The passport form asks for the given name as the first name followed by the middle name, and says initials are not allowed. The application should give the expanded name.

Can my father's initials be expanded in my passport?

Yes. An Indian mission's guidance says initials in a parent's name may be expanded into the full name, subject to proof.

Can a newborn's birth certificate have initials for a passport?

No, according to one Indian mission's guidance. Initials are not allowed in the birth certificate, and if there are any, it has to be changed to the full name before the passport.

Is adding a surname to my passport a change of name?

Yes. An Indian mission's guidance says adding a surname to the given name is treated as a change of name.

Can I split my name into given name and surname at re-issue?

Yes, by applying for re-issue. No word or spelling may be added or dropped while splitting. If it is, the change of name procedure applies.

Why do embassies want a surname in my passport?

Many countries insist on a surname for a visa. An empty surname field can force a re-issue later.