आधार कार्डवरील नाव बदलण्यासाठी UIDAI कडून नवीन SOP जारी; गॅझेट...

By GT24x7 Reporter · 5 October 2026 · GlobalToday24x7

Strict Documentation Directives Framework for Complete Name Changes

NEW DELHI — The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has implemented a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under Regulation 19 of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, tightening documentation requirements for residents seeking to alter their registered name. Under the updated guidelines, any individual requesting a complete name change or a modification to their first name must now mandatorily submit an official Gazette notification issued by either a State Government or the Union Government, alongside an old Proof of Identity (PoI) document reflecting the original Aadhaar name.

The regulatory update aims to curb identity fraud, prevent unauthorized name alterations, and maintain the structural integrity of India’s central identity database. Officials clarified that the address details published in the Gazette notification must align with the address recorded in the resident's Aadhaar profile. To complete demographic updates such as name modifications, residents are required to visit an authorized Aadhaar Seva Kendra or Enrolment Centre, as the online myAadhaar portal currently restricts self-service modifications to address changes.

Categorization of Minor Edits and Marital Name Modifications

The revised SOP establishes clear distinctions between major identity alterations and minor administrative corrections. Minor changes—such as adding or removing a middle name, adjusting the sequence of existing names, expanding initialed abbreviations, or rectifying phonetically similar spelling typos—do not require a Gazette notification. Applicants seeking minor edits can proceed by presenting standard Proof of Identity (PoI) or Proof of Relationship (PoR) documents at designated enrollment centers.

Similarly, name or surname updates resulting from marriage, divorce, or legal adoption are governed by specific documentation pathways rather than mandatory Gazette publications. For instance, a woman changing her surname post-marriage can submit an officially registered marriage certificate alongside valid PoI documentation. In cases involving gender transition, separate documentary provisions apply to ensure seamless legal alignment across government records.

Addressing Operator Errors and Regional Language Discrepancies

To protect residents from administrative penalties caused by technical or clerical mistakes, the SOP explicitly differentiates between user-initiated updates and data-entry errors. When an operator inadvertently misspells a resident's name during initial enrollment despite correct supporting documentation, the subsequent rectification is classified as an operator error. Adults requesting data-entry corrections must submit a prescribed affidavit along with their original PoI document.

Crucially, corrections arising from operator typographical mistakes, transliteration errors, or regional language rendering mismatches will not be counted against the resident's lifetime update quota. A separate clause addresses scenarios where an applicant's name is correctly recorded in English but displayed inaccurately in the regional language script, allowing correction through a specialized affidavit and PoI verification.

Lifetime Update Quotas and Exception Handling Mechanisms

Under the overarching regulatory framework, residents are permitted a maximum of two name update attempts in their lifetime. Any request beyond this two-chance limit falls under the exception handling protocol and is subjected to rigorous scrutiny by UIDAI Regional Offices (RO). Exceptional approval is granted primarily in genuine scenarios such as post-marital adjustments, formal adoption, or initial expansion where prior update limits have been exhausted.

To process an exception case, residents must register an update request at an enrollment centre, obtain an Update Request Number (URN), and forward a formal representation along with supporting...