On 18 September 2026 UIDAI replaced the procedure that decides whether your Aadhaar name-change request is accepted or thrown out. The new Standard Operating Procedure, issued as F.no. HQ-16024/4/2020-EU-I-HQ by the Enrolment & Update-I Division, supersedes the name-update process that had run since 28 October 2021 and came into force the moment it was signed.
It matters because it publishes, for the first time in one place, the exact line between a change UIDAI treats as a minor name change — documents only — and one it treats as a major name change, which is liable to be rejected unless you produce a Gazette notification. It also names two situations in which you need no document at all.
Everything below is read out of the SOP itself. You can download our copy of the eleven-page circular and check any row against it.
The rule that decides your request
Paragraph 5 of the SOP is the whole game. When you ask for a new name, UIDAI matches it against every name previously recorded or updated on that Aadhaar — not just the one printed today. If that comparison shows a complete change of name or a change of identity, the request is classified as a major name change and is liable to be rejected unless a Gazette notification comes with it.
Two more rules sit above all the categories:
- The name in Aadhaar is recorded in block letters, without alias or urf, without prefixes, military ranks, designations, service names or awards and decorations. Dots and other special characters are not permitted.
- The name is updated exactly as the spelling, sequence and abbreviation appear in the document you submit. If your certificate spells it one way and you ask for another, the document wins.
1. Minor name change — five scenarios
For every row in this group the document required is the same: PoI; applicable PoR where it is an HoF-based name update of a child under 18.
| # | Scenario | Illustrations from the SOP |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Expanding an abbreviation, or abbreviating the name to initials | T R D Prasad → Tadi Rama Durga Prasad; Ram Mohan Naidu → RM Naidu; V V R S Shastri → Varanasi Venkata Ramanuja Shiva Shastri; Mohd → Md or Mohammad or Muhammed or Muhammad; CA Tirkey → Cornelius Ajas Tirkey |
| (b) | Addition or deletion of a middle name or last name | Addition: Himanshu Gupta → Himanshu Chandra Gupta; Sanapala Rao → Sanapala Bhushan Rao. Deletion: Lakshmi Jyoti Swaroopini → Jyoti Swaroopini; Vishu Kumar → Vishu |
| (c) | Change in sequential order | Divakar Anand → Anand Divakar; Ravi Kishan → Kishan Ravi |
| (d) | Minor correction in English spelling where the names are phonetically similar | Ram → Rama; Sitaram → Sita Ram; Somya → Saumya; Pooja Singh → Puja Singh; Sanjeev Kumar → Sanjiv Kumar; Velayutham → Velayudham; Dhanalakshmi → Thanalakshmi |
| (e) | Any combination of (a), (b), (c) and (d) | — |
2. Errors — data entry and regional language
| # | Category | Scenario | Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| (f) | Data entry error | The name was recorded incorrectly in Aadhaar, but the document originally submitted carried the correct name | Adults: affidavit in Annexure B + PoI/PoR. Minors: affidavit in Annexure C + PoI/PoR |
| (g) | Error in the regional language | The English name is correct in Aadhaar but the regional-language name is wrong — for example Nirmal Sinha recorded as निर्मला सिन्हा instead of निर्मल सिन्हा | PoI |
The trap in row (f). A data-entry-error correction is accepted only if the name you are now asking for matches the Proof of Identity or Proof of Relationship document UIDAI already holds from your earlier enrolment or update. The SOP says in as many words that if it does not match that earlier document, the request shall be rejected — the affidavit does not rescue it. Before you file, think about which document you handed over the first time.
3. Special cases — including the two that need no document
| # | Scenario | Illustrations from the SOP | Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| (h) | Change of surname of a woman after marriage or divorce | Gita Rai → Gita Siddharth Rai; Amisha Patel → Amisha Singh | Affidavit in Annexure D + PoI |
| (i) | Change of name because of a change of gender | Sarita Kumari → Santosh Kumar | Applicable PoI |
| (j) | HoF-based name update of a child under 18, from “Baby of ——” to an actual name | Baby of Sudha → Ritu Kumar; Baby → Rahul Singh | Applicable PoR |
| (k) | Dropping ranks, designations and similar prefixes | Lt Gen, Maj Gen, Brig, Col, Lt Col, Sub Maj, Sub, Nb Sub, Hav, Nk, L Nk; Justice, Prof, Retd, Dr, Learned, Ld; Shri, Smt, Ms, Mr | PoI |
| (l) | Correcting capital letters that appear at random inside the name | RaMesh → Ramesh; ViVEK → Vivek | No document required |
| (m) | Removing dots from the name | R.V.N Srinivas → RVN Srinivas; R.P. Singh → R P Singh | No document required |
| (n) | The name carries an “urf” or an alias and the holder wants to keep only one of the two names | Jagdish Singh urf Jagga → Jagdish Singh or Jagga; Rahul Singh urf Bittu → Rahul Singh or Bittu | Adults: affidavit in Annexure E + PoI. Minors: affidavit in Annexure F + PoI/PoR |
Rows (l) and (m) are the quiet win in this circular. If your Aadhaar reads RaMesh because an operator's shift key stuck, or R.P. Singh with dots that UIDAI itself no longer permits, the SOP asks for no supporting document. No affidavit, no certificate. Operators who still demand one are not following the September 2026 SOP.
4. Major name change — when only a Gazette notification works
Scenario (o) is a complete change of name or change of identity. The SOP's own illustrations are Ram Gupta → Shyam Gupta; Amisha Patel → Ameesha Kumar Singh. For this category the document column reads: PoI — and for a name change, only a Gazette notification is accepted.
So a marriage surname change (row h) goes through on an affidavit and a PoI, while deciding you would rather be called something else does not — that needs publication in the official Gazette first. The SOP also records that UIDAI will verify the genuineness of the PoI and PoR documents, the affidavits and the Gazette notifications submitted with a request.
The five affidavit formats
The SOP annexes its own affidavit formats. Each one must be printed on non-judicial stamp paper of a minimum value of ₹10 and may be signed and attested before a Judicial Magistrate, an Executive Magistrate or a Notary Public. Using your own wording invites a rejection; use the annexed format.
| Format | For | Used when |
|---|---|---|
| Annexure B | Adults | Name recorded incorrectly in Aadhaar because of a data entry error |
| Annexure C | Minors | Name recorded incorrectly in Aadhaar because of a data entry error |
| Annexure D | Women | Change of surname in Aadhaar after marriage or divorce |
| Annexure E | Adults | Name recorded with “urf” or an alias, and the holder wants to retain one of the names |
| Annexure F | Minors | Name recorded with “urf” or an alias, and the holder wants to retain one of the names |
Every one of them ends with the same undertaking: if any declaration or document is found to be false, fabricated, forged, fraudulent or otherwise not genuine, the deponent is solely responsible for all legal consequences including deactivation of the Aadhaar number and prosecution. That sentence is the reason a casual affidavit is a bad idea.
Which document counts as PoI or PoR
The SOP does not re-publish the document list — it points at Schedule II of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 and at Regulation 19. UIDAI's current consolidated list was uploaded in June 2026; we have mirrored that list here so you can confirm your certificate is on it before you travel to a centre.
Separately: your phone is now valid Aadhaar
A second UIDAI circular is worth knowing about while you are fixing your name. Circular No. HQ-30011/3/2025-AU-HO of the Aadhaar Usage Division, dated 30 April 2026, tells every Ministry, Department, State Government, autonomous body and authority that accepts Aadhaar as proof of identity to also accept Aadhaar shown or shared through the official Aadhaar App.
The circular places the app's Aadhaar Verifiable Credential at par with the Aadhaar letter, e-Aadhaar, masked e-Aadhaar, the Aadhaar Card and m-Aadhaar, relying on the Information Technology Act, 2000 for the legal recognition of electronic records. It also records a privacy point most coverage missed: when you share identity details with an Offline Verification Seeking Entity through the app, the 12-digit Aadhaar number is not transferred at all. You can read our copy of that circular here.
Before you go to the enrolment centre
- Work out which of the fifteen rows above your change actually is. The document column is decided by the row, not by what the operator guesses.
- If it is a data entry error, be sure the name you are asking for matches the document UIDAI already holds.
- If it is a complete change of name, start with the Gazette notification — nothing else will do.
- Print the affidavit in the annexed format on ₹10 stamp paper and get it attested before you travel.
- Carry the original of every document; the SOP requires their genuineness to be verified.
If you are assembling documents for a government job application as well, our guide to the caste, income and EWS certificates covers the other three that cause most document-verification rejections.