My name is Mohammed Asif and I am an Indian. I came to Italy for study purpose and I faced here a major problem of surname in my documents, where my surname is Solanki, which was not mentioned in any of my Indian document. So, I was in hurry and I did split my name and kept Mohammed as a surname. However, I want to change my surname and want to keep my real family name. What should I do?

The procedure to change your name includes the following 3 steps.

1. Create an affidavit for change of name

2. Publish about your name change in Newspaper

3. Notify it in State Gazette

Detailed step by step instructions to change your name is provided below.

Affidavit Submission

An affidavit needs to be made explaining why the name change is required. These details need to be included in the affidavit.

1. Full name of the applicant

2. Father’s name or husband’s name (in case of married women)

3. Full residential address

4. A declaration stating that the facts provided in the affidavit are true and correct

The applicant should sign the affidavit and get it attested by a Notary or Judicial Magistrate or an Oaths Commissioner.

Newspaper Publication

After Notarizing the affidavit, you need to publish the change of your name in two local newspapers.

• One classified should be in daily publishing news in the local official language of the State.

• The second classified should be published in a local English Newspaper.

You can contact the newspaper office to update your name. They generally have an exclusive section dedicated to naming change advertisements and can advise you on the format.

Gazette Notification

Gazette Publication is mandatory for government employees and optional for others. However, if you need to update your name in various certificates and id cards, they might ask you for a copy of Gazette.

So you need to publish your name change in gazette. You can approach the office of Controller of publication, Govt. press in your State for the same. Following documents are required for publishing your name in the State Gazette.

• An affidavit duly signed by the applicant and attested by Judicial Magistrate/Notary.

• Original newspaper in which name change ad is given.

• Prescribed proforma (should be computer typed and not handwritten) with signatures of applicant and two witnesses.

• A C.D. (compact disc) that contains the soft copy (typed content, not a scanned copy) of the application in MS Word format. In the place of signature of applicant, the applicant’s old name has to be given and witness details need not be included.

• A certificate in which the applicant declares that the contents included in both soft copy and hard copy are similar. The applicant should duly sign the certificate.

• Two passport size photographs, both self-attested by the applicant.

• A photocopy of a valid ID proof, self attested by the applicant.

• A request letter along with the requisite fee as per the Authority.