Changing your name on a bank account means updating your account with a new name. This happens when you legally change your name due to marriage, divorce, or personal choice. You'll need to inform your bank and provide legal documents like a marriage certificate or court order as proof. The bank then updates its records to reflect your new name. This ensures that your account information matches your legal identity, helping avoid confusion and ensuring smooth banking transactions. Remember, it's important to notify your bank promptly to keep your financial affairs in order.

Reasons Behind Change of Name In Bank Accounts

People might change their bank account names for various reasons.

• When someone gets married or divorced, they might choose to change their name on their bank account to reflect their new legal name.
• People might undergo a legal name change for various personal reasons, such as gender transition, religious conversion, or simply because they prefer a different name.
• If someone's identity has been stolen or compromised, they may need to change their name on their bank account to protect their financial assets.
• Sometimes, there might have been a mistake in the spelling of the name or other details when the account was initially set up, and the account holder needs to rectify it.
• In the case of a business account, if there are changes in ownership, mergers, or restructuring, the name on the account might need to be updated.
• Some individuals might simply prefer to use a different name for personal or professional reasons, and they may choose to update their bank account accordingly.

Who Can Change Name In Bank Accounts?

People change their names in bank accounts for different reasons:

• Religion Change: If someone changes their religion, they might also change their name to match their new beliefs.
• Marriage: When a woman gets married, she might add her husband's last name to hers.
• Personal Choice: Some people just don't like their name, so they decide to change it.
• Astrology: Some believe in astrology and might change their name based on astrological beliefs.
• Correcting Mistakes: Sometimes, your name might be spelled wrong in your documents, so you need to fix it.

Procedure of Changing Name In Bank Account

Step 1: Affidavit For Changing Your Name

If you want to change your name, first you need to make a Affidavit at a local notary office, which you can find at a nearby shop. This statement should include your old name, your new name, and the reason for wanting to change your name. Also, you'll need to provide details about yourself like your husband's or father's name, your address, and proof of your age.

Step 2: Announcement In Newspapers

After completing the first steps of the name change process, the next step is to announce the name change in newspapers.

You need to publish an advertisement in two local newspapers, one in the regional language (like Hindi) and the other in English.

Here are some important points to include in the newspaper advertisement for the name change:

• New name of the person changing their name
• Old name of the person changing their name
• Full address of the person changing their name
• Age of the person changing their name
• Date on which the affidavit for name change was made by the person
• Father’s or husband's name of the person changing their name
• Name of the notary who attested the affidavit

Before giving the advertisement in the newspaper, always double-check the content to make sure all the points mentioned above are correct and proper. A small mistake can ruin the entire procedure.

Step 3: Official Notification Of Name Change In The Gazette Of India

After completing all the previous steps, the third step is to publish the name change in the Gazette of India.

To do this, you need to send a notification to the Department of Publication of Change of Name. This notification should include:

• A duly notarized name change affidavit (hard copy)
• Copies of the newspaper publications announcing the name change (hard copy)

You'll also need to enclose a Demand Draft (DD) for the required fee along with the application and documents.

You need to create a digital CD containing a soft copy of the specimen.

This CD should include:

• The soft copy of the specimen document.
• A certificate signed by the applicant, stating that the information in both the hard copy and soft copy provided is the same.

For government employees, it's necessary to submit a deed for name change as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned in O.M. No. 190016/1/87- Estt. dated 12/03/1987.

If you reside abroad, you must submit the deed duly attested by the respective Indian Embassy or Indian High Commission only.

You'll also need to include the following documents:

• A demand draft of Rs. 1,100/- for adults and Rs. 1,700/- for minors, drawn in favor of Controller of Publications, Delhi.
• Two self-attested passport-size photographs.
• One self-attested photo ID proof.
• An application or forwarding letter detailing all the enclosed documents within the envelope.