AFFIDAVIT
(Affidavit of One and the Same Person)
BEFORE THE NOTARY PUBLIC AT __________, __________
I, __________, __________ __________, aged about __________ years, by occupation __________, resident of __________, holding __________ bearing No. __________, do hereby solemnly affirm and declare as under:
1. That I am the deponent named above. I am a citizen of India, I am of sound mind and competent to swear this affidavit, and the facts stated below are true to my own personal knowledge.
2. That this affidavit concerns my own name and identity.
3. That I am making this affidavit for the following purpose: __________.
4. That the name of the person described in paragraph 2 above has been recorded differently in different documents, in the following versions:
(a) "__________" — as appearing in: __________.
(b) "__________" — as appearing in: __________.
5. That all the versions of the name set out in paragraph 4 above refer to one and the same person, that is to say the person described in paragraph 2 above, and to no other person whatsoever. There is no second individual answering to any of those versions in the documents referred to.
6. That the difference in the recorded name arose in the following manner: __________.
7. That the correct and complete name, which I request may henceforth be treated as the correct name in the records of the authority to which this affidavit is given, is "__________".
8. That the different versions of the name have not been used, and are not being used, for any fraudulent, dishonest or unlawful purpose. They have not been used to obtain any benefit, allotment, payment, loan, licence or record twice over, nor to conceal any identity, nor to defeat any claim of any person. The difference is only a difference in the way the name was written in the records, and nothing more. Except as stated in paragraph 4, the person described in paragraph 2 above is not known by any other name. No proceeding, civil or criminal, is pending in which the identity of that person, or the difference between these names, is in question.
9. That I am fully aware that this affidavit will be acted upon and relied upon by the authority to whom it is given, and that a false statement made in it is a punishable offence — in particular under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 dealing with giving false evidence and with a false statement made in a declaration which is by law receivable as evidence (Sections 227, 229 and 236), and, according to the circumstances, under the provisions relating to forgery and to cheating. I am also aware that the authority may move the competent court for prosecution, and that any record, entry, permission or benefit obtained on the strength of a false affidavit is liable to be cancelled.
10. That I therefore respectfully request the said authority to accept this affidavit, to treat every version of the name set out in paragraph 4 as referring to the person described in paragraph 2 above and to no one else, and to record, correct or complete its records in the name "__________" accordingly.
11. That I have not concealed anything material, and this affidavit is made in good faith and for the purpose stated above and for no other purpose.
ANNEXURES — DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THIS AFFIDAVIT
__________
_______________________________
__________
DEPONENT
VERIFICATION
Verified at __________ on this __________ that the contents of the above affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge, that no part of it is false, and that nothing material has been concealed from it.
_______________________________
__________
DEPONENT
(Affix passport-size photograph above the signature and cross-sign it, if the receiving office requires one.)
ATTESTATION
Solemnly affirmed and sworn before me by the deponent, who is identified to my satisfaction, at __________ on __________.
_______________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC / OATH COMMISSIONER
Name: _________________________________
Notarial Registration No.: ______________
Notarial Register Serial No.: ____________ Date of entry: ____________
Seal:
EXECUTION NOTES — READ THESE, THEN DELETE THIS ENTIRE SECTION BEFORE PRINTING THE AFFIDAVIT
These notes are not part of the affidavit. Nothing below this line should appear on the stamp paper.
1. The paper. Print the affidavit above on non-judicial stamp paper of __________ purchased in __________, or on an e-stamp certificate of that value. An affidavit attracts a fixed nominal duty under Article 4 of the Stamp Act as in force in your state — it does not depend on the value of the property, account or claim involved. The values commonly applied are: Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal — Rs 10; Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — Rs 10 statutory, though Rs 100 paper is what most counters hand you; Karnataka — Rs 20 statutory, but Rs 100 e-stamps are widely used in practice, and this is the one figure here most likely to be stale, so check the current Karnataka Stamp Act schedule; Tamil Nadu — Rs 20; Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat — Rs 50; Maharashtra — Rs 100. If your State or Union Territory is not in that list, ask the stamp vendor or the e-stamp counter for the Article 4 (affidavit) value there and buy that denomination or higher. Confirm the current figure with the stamp vendor or the e-stamp portal in any event, because states revise these by notification. If the counter clerk asks for a higher denomination than the statutory minimum, buy it — excess stamp is never a problem, and an under-stamped affidavit can be impounded under Section 33 of the Stamp Act and released only on payment of the deficit and a penalty of up to ten times the deficiency.
2. If this is going into a court, stop and use a different route. An affidavit filed, or made for the immediate purpose of being filed, in a court is exempt from stamp duty under the exemption to Article 4. It carries a court-fee stamp instead, and is sworn before the Oath Commissioner attached to that court, not before a notary.
3. Do not go to the Sub-Registrar. An affidavit is not a registrable document under Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908. There is no registration fee and no registration number for it.
4. Swearing it. Go in person to a Notary Public appointed under the Notaries Act, 1952, or to an Oath Commissioner or an Executive Magistrate. Carry the original of the identity document you have quoted, and the originals or copies of every document named in paragraph 4. Sign in blue ink, in the notary's presence, and initial every page. Expect to pay roughly Rs 100 to Rs 300 including the notarial stamp, and to be there for about fifteen minutes. Before you leave the table, check three things on the page: the notary's round seal, the notary's signature, and the notarial register serial number and date written on the affidavit. A missing register number is the single most common reason a notarised affidavit is rejected at a Tehsil, bank or passport counter.
5. Get more than one original if you need to file in more than one place. The office you give it to keeps it — you will not get it back, and photocopies of a notarised affidavit are usually refused. Each original needs its own stamp paper and its own attestation.
6. What happens after you file it.
- At a Tehsil, for mutation (dakhil kharij / intkal): the affidavit goes in as an annexure to the mutation application, through the Halka Patwari or the Tehsil counter, or is uploaded with the online application on the state revenue portal. Ask for a receipt or acknowledgement slip with the mutation case number on it — that number is how you follow the file. Mutation itself typically takes anywhere from three weeks to a few months, depending on whether objections are invited and on the Tehsildar's board. The affidavit becomes part of the case file permanently.
- At a bank, EPFO, LIC or discom: it is submitted with that institution's own name-correction or request form. Ask for the acknowledgement, and ask what the turnaround is — most are two to four weeks. Keep a photocopy on which you have noted the notarial register number and date.
- At a housing society or an employer: it is filed with the membership or personnel record; ask for a written acknowledgement.
7. Check whether the office has its own format first. Some banks, EPFO, LIC and the passport office prescribe their own printed affidavit or annexure and will not accept a general one. A two-minute question at the counter before you buy stamp paper saves the whole exercise.
8. This affidavit reconciles names. It does not change a name. If what you actually want is to adopt a new name, the route is a deed of change of name, usually followed by advertisements in two newspapers and publication in the Official Gazette. The newspaper advertisement is customary practice rather than a statutory requirement, and Gazette notification is compulsory for government servants but for everyone else is only a way of proving the change. And this affidavit does not, by itself, correct your Aadhaar or your PAN — UIDAI and the PAN authorities have their own correction forms and their own list of acceptable supporting documents, and there are limits on how many times an Aadhaar name may be updated.
9. Freshness. An affidavit has no expiry date in law, but banks, the passport office and EPFO commonly decline one older than three to six months. If your matter has been pending, swear a new one.
10. If you are outside India. Swear it before an officer of the Indian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate, or have it notarised locally and apostilled under the Hague Convention if the country is a party to it. Stamp duty is then paid in India when the affidavit is first received here.