Changing your name or your address on an Indian passport is the same procedure in both cases: you apply for a re-issue under “change in existing personal particulars”, and you are issued a fresh booklet. There is no correction service, no endorsement, and no way to amend the booklet you are holding (Passport Seva, services and documents, accessed 2026-08-27).
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group.
How Zurich Kotak fits in: No insurer can amend what is printed in a passport, but Zurich Kotak covers the travel that follows the new booklet. Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel policy covers emergency medical treatment abroad, medical evacuation, baggage loss or delay and loss of passport overseas, up to the limits of the plan you buy. One detail from this page carries over: the name on the policy should match the name in the passport you actually travel on, so the cover is worth buying per trip once the re-issued booklet is in hand.
Last verified: 2026-08-27.
What it costs
The same as an ordinary re-issue, because that is what it is.
Service | Fee |
Re-issue for change in personal particulars, 36 pages, 10-year validity | INR 2,500 |
Re-issue for change in personal particulars, 60 pages, 10-year validity | INR 3,500 |
Re-issue for change in personal particulars, minor below 18 | INR 1,750 |
Additional Tatkaal fee, where Tatkaal is permitted at all | INR 2,500 |
These are the fees set by the Passports (Amendment) Rules, 2026, in force since 2026-07-01 (G.S.R. 516(E) dated 20 June 2026, accessed 2026-08-27). Two things people expect and do not get: the fee is not refundable, and the ten per cent concession for children up to eight and citizens above sixty applies to fresh applications only. Full detail is on our passport fees in India page.
Changing your name after marriage
A woman applying to change her surname after marriage needs the old passport, and either the marriage certificate or a Joint Photo Declaration signed by both spouses on Annexure J. Nothing needs to be sworn before a notary or a magistrate.
· The marriage certificate is the straightforward route where you have one.
· Where you do not, Annexure J is the Joint Photo Declaration in lieu of a marriage certificate, signed by both spouses. It is a plain-paper self-declaration: since the passport rules were reformed on 23 December 2016, no annexure signed by an applicant needs notarisation, stamp paper or a magistrate.
· If you are changing your full name rather than adding or replacing a surname, the standard name-change route applies instead, which is a heavier document set. It is set out below.
The confusion here is the government’s own. The portal’s documents section asks for a marriage certificate or Annexure J for a surname change. The portal’s FAQ answers, on two separate pages, that no additional document is required for a change of surname on account of marriage or divorce, and that married applicants need provide neither a marriage certificate nor a joint affidavit. That second position comes from the 2016 reform, which removed the marriage certificate as a general requirement.
The safe reading, and the one we publish: you are not required to prove that you are married in order to hold a passport, but you are expected to evidence the change you are asking for. Carry the marriage certificate or a signed Annexure J. Arriving with neither risks a refused token and a second trip.
Applicants who cannot produce either, because of marital discord or separation, are covered by that FAQ and should say so at the counter.
Every case, and what it needs
Find your case in the first column. The old passport in original goes with every row.
Your case | Documents, besides the old passport | Tatkaal |
Change of surname following marriage | Marriage certificate, or Annexure J signed by both spouses | Not allowed |
Addition of a spouse’s name | Marriage certificate, or Annexure J signed by both spouses | Not allowed |
Deletion of a spouse’s name after divorce | Divorce order or decree | Not allowed |
Change of surname following divorce | Divorce order or decree | Not allowed |
Change of a spouse’s name after re-marriage | Divorce decree or the first spouse’s death certificate, plus the re-marriage certificate or Annexure J | Not allowed |
Separated, deleting a spouse’s name | Treated as its own category by the portal; check the Documents Advisor for your facts | Not allowed |
Major change in name (anything beyond a spelling fix) | Clippings from two local newspapers, or the State Government gazette notification, plus at least two public or school documents in the new name | Not allowed |
Minor change in name (a spelling correction that does not change how the name sounds) | Nothing further | Allowed |
Change of address | Proof of the new present address | Allowed |
Name change by a Government, PSU or statutory body employee | Gazette notification changing the name in the applicant’s department, and a fresh Identity Certificate in the changed name | Not allowed |
Sources: Passport Seva documents and FAQ pages, and Instruction Booklet V3.0 Table 2, accessed 2026-08-27.
Note the Tatkaal column. The scheme’s list of ineligible categories includes “any change in name” and any change of a father’s, mother’s or spouse’s name, so the fastest route is closed for precisely the cases people most want to hurry.
Changing your address
You need proof of the new present address and the old passport, and that is the whole document list.
Only the present address has to be proved, however long you have lived there, though every place you stayed during the previous year must be listed on the form. Any one of the accepted proofs will do: a utility bill, an Aadhaar letter or card, an Election Commission photo ID, a rent agreement, a bank photo passbook, a spouse’s passport where your present address matches it, and several others. The full list, with the conditions attached to each, is on our documents required for an Indian passport page.
Two things to plan around. Police verification happens at the address on your form, so somebody needs to be reachable there. And if you have moved city, you may apply from anywhere in India, but if your new address falls outside the Passport Office you select, book a Passport Seva Kendra rather than a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra.
Does the passport number change?
Assume it does.
A change of particulars produces a fresh booklet, and the government’s statements in the two adjacent situations both say the number changes with it: a lost passport is replaced by “a new Passport with different Passport number”, and a booklet returned to a Passport Office for rectification is replaced by “a new booklet with new Passport number”.
No current government page states the position for a change-of-particulars re-issue in those terms, so we will not pretend otherwise. Plan on a new number, tell anyone who holds the old one, and carry the old booklet alongside the new one where it holds a valid visa.
How to apply
The application is a re-issue, so start from the same form everyone else uses and pick the right reason.
1. Register and log in at passportindia.gov.in/psp .
2. Choose “Apply for Fresh Passport/Re-issue of Passport”, then Re-issue, then “Change in existing personal particulars”, and tick what you are changing.
3. Fill the previous-passport section from the booklet you hold, including its file number.
4. Pay online and take the appointment the system offers. Online payment is mandatory.
5. Attend the Passport Seva Kendra with the originals from the table above, a self-attested photocopy of each, and the old passport. No photograph is needed.
6. Track it with the file number printed on the Acknowledgement Letter you are handed on the way out.
Common mistakes
Most of these cost a second trip to the Passport Seva Kendra, and the fee is not refundable.
Mistake | What happens | What to do instead |
Applying for a “correction” or an “update” | There is no such service | Apply for a re-issue, change in existing personal particulars |
Booking Tatkaal for a name change | Rejected at the counter; the fee is not refundable | Only a spelling correction and an address change are Tatkaal-eligible |
Getting Annexure J notarised on stamp paper | Time and money spent for nothing | Plain paper, signed by both spouses |
Using an obsolete affidavit form found online | It was abolished in 2016 and contradicts the current rule | Use only the annexures linked from the current portal |
Changing the passport but not the ticket or visa | Boarding and visa problems on the next trip | Change the passport first, then everything issued against it |
Expecting the concession for seniors | It applies to fresh applications only | Budget the full re-issue fee |
Where this sits in the journey
A change of particulars sits alongside the ordinary re-issue, not apart from it.
· The complete document lists by case: documents required for an Indian passport .
· The forms themselves, and which are plain-paper declarations: passport annexures explained .
· The step-by-step process, which is common to every re-issue: passport renewal process .
One note for after the passport arrives. Anything issued in your old name and used for travel, tickets, visas and travel insurance documents included, has to match the passport you actually travel on. A mismatch between a policy document and a passport tends to surface at the worst moment.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change my surname on my passport after marriage? Apply for a re-issue of the passport under change in existing personal particulars. Carry the old passport and either your marriage certificate or a Joint Photo Declaration on Annexure J signed by both spouses. Annexure J is a plain-paper declaration and does not need a notary, stamp paper or a magistrate.
Is a marriage certificate compulsory for a passport name change? The portal’s documents section asks for a marriage certificate or Annexure J, while its FAQ says no additional document is required on account of marriage or divorce. Carry one of the two anyway. Applicants who cannot produce either, because of separation or marital discord, are covered by that FAQ and should say so at the counter.
How do I change the address on my passport? Apply for a re-issue under change in existing personal particulars and submit proof of your new present address along with the old passport. Only the present address has to be proved, and Tatkaal is permitted for an address change.
Can I get a name change done under Tatkaal? No. The Tatkaal scheme’s list of ineligible categories includes any change in name and any change of a father’s, mother’s or spouse’s name. A minor spelling correction that does not change how the name sounds is allowed under Tatkaal, and so is a change of address.
Does my passport number change when I change my name? Assume it does. A change of particulars produces a fresh booklet, and the government’s statements in the adjacent cases of a lost passport and a rectified booklet both say a new passport number is issued. Carry the old booklet alongside the new one where it holds a valid visa.
What does a major change in name need? Clippings from two local newspapers or the State Government gazette notification, at least two public or school documents in the new name, and the old passport. It cannot be applied for under Tatkaal, and Government, public sector and statutory body employees follow a separate route set out above.
