NAMING LAW
The rules from UIDAI’s memorandum, its 2021 procedure and its document list, and why you should read the current procedure before you go.
UIDAI’s circulars page lists a new standard operating procedure for updating a name in Aadhaar, dated 18 September 2026. This guide cites the 2019 memorandum, the 2021 procedure and the acceptable-documents list, which are the documents we could read in full. The newer procedure may change the steps, so check it on UIDAI’s site or at an enrolment centre before you apply. [4]
UIDAI’s memorandum of 1 April 2019 limits updates to the date of birth once, the name twice and the gender once. The 2021 procedure repeats that a resident can update the name twice in a lifetime. Mistakes by the operator, transliteration errors and a name change that follows from a regional-language update do not count as one of the two chances. [1] [2]
The 2019 memorandum describes an exception route. You update at a centre, then write or email the UIDAI Regional Office with the update request number slip, your Aadhaar details and proof, or call 1947. The Regional Office does the due diligence and does not ask you to visit unless it needs to. The 2021 procedure lists the cases it handles after the two chances are used: marriage, divorce or adoption certificates, expanding initials, reordering the sequence of names and a complete change supported by a Gazette notification. [1] [2]
UIDAI’s document list includes a marriage certificate issued by a Central or State Government, a divorce decree from a family court, a transgender certificate, and, for a change in the first name or the full name, a Gazette notification. The name is copied exactly as it appears on the document you submit, so choose a document whose spelling is the one you want. [3]
For a child named “Baby of…”, a first update to the full name is allowed with a birth certificate issued under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969. Other updates to a minor’s name, such as adding or changing a surname, correcting the spelling by sound or expanding an abbreviation, need a birth certificate or guardianship document that carries the revised name. [3]
The updated e-Aadhaar is downloaded once the request is approved. Update your PAN, bank records and passport to the same spelling so the names match, since each agency keeps its own record.
Twice under the 2019 memorandum and the 2021 procedure. The newer procedure dated 18 September 2026 should be read for its current position. [1] [2] [4]
UIDAI’s exception route goes through the Regional Office, which you can reach by email, post or the 1947 helpline. [1] [2]
A marriage certificate issued by a Central or State Government is on UIDAI’s document list. [3]
UIDAI’s document list asks for one for a change in the first name or the full name. [3]
Yes, with a birth certificate or guardianship document carrying the revised name; a first full-name update for a child named “Baby of…” is allowed with an Act birth certificate. [3]
It does not count as one of the two chances, according to the 2021 procedure; ask the Regional Office to have it reprocessed. [2]