Gandhinagar: The Health and Family Welfare Department of Gujarat has announced a significant decision providing relief to citizens. To address difficulties related to name corrections in birth and death certificates, the Chief Registrar (Birth-Death) issued an important advisory today (November 26). These new regulations provide clear guidelines for divorced couples, single parents, and applicants seeking to modify surnames or name sequences.
Mother’s Name in Divorce Cases
When a couple is divorced and custody of the child has been granted to the mother through court orders, the birth certificate can include the mother’s name and surname after the child’s name. The format would be: child’s name, mother’s name, mother’s surname.
Father’s Name Remains Mandatory
An important clarification states that the biological father’s name cannot be removed from the ‘father’s name’ column in birth certificates. This entry remains compulsory regardless of custody arrangements.
Flexibility for Intact Families
Even when both parents live with the child, they now have the option to replace the father’s name with the mother’s name and surname after the child’s name if they choose.
Optional Surname and Middle Name
Applicants can now opt out of including both the middle name (father’s name) and last name (surname) after the child’s name. This makes it possible to register only the child’s given name if desired.
Modified Name Sequence
A new naming sequence is now acceptable: surname first, followed by the child’s name, and then the father’s name. This format provides additional flexibility in documentation.
Different Surnames for Father and Child
Parents can now register different surnames for father and child, provided they submit government gazette notifications and supporting evidence for the correction.
Death Certificate Regulations
Similar changes apply to death certificates, where including the deceased person’s father’s or spouse’s name and surname after their name is now optional.
Multiple Corrections Allowed
Under the previous 2007 regulations, registrars could make corrections only once in birth-death records. The new circular permits additional corrections when circumstances change, provided appropriate documentation and evidence are submitted.
District registrars, municipal corporations, and municipality officials across the state have been instructed to implement this advisory immediately.
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