Is birth certificate for husband really mandatory

Slightly off topic, but I want to know what any of this has to do with courts, judges, etc. They often crop up in marriage threads, but, in my experience, do not crop up at all in marriages!

Marriages are registered (and performed, in the case of civil marriages) by registrars (just like they are in UK); the same people who register property transactions and a heap of other stuff. They are government officers, but they are not judicial.

Similarly, affidavits are made before a lawyer who is authorised to do so. In UK he is called a commissionaire for oaths, in India, I think he is called a notary. We had to do one fairly recently, because of a lost document, when transferring our "gas connection". It was written, on stamp paper, by a document writer and validated by the notary. In theory, we did it in front of him, in practice, the document writer just took the document and his fee, and returned with the signature and stamp!

If you go to a document writer (and this whole industry of document writers, advocates, notaries, photo-copy shops exists as a sort of outer circle to courts and register offices) they usually know very well what is required, and their fees are very nominal. When we bought our house we employed an advocate to do the registration, but we still got some good advice from the document writer cum stamp-paper seller, that prepared the documents, that our advocate did not give!

So... unless it is very different in other states, what have courts and judges got to do with marriage?

Name change... yes, it must be advertised in (I think) two newspapers. A form must be filled that has to be countersigned by "a gazetted officer" in a government institution. The form is dealt with by a government office. It is published in their publication (here it was the Tamil Nadu Gazette when my wife did it) and one should order and keep a number of copies of the one including your name change.

As I have said before... lawyers are absolutely unnecessary in the marriage process. Their only purpose is to pocket your money. The document writers will not charge much to prepare the paperwork, and the official fees for marriage and certificates are pennies only, just a few rupees.

quetzal... the man has no name - 'officially' that is.


imperative you do this first
get all the details straight... especially of the 'past'... collating any/every document he may have.

then armed with the info and any documents - go back to this officer.
if you keep contradicting and/or coming up with changes in them 'minor deatils' [ ] it will all get even more convoluted than it already is.

officially document the name change.
then tackle the date of birth.
whilst doing the DOB - legally document 'proof of residence' as well.
you will require all the above when applying for his passport.



as before - wish you all the best
:brishti