Aadhar Change After Marriage: Reasons Why You Should Do It & the Only Step-by-step Guide You Need to Do It Right
An Aadhar change is a crucial step that you must take after you are married. Have you been putting it off for the future? Keep reading to know why you shouldn’t!
Once you’ve gotten married (and have gotten your marriage registration certificate), you’ve got one final herculean task ahead of you – initiating the Aadhar change. If you’re planning to keep your name post marriage, then you probably don’t need to initiate this change, however, as most brides do either add their husband’s name to their own with a hyphen or take on the name entirely, you’ll probably need to change your Aadhar details.
If you’re internally groaning at adding yet another chore to your list, we feel your pain! Initiating an Aadhar change may mean an additional task, however, it is really not as taxing as getting fresh Aadhar card made.
1. Why should you initiate an Aadhar change?
If you’re a bit of a procrastinator and are trying to worm your way out of this chore, don’t do that because your Aadhar card is a crucial document. As per the new Supreme Court rules, you must have an updated Aadhar card to be able to file for any income tax returns and trust us, you don’t want to mess with the Income Tax department! Furthermore, your Aadhar helps you with numerous other legal procedures such as applying for a passport (or getting it updated), opening a new bank account, updating your voter ID, making a huge purchase in your name like buying a house, and so on. So, in many ways, you cannot truly begin your new life as a married woman without this crucial identity proof.
Moreover, many organisations these days ask for a copy of the Aadhar card when reviewing candidates for positions, so you should get the change made in yours for the sake of your career! Many MNCs are quite rigid about this rule and do not make any allowances whatsoever!
2. Can you do this online?
Yes, of course! Just like how you got your marriage certificate online, you can also initiate an Aadhar change online. For this, you must log into the UIDAI website with the help of your unique Aadhar number and get onto their Online Self Service Update Portal.
There will be a section on this portal that deals with name changes, and you must file in your request by confirming your new name. Once that’s done, you must submit a soft copy of your marriage certificate (ensure that this is a scanned copy and not a photograph!), along with any self-attested documents that the site may specify at that time (for instance, a Voter ID, scanned copy of the passport, driver’s license, and so on).
The UIDAI website will then send you an OTP in order to verify that you’re the one initiating the Aadhar change and not someone else! In case your mobile number is not linked to the Aadhar card yet, do make sure that it’s done so that this process can be a smooth one for you.
Finally, once the Aadhar change occurs (it can take a few days), you can download a copy of the card, print it at your end, and laminate it. That’s really all you have to do! So, if you’re procrastinating because you think this will be a long, drawn-out process, then don’t!
Furthermore, the process itself is a free one so you don’t have to worry about any additional online transactions.
3. What about doing this offline?
In case you don’t want to handle your Aadhar change online, you can always head down to an enrollment centre that’s near your home and do it there. Sometimes, it just makes more sense to let professionals take over these things! You can avoid any random mistakes, and can also update your biometric data at the same time if needed. The biometric data has to be updated every 10 years, so if you’re one of the original holders of an Aadhar card, then it might be time to get this done too!
When you go to an enrollment centre, just make sure that you have all your important documents with you. Your marriage certificate is the most reliable indicator of your marriage, but you also need to carry an older ID to show that you are who you say you are. Apart from the old Aadhar card, you can carry a passport or voter ID card to ensure you don’t have to run back and forth from the centre to your home, looking for documents to initiate the Aadhar change. To be on the safe side, carry self-attested copies of these documents in case they ask for a submission of the same.
Whether you choose to do this online or offline, the Aadhar change process is relatively simple and does not take a very long time. You did go through a register marriage procedure too, so what’s one more legal loophole to jump through?
If you’re having trouble keeping track of all your wedding chores, get in touch with our wedding planners and let them do it for you!
