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You notice it while filling a form: your Class 10 marksheet says SHREYA, your Aadhaar says SHRIYA. It feels small, but counselling and admission desks compare documents closely, and a mismatch can slow down your admission. Spelling mismatches can usually be fixed, if you fix them in the right order and start early.
Which document should I correct first?
Pick one spelling as the anchor, and in most cases that should be your Class 10 certificate. The National Testing Agency's public notice of 29 September 2025 advised JEE Main 2026 applicants to update Aadhaar "with correct name, date of birth (as per Class 10th certificate)" and other details, and to keep category certificates updated and valid. The notice ties the date of birth to the Class 10 certificate; using the same certificate for the name keeps all your records in step.
A board certificate is also harder to change after results than most other documents. CBSE's rules on correction and change of name allow spelling corrections only to make the name consistent with the school record or the list of candidates the school submitted, and consider a full change of name only if a court admitted it and it was notified in the Gazette before the result was published. Bend the easier documents to match the certificate, not the other way round.
The exception: if the certificate does not match your school's own admission record, because of a typing error, correct the certificate first, as the board's rules allow.
How do I correct my name spelling in Aadhaar?
Aadhaar has a limit. Under a UIDAI office memorandum of 1 April 2019, a name can be updated twice; going beyond that needs an exception process through a UIDAI regional office, which may ask for more information. So do it once, carefully, in the spelling on your Class 10 certificate.
You can make the update at an Aadhaar enrolment centre, where the operator collects your supporting document. UIDAI's current charges list a demographic update, such as a name, at ₹75 when done on its own. Take a proof document the centre accepts that shows the anchor spelling, and keep the request slip to track the update.
How long does a marksheet name correction take?
For CBSE students, the application goes offline through your school to the Board's regional office. The CBSE Citizen's Charter gives a time frame of 60 days after all formalities are complete, with supporting documents such as the admission form, the admission and withdrawal register and the transfer certificate. A CBSE circular of 10 November 2017 set the window for name corrections at 5 years from the date of the result. State boards have their own rules, so ask your school office for the current form.
Sixty days can overlap with a counselling season, so start the moment you spot the error. See also our guide to CBSE verification and re-evaluation steps.
Do I need an affidavit or a gazette notification?
Affidavit: a sworn statement, attested by a notary, that two spellings refer to the same person. It changes no record; it explains a mismatch you have not fixed yet. Whether an admission desk accepts one is its call, so check your counselling's current rules.
Gazette notification: a public record that your name has changed. Change-of-name notices appear in Part IV of the weekly Gazette of India, and for a minor the notice is signed by the parent or guardian. States run their own gazettes too: Puducherry's procedure, for example, asks for an original notarised affidavit and says publication is made within three weeks of a complete request.
A gazette is for a changed name; a spelling slip needs corrected records.
That rule is in the JoSAA business rules for 2026-27, which also say that if an OBC-NCL, EWS, SC or ST certificate is found invalid, a seat allotted in that category is cancelled. Check the spelling on those too. Our explainer on how JoSAA counselling works walks through the rounds and documents.
A plan you can start this week
Lay out every document: Class 10 and 12 marksheets, Aadhaar, birth certificate, category certificate, admit card. List each spelling of your name and your parents' names.
Mark the Class 10 spelling as the anchor, unless your school record shows the certificate is wrong.
Fix Aadhaar first. One visit, one careful update.
If a board certificate is wrong, apply through your school the same week.
Ask the issuing office to reissue category or income certificates in the anchor spelling.
Keep a notarised affidavit ready for anything still pending when counselling starts.
Once the paperwork is moving, if you sit down not knowing where to restart your studies, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session.
