e-StampNotary
What is really being asked for
When a college, a recruitment board or a scholarship scheme asks for "domicile", what it wants is the certificate issued by the competent revenue authority — in practice the Mamlatdar's office for the area, and the process is administrative practice that varies between talukas rather than a uniform statutory scheme. The affidavit is one of the papers that goes into that application. It is not the certificate, it will not be accepted in place of the certificate, and no notary issues domicile status to anybody.
That said, the affidavit does real work, because the enquiry begins from what you have stated on oath. A precise, dated, honest statement of residence gives the enquiry officer something to verify. A vague one gives him something to reject.
Why people need it
- Admissions. State quota seats in professional courses, where eligibility turns on residence in Gujarat and on where the qualifying examination was passed.
- State recruitment. Posts reserved for residents of the State, and category benefits tied to State residence.
- Scholarships and fee concessions administered by the State.
- Category certificates. A caste or non-creamy-layer certificate normally requires residence to be established as well as community — see the caste affidavit page.
The people who come to us are overwhelmingly students and their parents, in the weeks before an admission deadline. That timing is the reason so many applications are made in a hurry and rejected on detail.
State every address you have lived at during the period claimed, with the month and year of each move, and the documents that evidence each — school records, ration card, electricity bills, rent agreements, land records, the parent's service record. A claim of "residing in Gujarat since birth" with a single current address behind it is exactly what enquiry officers are trained to look at twice.
Whose residence, and whose affidavit
For a student, the residence usually claimed is that of the family, and the natural deponent is the parent, with the student's own particulars set out. Where the parent is in transferable employment, say so and give the postings — this is common with Government and bank employees, and hiding it is worse than explaining it. Where the student has studied elsewhere for a period, that has to appear as well; the school records will show it in any event.
What gets these rejected
- A period of residence claimed that is longer than any document produced can support.
- Intervening addresses omitted, and then revealed by the school leaving certificate.
- The address given without a pin code, house number or survey number.
- A parent's transferable posting outside Gujarat suppressed.
- The affidavit and the application form disagreeing about a date of arrival or a school.
- Being produced to the college in place of the certificate itself.
An affidavit claiming residence you did not have is a false statement on oath, made to obtain a seat or a post that is reserved for others. It is checked, and it is checked again when the appointment or admission is scrutinised later. We will not draft it, and you should be wary of anybody who will.
Practical points
Drafting is normally in Gujarati, because the affidavit is read at a Talati or Mamlatdar's office. Stamp duty as currently prescribed under the Gujarat Stamp Act, 1958 — confirmed at the counter, with the e-stamp issued here as a Government authorised centre. The oath is administered under section 8(1)(e) of the Notaries Act, 1952, under signature and official seal, and the fee for it is capped at ₹35 under Rule 10(1) of the Notaries Rules, 1956.
What to bring
- Aadhaar of the student and of the parent who will depose
- School leaving certificate and marksheets showing where the qualifying examination was passed
- Ration card
- Electricity bill, property tax bill or rent agreements covering the period of residence
- 7/12 and 8-A extracts where the family holds land in Gujarat
- The parent's service record, where employment is transferable
- The application form or checklist given by the Mamlatdar's office