Gandhinagar, June 2: The Gujarat government has launched a state-wide ‘Universal Affidavit’ that will be accepted in all government offices and service centers. This initiative eliminates the need for citizens to submit various affidavits in different formats when applying for public services, certificates, and government schemes.
The Law Department announced this decision as part of an administrative reform aimed at simplifying access to government services and reducing procedural delays. This move is part of the state government’s efforts to make citizen services more accessible, transparent, and uniform.
According to the government, the new universal affidavit will apply in all cases where existing laws or regulations require an affidavit but do not specify a particular format. In such instances, a single standardized affidavit format will be recognized and accepted throughout Gujarat.
Previously, applicants seeking various citizen-centric services, certificates, and benefits under different government schemes were required to submit affidavits prepared in different formats based on the respective department. The government stated that these variations in documentation led to unnecessary complexities, wasted citizens’ time, and often caused delays in administrative processes.
To address these issues, the Law Department has issued a standardized format for the universal affidavit, which will be mandatorily accepted by all government offices, service centers, and authorities operating at the district, taluka, rural, and urban levels across the state.
The government emphasized, “From now on, for services where an affidavit is required under laws or regulations, but no specific format is prescribed, this single standard format will be accepted across the state.”
This reform will also extend to digital service delivery platforms. The universal affidavit will be applicable on the Digital Gujarat portal as well as at the Citizen Service Centers, ensuring that citizens applying online can use the same affidavit format across various departments and services.
Clarifying the scope of the decision, the government stated that services that do not legally require an affidavit will continue to follow the existing self-declaration system. It added that for such cases, the simplified process of presenting only a self-declaration instead of an affidavit, as determined by the General Administration Department’s resolution, will remain unchanged, and submission of an affidavit will not be mandatory.
The Law Department has prepared the official universal affidavit format in both Gujarati and English to ensure ease of use and accessibility for citizens across the state.
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