1Download
Use the button above, or edistrict.up.gov.in → “स्वप्रमाणित घोषणा पत्र” → download the PDF.
2Fill and sign
Print, fill in black pen, write the place and date, and sign at the bottom.
3Scan
Scan or photograph it as a JPEG, black and white, under 100KB.
4Upload
Upload it on eSathi during your certificate application.
What Is the Self-Declaration Form — And What It Replaced
The self-declaration form (स्व-प्रमाणित घोषणा पत्र, Swa Pramanit Ghoshna Patra) is a mandatory document you upload when applying for a revenue certificate on the eDistrict UP eSathi portal. It is a simple one-page form on which you declare, under your own signature, that the information in your certificate application is true and correct. No stamp paper, no notary, no cost.
Before 2014, this declaration needed a notarised affidavit on stamp paper, which cost citizens ₹200-500 per certificate. You bought stamp paper worth ₹10-100 from a licensed vendor, had an affidavit typed by a deed writer outside the court or tehsil, and paid a notary ₹100-300 to attest it: half a day and several hundred rupees just to declare that your name and address were correct.
| Factor | Old affidavit system | Self-declaration |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp paper | ₹10-100 | Not needed |
| Deed writer | ₹50-100 for typing | Not needed; fill it yourself |
| Notary attestation | ₹100-300 | Not needed |
| Total cost | ₹200-500 per certificate | ₹0 (free PDF) |
| Time | At least half a day (vendor → writer → notary) | About 10 minutes (print → fill → scan) |
| Legal weight | Full: attested declaration | Full: the same as an affidavit |
| Penalty for false information | IPC 199/200 | BNS 236/237 (same punishment) |
A 2015 Centre for Civil Society estimate put the amount Indians spent on affidavits and notarisation for government services at about ₹8,000 crore a year, roughly 20 crore affidavits at around ₹400 each. The self-declaration form eliminated this entire cost overnight.
The Reform — How It Happened
The shift from affidavits to self-declarations didn’t start in UP. Punjab was among the first states to do it, at its Suwidha Centres (Punjab’s equivalent of Jan Seva Kendras), replacing notarised affidavits with simple self-declarations for citizen services and taking stamp vendors, deed writers and notaries out of the process. Maharashtra followed.
Uttar Pradesh adopted the reform through Government Order No. 874/एक-9-2014-रा-9 dated 16 June 2014, which also set the official format of the self-declaration form (the PDF you can download above). The state government announced that notarised affidavits on stamp paper would no longer be needed for state government schemes and departmental services, and that a self-declaration by the applicant would do. This covered revenue certificates processed through eDistrict, and also declarations under the UPVAT Act, 2008. Affidavits are still required only where a specific law or rule demands one.
At the national level, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) issued an advisory in April 2014 asking all states to adopt self-certification instead of affidavits, and showcased Punjab’s model. By mid-2014 the Centre had asked states to scrap affidavits, and in August 2014 it pushed the same idea nationwide, asking departments and states to accept self-attested documents and self-declarations in place of affidavits wherever possible.
How to Fill the Form — Field by Field
The official UP self-declaration form (स्वप्रमाणित घोषणा-पत्र) is a single page in Hindi: one declaration sentence with blanks to fill, and four lines at the bottom. There is no photo space and no box for the certificate type, so the same form works for any certificate. Fill each blank accurately: the Lekhpal doing field verification compares this declaration with what you entered in the eSathi application, and any mismatch raises a flag.
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मैं …… (Your name)
The form begins “मैं ……” (“I, ……”). Write your full name exactly as on your Aadhaar card. If Aadhaar says “राजेश कुमार यादव”, write exactly that, not “राजेश यादव” or “Rajesh Kumar Yadav”. eSathi fills your name from Aadhaar e-KYC, and the self-declaration must match both.
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पुत्र / पुत्री / श्री …… (Father’s or husband’s name)
Strike out what doesn’t apply and write your father’s name (or your husband’s name where that is the convention), matching the Aadhaar entry exactly.
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उम्र …… वर्ष (Age)
Your age in completed years, consistent with the date of birth on Aadhaar.
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व्यवसाय (Occupation)
What you do: for example छात्र / छात्रा (student), कृषि (farming), मजदूरी (labour), गृहिणी (homemaker) or your job. For an income certificate it should fit the income source you declare in the application.
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निवासी …… (Address)
Your full residential address: village or ward number, post office, tehsil and district. This is the address the Lekhpal visits for field verification. If it differs from the address on your eSathi form, the Lekhpal can’t verify it and the application is flagged.
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The declaration (pre-printed)
The rest of the paragraph is printed: you declare that the details in your application are true and correct to your knowledge and belief, that you understand the consequences of giving false details, and that you are liable to prosecution under IPC sections 199 and 200 (today BNS 236 and 237) if any detail is found false. Read it; you don’t write anything here.
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स्थान and दिनांक (Place and date)
At the bottom left, write the place (your village or town) and the date you sign, in DD/MM/YYYY. The date should be the same as, or close to, the date of your eSathi application; a declaration dated months before the application looks suspicious.
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आवेदक / आवेदिका के हस्ताक्षर and नाम (Signature and name)
At the bottom right, sign in ink and write your name below the signature. This is the most important line: an unsigned self-declaration is the most common rejection on eSathi. The blanks can be typed or handwritten, but the signature must always be handwritten. No digital signatures and no typed names. An applicant who cannot sign gives a left thumb impression, attested by two witnesses’ signatures.
How to Scan and Upload — The Phone Method
Most people applying on eSathi use a phone, not a scanner. This method gives a clean JPEG under 100KB from a phone camera in about five minutes.
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Print the PDF
Any printer works: home, office, cyber café or a CSC. Black and white is enough; colour makes the scanned file larger.
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Fill and sign on paper
Use a black pen (blue is acceptable, but black scans sharper). Fill every blank, write the place and date, and sign at the bottom.
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Photograph the form
Lay it flat on a well-lit surface; daylight is best. Hold the phone directly above it, not at an angle, so the edges are straight. Capture the whole page with a little margin, and keep your hand’s or phone’s shadow off the page.
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Crop and clean up
Use your phone’s photo editor or a free scanner app such as Adobe Scan or Microsoft Lens (CamScanner, often suggested elsewhere, has been banned in India since June 2020). Crop to the edges of the form. If the app has a “document” or “black & white” mode, use it: it removes the background colour and sharpens the text.
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Compress to under 100KB
eSathi rejects files over 100KB, and a phone photo is usually 2-5 MB. Use the scanner app’s export settings or a free online JPEG compressor. If it’s still too large, reduce the width to about 800-1,000 pixels, which is enough for the portal.
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Save as JPG/JPEG
Save the file as JPG/JPEG, max 100KB (some upload slots also accept PDF, but PNG and HEIC are not accepted). If your phone saves photos as HEIC, convert the file to .jpg first. Scanner apps usually export JPEG by default.
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Upload on eSathi and check the preview
In the certificate application on esathi.up.gov.in, upload the JPEG in the slot labelled “स्वप्रमाणित घोषणा पत्र” or “Self Declaration”. Then check the preview. If it shows a blank, broken or unreadable image, the upload failed silently; upload again before submitting.
7 Rejection Reasons — And How to Avoid Each
1Uploaded without a signature
The most common rejection. Everything is filled, scanned and uploaded, but the signature space is blank. Sign in black ink and check the scan before uploading.
2Uploaded in the wrong format
Upload a JPG/JPEG, max 100KB; only some upload slots accept PDF. A PDF in a slot that doesn’t take it is either rejected with a format error or looks uploaded but shows as a corrupted file to the verifying officer. When in doubt, upload a .jpg.
3File over 100KB
Phone photos are usually 2-5 MB and the portal rejects anything over 100KB. Compress the file before uploading.
4Blurry or unreadable
Taken at an angle, in dim light or with shadows, so the officer can’t read the name, address or declaration. Photograph it again, flat and well lit, with the phone directly above.
5Name doesn't match the application
The form says “राजेश कुमार” but eSathi, filled from Aadhaar, says “राजेश कुमार यादव”. The officer sees a mismatch and flags it. Copy your name exactly as on Aadhaar.
6Blanks left empty
Age, occupation, place or date left blank, or the name under the signature missing. An incomplete declaration looks careless and can be sent back. Fill every blank before you sign and scan.
7Silent upload failure
Sometimes eSathi shows no error when an upload fails. The applicant submits, and the officer finds an empty or corrupted file. Always check the preview before the final submit.
Legal Weight — This Form Is Not Casual
In practice: if you declare a false annual income to get a lower-income certificate for a scholarship, and the Lekhpal’s field verification or the Saksham portal’s check against eDistrict exposes it, the certificate can be cancelled, the scholarship recovered, and criminal proceedings started. The “self” in self-declaration doesn’t mean casual: it means you are personally and legally accountable for every word, without a notary in between.
Where This Form Is Needed — The Chain It Starts
The self-declaration comes at the start of a chain that runs well beyond the certificate itself, which is why getting this one page right matters so much.
- Certificates on eDistrict: income, caste, domicile, character and EWS applications all need the self-declaration as a mandatory upload on eSathi. Without it the application can’t be submitted.
- UP Scholarship: the Saksham portal needs income, caste and domicile certificates from eDistrict and checks each against the eDistrict database. A certificate rejected over a faulty self-declaration means no scholarship that year. For the 84.88 lakh applicants of 2025-26, this form was the first document in a chain that ended in fee reimbursement.
- Government job document verification: UPPSC, UPSSSC (Lekhpal, Junior Assistant), UP Police and SSC all need eDistrict certificates at DV. A certificate rejected over an unsigned or mismatched declaration can mean failing DV after months of preparation.
- UP Bhulekh: the haisiyat (solvency) certificate needs a self-declaration on eDistrict, and then the khatauni from Bhulekh as supporting proof. Varasat (mutation after a death) needs the eDistrict death certificate, whose application also takes a self-declaration. One unsigned form at the start can stall a property transfer months later.
Quick Reference
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Form name (Hindi) | स्वप्रमाणित घोषणा पत्र (Swa Pramanit Ghoshna Patra) |
| Form name (English) | Self Declaration Form / Self Attestation Form |
| Download from | The button on this page, or edistrict.up.gov.in |
| Upload on | esathi.up.gov.in (during the certificate application) |
| Upload format | JPG/JPEG (some upload slots accept PDF) |
| Maximum file size | 100KB |
| Cost | ₹0 (no stamp paper, no notary) |
| Certificates that need it | Income, caste, domicile, character, EWS |
| One form for several certificates | Yes (upload the same scan to each application) |
| Body of the form | Typed or handwritten |
| Signature | Handwritten only, mandatory |
| Reform | UP Government Order No. 874/एक-9-2014-रा-9, 16 June 2014 |
| Fields on the form | Name, father’s/husband’s name, age, occupation, address, place, date, signature, name |
| Early adopters | Punjab (Suwidha Centres), Maharashtra |
| Estimated saving | About ₹8,000 crore a year nationally (Centre for Civil Society estimate) |
| Old affidavit cost | ₹200-500 per certificate |
| Penalty for a false declaration | BNS 2023 Sections 236 & 237 (was IPC 199/200): up to 3 years and fine, up to 7 in a judicial proceeding |
| CSC alternative | The CSC operator prints, helps fill, scans and uploads it: ₹30 + facilitation (district fees differ; ask for a receipt) |
Frequently asked questions
What is the self-declaration form for eDistrict UP?
A mandatory one-page document (स्वप्रमाणित घोषणा पत्र) you upload when applying for income, caste, domicile, character or EWS certificates on the eSathi portal. In 2014 it replaced the ₹100 stamp paper affidavit. It is free to download, fill and submit. Your signature declares that the information is true, and a false declaration is a criminal offence under BNS Sections 236 and 237.
Where do I download it?
Use the download button on this page (the official Hindi format from UP Government Order 874 of 16 June 2014), or get it from edistrict.up.gov.in in the self-declaration (स्वप्रमाणित घोषणा पत्र) section. The PDF is free. Print it, fill it, sign it, scan it as a JPEG under 100KB and upload it on eSathi.
Is one form enough for income, caste and domicile?
Yes. The same self-declaration form works for all three. If you apply for all three on the same day, scan one signed form and upload the same JPEG to each application. If you apply on different days, each application needs its own upload.
Can I type the form, or must it be handwritten?
The body of the form can be typed, printed or handwritten. The signature must be handwritten in ink; a typed name in the signature space is not a signature and gets the application rejected.
Why was my application rejected because of the self-declaration form?
Seven common causes: the form wasn't signed, it was uploaded in a format the slot doesn't accept (upload a JPG/JPEG; only some upload slots accept PDF), the file was over 100KB, the scan was blurry, the name didn't match Aadhaar, blanks such as age, occupation, place or date were left empty, or the upload failed silently and wasn't checked before submitting.
Do I still need stamp paper or a notary?
No. Since Government Order No. 874/एक-9-2014-रा-9 of 16 June 2014, the UP Government accepts a self-declaration instead of a notarised affidavit for state government services and schemes, except where a specific law requires an affidavit. eDistrict certificate applications need no stamp paper, deed writer or notary. Anyone asking you to buy stamp paper for a certificate application is misinformed or overcharging you.
What happens if I give false information?
It is a criminal offence under BNS 2023 Sections 236 and 237 (previously IPC 199 and 200), punished as if you had given false evidence: up to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine, or up to 7 years in a judicial proceeding. The certificate can be cancelled, benefits such as a scholarship, pension or reservation can be recovered, and criminal proceedings can follow.
Can I use this form in other states?
No. Each state has its own format. This form is for the eDistrict UP / eSathi portal. Other states have made similar reforms but use their own forms.