Kerala is one step away from being officially renamed “Keralam” after Parliament approved legislation to change the state’s name in the Constitution.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, by voice vote on Wednesday, a day after it was cleared by the Lok Sabha. The Bill will now be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for assent. Until the President approves the legislation and it is notified, the state’s official constitutional name remains Kerala.

The Bill seeks to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution, which lists India’s states and Union Territories. Once the law comes into effect, “Kerala” will be replaced by “Keralam” in the constitutional record and official Union government usage.

The change is intended to align the English name of the state with “Keralam,” the form widely used in Malayalam. Supporters describe it as a correction that reflects the state’s language, history and cultural identity rather than the anglicised form that became standard in official English usage.

The name refers to the same state, territory and administration. The Bill does not alter Kerala’s boundaries, capital, legislature, High Court jurisdiction or representation in Parliament. It is a change in the official constitutional name, not the creation of a new state or a reorganisation of districts.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution seeking the change. A revised resolution was adopted in June 2024 after technical issues were identified in the earlier proposal. The Union Cabinet later approved the move, clearing the way for the central government to introduce the Bill in Parliament.

Renaming a state is governed by Article 3 of the Constitution. Parliament has the authority to change the name, area or boundaries of a state by law. Before such a Bill is considered, the President refers the proposal to the concerned state legislature for its views. The state legislature’s opinion is important, although Parliament retains the final law-making power.

The change will not affect citizenship, property ownership, bank accounts, passports, Aadhaar cards or the legal validity of existing documents. Residents will not be required to replace every document immediately merely because the state’s official name changes.

Government departments will gradually update forms, portals, maps, letterheads and records after the law is notified. New documents are expected to carry “Keralam,” while older documents mentioning “Kerala” will remain valid unless a specific authority issues a separate procedural direction.

Businesses, schools and private institutions are also expected to adopt the new form progressively. Website addresses, brand names and registered company names containing “Kerala” will not automatically become illegal. Any mandatory alteration would require a separate direction from the relevant authority, and no blanket document-replacement order has been announced.

The transition may also require consequential changes in rules, databases and administrative references across ministries. These are normally made over time rather than through an overnight replacement of all public and private records.

Search engines, railway and airline systems, postal databases and digital maps may display both forms during the transition, just as earlier state and city renamings took time to propagate across public systems.

The most important clarification is that Parliament’s approval does not by itself complete the process. Presidential assent is the final pending legal step. Only after that approval and the subsequent notification will “Keralam” become the state’s formal constitutional name.