Guide · Formats and basics
What to remove from an Indian resume, and when to keep it
Photo, date of birth, father's name, declaration. Private employers do not need them and government forms often do. Here is the line between the two, item by item.
- Last reviewed
- October 2026
- Reading time
- 5 min
In short
- For private-sector jobs, remove the photo, date of birth, father's name, marital status, declaration and 'references available on request'.
- Government, PSU and some hospitality or aviation applications still ask for a photo and personal details. Add them only when the form or posting asks.
- Never put Aadhaar, PAN, passport, bank or UAN numbers on a resume. Our builder blocks them.
- When an employer asks for something unusual, put it in a separate version, not in your main resume.
The short answer, item by item
| Item | Private-sector resume | Government or PSU form |
|---|---|---|
| Passport-size photo | Leave off | Usually expected, about 30 by 38 mm |
| Date of birth | Leave off | Keep, as DD/MM/YYYY matching the Class X marksheet |
| Father's name | Leave off | Keep if the form asks |
| Marital status, religion, caste | Leave off | Only where the form asks, such as category |
| Full postal address | City and state only | Permanent address is usually asked |
| Declaration and signature | Leave off | Keep, with place and date |
| 'References available on request' | Leave off | Leave off |
| Career objective | Replace with a summary | Acceptable |
| Hobbies | One line at most, only if relevant | Usually not needed |
| Salary, CTC, notice period | Keep off the resume | Not applicable |
| Aadhaar, PAN, passport, bank or UAN number | Never | Never |
The rest of this guide explains the reasoning, because the rule is easier to remember when you know why it exists.
Photo: why it goes, and when it stays
Parsers skip images, and an image-heavy file drifts towards size limits. Greenhouse, for example, does not parse files above 2.5 MB. There is also a reader's view: a survey reported by GoodSpace, attributed to Indeed India, found that about 65% of Indian tech hiring managers called photos irrelevant. That is a secondary report, so take it as direction, not a measurement.
Some employers do ask. Hospitality, aviation and certain customer-facing sales roles may request a photo, and government forms usually do. If a posting asks, supply one in the way it asks. If it is silent, leave it off and keep the file text-only.
Date of birth, father's name and marital status
These fields come from the biodata era. Private employers collect what they need through the application form, and on the resume they take space that bullets need. They also invite judgments unrelated to work, which is a reason many recruiters prefer not to see them. A parser gains nothing useful from them either.
The declaration paragraph
'I hereby declare that the information given above is true' repeats what a resume already implies, and it dates the document. Naukri's blog publishes declaration samples for freshers and experienced candidates, which is one reason people still add one. Our advice is to leave it off a private-sector resume. If a government form or an employer explicitly asks for it, add it with the place and date for that application.
Aadhaar, PAN, passport and bank numbers: never
No recruiter needs an identity number to read your resume, and printing one invites fraud. Our builder blocks Aadhaar, PAN, passport, bank and UAN numbers wherever they are typed, and the checker sets the score to zero if one appears in a file. Be equally careful off the page: do not send ID numbers or salary slips to an unknown 'HR' contact on WhatsApp.
When to keep them: government and PSU forms
Government and PSU applications run on rigid forms, and interviews and document checks follow a biodata pattern. Keep a separate version for them. It carries a passport photo, date of birth in DD/MM/YYYY exactly as on your Class X marksheet, father's name, nationality, category only if the form asks, Class X and XII with board and percentage, and a declaration with place and date. Our Government and Biodata preset exists so these fields stay out of every other version.
A personal-details block for a government form
The page for government and PSU resume formats goes through the rest of that layout. The difference between a resume, a CV and a biodata is explained in resume vs CV vs biodata in India.
Objective, hobbies and salary
Replace an objective with a two- or three-line summary that names the role and proof, as shown in resume summary for freshers. Keep hobbies to one line, and only if they bear on the job: a coding club for a developer role, a blog for a content role. Leave salary, current CTC and notice period off the resume. Portals and recruiters ask for them separately, and a number on the page can anchor a negotiation before it begins.
If someone asks for it anyway
Sometimes a placement cell, a consultancy or a recruiter asks for a photo, date of birth or declaration. Comply for that application, but make a separate copy. Your main resume stays clean, the file you send matches the request, and you do not end up circulating personal details to every employer by habit.
Questions people ask
My placement cell told us to add a declaration. Should I?
For applications that go through the cell and its format, follow it. Keep that as a separate version so your main resume stays clean for portals and direct applications.
Should I write marital status on a private-sector resume?
No. It adds nothing to your candidacy and takes space. Answer it on a government form or biodata that lists the field, exactly as the form asks.
I am applying for a bank or SSC job. Which format do I use?
Those applications usually run on online forms and notices, so follow the notice. Keep a biodata-style version ready for document verification and interviews. Do not reuse it for private jobs.
Is a photo required for hospitality or airline jobs?
Some employers in those fields ask for one, and the posting will usually say so. Follow it when it does. If a photo is optional, check whether the application system accepts it before you attach it to the file.
Is it safe to put my full address?
City and state are enough, and safer. Give the full address only on forms that require it, and only to employers you are actually applying to.
Sources
Numbers on this page come from these sources, and the text says where a source is a vendor blog or a survey. Where a claim has no source here, it is guidance, not fact.
- GoodSpace: Photo for resumehttps://goodspace.ai/blogs/858140/photo-for-resumeReports an Indeed India survey: about 65% of Indian tech hiring managers call photos irrelevant. Secondary source.
- GoodSpace: Personal details in resumehttps://goodspace.ai/blogs/639310/personal-details-in-resumeWhich personal details to omit, and why.
- Naukri Blog: Declaration in resume sampleshttps://www.naukri.com/blog/declaration-in-resume-samples-for-freshers-and-experienced/ampDeclaration samples that people copy.
- StylingCV India: Government job resume and biodata guidehttps://stylingcv.com/in/2026/06/17/government-job-resume-india-2026-sarkari-naukri-resume-kaise-banayein/Biodata fields that government applications still ask for. Secondary source.
- Greenhouse: Supported file formats and limitshttps://support.greenhouse.io/hc/en-us/articles/360052218132Files above 2.5 MB are not parsed.
Keep reading
- GuideResume vs CV vs biodata in India: which one to send
- GuideResume format for freshers in India: a section-by-section guide
- GuideATS-friendly resume in India: what parsers read and what trips them
- GuideResume summary for freshers: how to write two good lines
- Employer formatResume format for government and PSU jobs
- Employer formatResume format for startups
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