Personal Details in a Resume: Marital Status, Passport and What to Include
What personal details belong on an Indian resume? A practical checklist for contact information, marital status, passport details, photos and application-form exceptions.
For a general job-search resume, start with your name, a working email address, phone number and city. Add a relevant LinkedIn or portfolio link if you have one. Marital status, family details and identity-document numbers usually add little to the evidence of your skills. Leave them out unless the specific application instructions require them.
A resume and an application form serve different purposes. Follow an employer’s explicit form requirements separately; you do not need to turn those fields into a permanent personal-details section on every resume. The suggestions below are practical editing guidance, not a claim that one rule or law applies to every employer or country.
A simple personal-details example
Aarav Mehta | Pune, India | aarav@example.com | [your phone number] | [your LinkedIn or portfolio URL]
This is a fictional example. Replace every placeholder and check that the links work. City and country are usually enough to communicate location; add “Open to relocation to Bengaluru” only if it is true. Use ordinary selectable text, rather than putting the entire contact block in an image.
Should marital status be on an Indian resume?
For a general professional resume, we recommend leaving it out. “Single,” “unmarried” and “married” do not describe your ability to perform the role. You do not need to find a better phrase for the field; you can remove the field and use the space for relevant experience.
If a verified application form explicitly asks for marital status, answer the form accurately. Do not invent a status or assume that a blank field means something else. The resume you reuse for other applications can remain focused on your work.
How should passport details appear on a CV?
Avoid putting the passport number, a passport scan or other identity-document numbers in a resume that you circulate. If travel availability matters to the job, describe that capability instead. For example, “Valid passport; available for international travel” is useful only if it accurately describes your situation.
If the employer requests identity documents, verify who is requesting them and use its designated secure process. Check the purpose before sending sensitive details. A resume is not a safe general-purpose identity-document store; the same practical caution applies to Aadhaar, PAN and bank information.
Date of birth, age and family information
We suggest omitting date of birth, age, parents’ names and a spouse’s name from a general professional resume. Keep education and employment dates accurate. A government, academic or other role may have a separate eligibility form with specific requirements: read that form rather than copying a generic personal-details block into your resume.
Nationality and work authorisation
When an application asks whether you may work in a country or need sponsorship, answer that exact question truthfully. A nationality line does not establish work authorisation. Do not infer visa eligibility from your citizenship or copy a sample authorisation claim that you have not verified.
For example, “Work authorisation: [your verified status]; [whether sponsorship is required]” is a drafting prompt, not a statement to use unchanged. If the question is already handled in the application form, repeating it in the resume may not help.
Photograph, declaration and signature
For a text-first professional resume, our default is to leave out a photograph, signature and generic declaration so the document can focus on your experience. Specific applications may request a photo or prescribed format. Follow the actual instructions; do not assume every market or role has the same convention.
A declaration does not replace checking your facts. Before submitting, verify dates, qualifications, responsibilities and metrics. We make no claim here about the legal effect of a declaration or how every recruiter treats a photograph.
Applying outside India
Read guidance for the destination and the actual vacancy. For example, England’s National Careers Service recommends leaving age, date of birth, marital status and nationality out of a CV. That is useful destination-specific guidance, not evidence of a universal legal ban.
National Careers Service: how to write a CV
Personal-details checklist
Can someone contact you using the email and phone shown?
Does the location line describe your current location or truthful relocation preference?
Are profile links relevant, accessible and yours?
Have you removed unnecessary identity numbers and family information?
Have you followed any explicit application instructions separately?
Is there now room for a relevant skill, project or achievement instead of a long personal-details block?
Use the space for evidence
A short, specific summary can explain your experience and the role you are targeting. Our guided summary tool helps assemble a draft from details you supply; it does not invent achievements or use AI generation.
You can also review your existing resume for feedback on its content and structure. Treat any automated score as guidance for editing, not a prediction of an employer’s decision.
Want a resume prepared from your brief? Choose a style, verify your identity and pay in the focused website flow. WhatsApp and the workspace remain optional ways to continue.
