Even in the age of matrimonial apps, the biodata is still the document families share most. It moves through WhatsApp groups, relatives and priests long before any meeting. A clear, honest biodata makes a strong first impression. A messy or incomplete one gets skipped.
Here is a simple format that works for both boys and girls.
Keep it to one page
Families read many biodatas. One page with clear headings is easier to read and forward. Use a simple font, a little colour if you like, and avoid busy borders and heavy graphics.
1. Photo
Add one recent, clear photo of just the person, in good light. A soft smile and simple clothing work best. Avoid heavy filters or old photos.
2. Personal details
- Full name
- Date of birth and age
- Height
- Religion, community and gotra if your family uses it
- Mother tongue
- Diet, such as vegetarian, non-vegetarian or eggetarian
- Marital status
3. Birth details
If Kundli matching matters to your family, add the date, exact time and place of birth. Many families also add Rashi, Nakshatra and Manglik status. If the time is approximate, say so.
4. Education and career
- Highest qualification and institution
- Current job title and company or business
- City of work
Income is optional on the biodata. Many families prefer to discuss it once there is mutual interest.
5. Family details
- Father's name and occupation
- Mother's name and occupation
- Siblings, with their marital status and occupation
- Family type, such as joint or nuclear
- Native place and current city
6. About and expectations
Two or three short lines about the person's nature and interests, and two or three lines about what the family is looking for. Keep expectations simple and kind.
7. Contact
Add one contact number, ideally a parent's or the person's own, and an email. Avoid sharing a home address on a biodata that will travel widely.
What to leave out
- Exact salary, unless your family prefers to share it upfront
- Long lists of demands about looks or complexion
- Anything about dowry or gifts, which is illegal and turns good families away
- Personal ID numbers such as Aadhaar or PAN
Share it safely
A biodata often reaches people you don't know. Share a PDF rather than an editable file, avoid posting it in large public groups, and never include ID documents.
Turn your biodata into a profile
Everything on a good biodata fits into a ShadiGiva profile, where families can find you through search, see Guna Milan instantly, and contact you only after mutual interest.
A short "about" that sounds like a person
The about lines are what families remember after the height and the degree. Two or three sentences are enough. Write the way you would introduce the person to a relative, not the way a job application sounds.
A useful about section names work, one real interest, and one fact about family life. For example: "She teaches mathematics at a senior secondary school in Chandigarh and likes classical music. She lives with her parents and a younger brother who is in college." That is easier to answer in a meeting than "seeking a well-settled, cultured match from a reputed family."
Expectations can be just as short. "We are looking for a kind person with a stable job, open to living in Punjab or Delhi NCR." Name the city question if it matters. Leave out demands about complexion, income floors, and gifts. Those lines get a biodata forwarded with a warning, not with interest.
What boys' and girls' biodatas are often missing
Girls' biodatas sometimes hide the job, or describe it as "working" with no role and no city. Families who care about a working spouse need the title and the place of work. Boys' biodatas sometimes list the father's business in detail and say almost nothing about the boy. The person getting married should be visible in the first half of the page.
Add marital status in words everyone understands: never married, divorced, widowed, or awaiting divorce. If there are children, say so on the biodata. A fact that appears only after two meetings damages trust that was otherwise real. The second marriage guide covers how to say this with dignity.
Birth details that can actually be matched
Write the date as day, month, and year. Write the time with a.m. or p.m., and the town of birth, not only the district. If a priest has already noted Rashi, Nakshatra, and Manglik status, you may add those, and you should add the words "as per our family priest" so another reader knows they are a note, not a fresh calculation.
If the time is "around morning" or "not known," print that. Do not invent 10:10 a.m. because a column looks empty. Kundli matching on ShadiGiva and on KundliGiva is only as accurate as this block.
Photo, file, and when to update
Use a photo from the last year, taken in daylight, with the face clearly visible. Group photos, sunglasses, and heavy filters make families unsure who they are reading about. One photo is enough on the biodata. Extra photos can wait for a private share after both sides have spoken.
Save the file as a PDF named with the person's name, so it does not travel as "final new biodata 3." When a job, city, or degree changes, update the PDF the same week. An old company name is one of the first things a careful family will notice.
Send it to people you can name. A large WhatsApp group is not a private folder. Keep Aadhaar, PAN, and the full home address off the sheet. A phone number and an email are enough until a family has earned more trust. The same facts, kept current, are what a ShadiGiva profile is for, with the added check of Guna Milan when both birth details are filled in.
A page a family can scan in a minute
Put the name and the photo at the top, then age, height, city, and education, then work, then family, then the short about lines. Birth details can sit in their own block so a priest can copy them without reading the job history. Contact sits at the bottom, one number only, so relatives do not call three different people and get three different answers.
Skip decorative borders, horoscope wheels, and a second page of certificates. If a degree needs proof, carry the certificate to a meeting. It does not belong in a file that will be forwarded. Read the finished PDF on a phone before you send it. If the photo is cut off or the time of birth wraps onto two lines, fix it. Most biodatas are opened on a phone, not printed on a desk.
When a family asks for "the latest one," send the same PDF you would be happy to see read aloud. If you would be embarrassed by a line, delete the line. Clarity is the whole of a good biodata. Keep one master file, update it when a fact changes, and stop sending older copies that still mention a previous job or an old city. Tell the relatives who already have a copy that a new file is the one to forward.