Marriage biodata format
What to include, what to skip, and how to lay it out
A marriage biodata is a one-page document that families exchange to decide whether a match is worth taking further. It is a first impression, not a full profile. What lives on it should be scannable in under a minute and honest enough to survive a face-to-face meeting.
Below is the sensible default that works for most Indian families, a copy-ready sample, PDF vs Word guidance, and 8 FAQs. If your family or community expects a specific style (Marathi, Hindi, modern, groom, bride), the community-specific pages below apply the same defaults with the fields those readers scan first.
What to include, in what order
Most biodatas run in these six sections. Personal on top, contact at the bottom, traditional at the end as opt-in.
| Section | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Name, DOB, age, height, current city, native place, marital status, gender | Priya Deshpande · 27 · 5'6" · Pune |
| Education & Career | Highest degree, college, occupation, company, work location, annual income (optional) | M.Tech · COEP · Product Manager · HDFC Bank · Pune |
| Family | Father's name & occupation, mother's name & occupation, siblings, family type, family location, one-line family intro | Deepak Deshpande · retired banker · Nuclear family · Pune |
| About & Lifestyle | A short paragraph, hobbies, languages known, food preference, lifestyle notes, partner expectations | Trekking, cooking, classical music · Vegetarian · Looking for someone kind and educated |
| Contact | Contact person, relation, phone, email (optional), address (optional) | Father · +91 98XXX XXXXX |
| Traditional (optional) | Religion, community, gotra, kuldev, rashi, nakshatra, manglik, time and place of birth | Hindu · Deshastha · Bharadwaj · Vrishabha · Rohini |
A sensible-default sample
This sample keeps traditional details visible near the bottom because many family readers still look for them. If your family runs kundali matching, keep them. If not, hide the whole traditional block in the Customize step.
Community and format variations
Every community expects a slightly different first-page layout. Marathi and South Indian biodatas expect rashi and gotra prominently. Punjabi and Muslim biodatas do not. Modern biodatas hide traditional details entirely.
The community-specific pages below show you the field order and honorifics each community expects, along with a copy-ready sample:
PDF vs Word vs Image
PDF is the default for a reason. Fonts embed, layout stays intact on every phone, receivers cannot edit fields by accident, and every forwarded copy is identical to the one you approved. Print-shop bios also open PDFs, not Word files.
Word (.docx) is useful when the receiver wants to translate, paste into a family template, or add a cover page. The Word file preserves fonts (including Devanagari), spacing and section headings so the receiver only edits content.
Image (PNG) is for WhatsApp Status and Instagram, and for older Android phones that struggle to preview PDFs quickly. Send PDF for one- on-one chats, PNG for status posts.
Biodataji generates all three from the same wizard, in whatever language you set as document language.
Writing tips that apply to every biodata
One page. If you cannot fit it on a page, the receiver will skim and forget. Hide fields you would refuse to answer instead of leaving them blank.
Be honest about height, income, and horoscope. These are the three details receivers double-check when the families meet. Inflated numbers lose trust fast.
Two sentences about you. A hobby, a value, and something you actually enjoy. Skip the "God-fearing, family-loving" template.
Include a portrait photograph. Plain background, natural light, no filters. This is often the first thing the receiver sees.
Get an elder to read it once. A marriage biodata is written for elders as much as the couple. If a phrase would raise an eyebrow at your family sabha, rewrite it.