Biodata Format for Job and Marriage, With Samples

A biodata format is a one or two page document that lists your personal details, education and work history in labelled fields, used across South Asia for job applications and for marriage proposals. A job biodata has your name and contact details, a few basic personal details, education, work experience, skills, languages and a signed declaration. A marriage biodata adds family background, and often religion, community, height and horoscope details, which are customary there but should be left out of anything you send to an employer.

Below is the format for each, a fill-in sample for both, and a clear guide to when a biodata should become a resume instead, which is almost always the case for jobs abroad.

Biodata, resume and CV: the difference

"Biodata" is short for biographical data. It focuses on who you are, in fields. A resume focuses on what you have achieved, in a short selected summary. A CV is a fuller record of your career, and in the UK and much of Europe "CV" is simply the everyday word for a resume.

	Biodata	Resume	CV
Main focus	Personal and factual details	Achievements relevant to one job	Full career and academic record
Usual length	1 to 2 pages	1 to 2 pages	2 pages or more (academic CVs run longer)
Personal details	Several (date of birth, gender, nationality)	Contact details only	Contact details, sometimes more by country
Where it is common	South Asia, some government and entry-level roles, marriage	US, Canada, most private-sector jobs	UK, Europe, academia worldwide

If an employer in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal asks for a biodata, send a biodata. If a posting asks for a resume or CV, or if you are applying abroad, send a resume, even if you have always called it a biodata.

Job biodata format

A job biodata has six blocks, in this order:

1. Heading and photo: the word "Biodata" or your name at the top. A passport-size photo in the top right corner is common in South Asian applications; include one only if the employer expects it.
2. Personal details: full name, date of birth, gender, nationality, languages known, address, phone and email.
3. Career objective: two lines on the role you want and what you bring. Optional, but useful if you are early in your career.
4. Educational qualifications: degree, institution or board, year and marks or grade, most recent first.
5. Work experience: job title, employer, dates and two to four lines on what you did.
6. Skills, then declaration: technical skills and certifications, then a one-line declaration, place, date and signature.

What to leave out of a job biodata

Older templates still include fields that have nothing to do with whether you can do the job. Leave these out:

• religion, caste, community or sub-caste
• height, weight, complexion or blood group
• horoscope details
• father's or husband's income and occupation
• marital status, unless the employer's own form asks for it

These details are not needed to judge your qualifications, and they invite bias, conscious or not. Some government application forms in South Asia have their own fields, for example for reservation categories. Fill those in on the official form where it asks; they still do not belong on the biodata itself.

Sample job biodata

A fill-in sample with a fictional candidate's details. Copy the structure and replace every line with your own.

BIODATA

Name:              Rahul Verma
Date of Birth:     14 March 1999
Gender:            Male
Nationality:       Indian
Languages Known:   English, Hindi, Marathi
Address:           Kothrud, Pune, Maharashtra 411038
Phone:             +91 90000 00000
Email:             [email protected]

CAREER OBJECTIVE
Mechanical engineer with two years of production experience, looking for
a quality engineering role in automotive manufacturing.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
B.E. Mechanical Engineering, Savitribai Phule Pune University, 2021, 7.8 CGPA
HSC (Class XII), Maharashtra State Board, 2017, 82%
SSC (Class X), Maharashtra State Board, 2015, 88%

WORK EXPERIENCE
Production Engineer, Deccan Precision Components Pvt Ltd, Chakan, Pune
Aug 2021 to Present
- Supervise one shift of 18 operators on a gearbox housing machining line
- Run first-piece and in-process inspections using vernier, micrometer
  and height gauge
- Led a root-cause analysis on recurring bore defects, which brought
  rework on that part down over three months

SKILLS
AutoCAD, SolidWorks, GD&T, 5S, Kaizen, Microsoft Excel

CERTIFICATIONS
Six Sigma Green Belt, 2023

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the information given above is true to the best
of my knowledge and belief.

Place: Pune                                          (Signature)
Date: 09/10/2026                                     Rahul Verma

Notice what is missing: no religion, no caste, no father's name, no height, no marital status. Nothing on this page tells the reader anything except whether Rahul can do the job. If a particular employer's instructions ask for a field, such as a father's name on a government form, add it for that application only.

Applying abroad: turn your biodata into a resume

For jobs outside South Asia, do not send a biodata at all. Employers in Europe, the UK and North America expect a resume or CV, and the personal fields in a biodata can expose you to discrimination.

Anti-discrimination law in these regions treats many biodata fields as exactly the things an employer must not use:

• In the EU, Directive 2000/78/EC sets a framework against discrimination in employment on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, and Directive 2000/43/EC covers racial or ethnic origin.
• In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 lists protected characteristics including age, marriage and civil partnership, race, and religion or belief.
• In the US, the EEOC's guidance on pre-employment inquiries says information about race, sex, national origin, age and religion is irrelevant to whether a person is qualified, and that employers should not ask for a photograph before an offer.

The law protects you, but the simplest protection is not to hand over the information in the first place. To convert a job biodata into a resume:

1. Remove religion, caste, height, weight, father's name, marital status and the declaration and signature.
2. Remove date of birth and the photo unless the posting asks for them. Habits differ across European countries, so follow the employer's instructions.
3. Replace the career objective with a three-line professional summary.
4. Rewrite each job as bullet points that show results, not just duties.
5. Replace the school board marks with your degree, and add an equivalent where it helps, such as "equivalent to a bachelor's degree".
6. Add your work authorization status if you have it.

The full method is in how to write a resume, and how to write your work experience shows how to turn duties into bullets.

Marriage biodata format

A marriage biodata introduces you and your family to a prospective match and their family. The personal and family fields that do not belong in a job biodata are the heart of this document, and including them is normal and expected.

A marriage biodata usually has five blocks:

1. Photo and name: a clear, recent photo and your full name.
2. Personal details: date, time and place of birth, height, religion, community or caste, mother tongue, and diet, plus horoscope details such as rashi, nakshatra or gotra if your family uses them.
3. Education and career: degrees, current job, employer and city, and income if your family expects it to be shared.
4. Family details: parents' names and occupations, siblings and their status, family type and native place.
5. About me and expectations: a short paragraph about yourself, then what you are looking for in a partner. Contact details close the page.

Which of these you include is your family's choice and yours. Horoscope fields matter a great deal to some families and not at all to others. Some templates still ask for complexion or weight; you do not have to include them.

One practical caution: marriage biodatas are forwarded through relatives and messaging groups and you cannot control where they end up. Give a parent's phone number or a dedicated email rather than your work contact, list your city rather than your full address, and never include ID numbers.

Sample marriage biodata

A fill-in template. Replace each bracket with your own details and delete any line that does not apply to you.

BIODATA

[Photo]

PERSONAL DETAILS
Name:              [Full name]
Date of Birth:     [DD Month YYYY]
Time of Birth:     [HH:MM, if your family uses horoscopes]
Place of Birth:    [City]
Height:            [e.g. 5 ft 6 in]
Religion:          [Religion]
Community/Caste:   [If you choose to include it]
Rashi/Nakshatra:   [If applicable]
Mother Tongue:     [Language]
Diet:              [Vegetarian / Non-vegetarian / Eggetarian]

EDUCATION AND CAREER
Education:         [Degree, institution, year]
Occupation:        [Job title]
Employer:          [Company], [City]
Annual Income:     [If your family expects it]

FAMILY DETAILS
Father:            [Name], [Occupation or retired from]
Mother:            [Name], [Occupation or homemaker]
Siblings:          [e.g. 1 elder brother, married, engineer in Bengaluru]
Family Type:       [Nuclear / Joint]
Native Place:      [Town, State]

ABOUT ME
[Two or three sentences: what you do, what you enjoy, what matters to you.]

PARTNER EXPECTATIONS
[Two or three sentences: education, values, location preferences.]

CONTACT
[Parent's name], [Phone]
[Email]

Keep it to one page, two at most. A clean layout with clear labels reads better than decorative borders, and a PDF keeps the layout intact when it is forwarded.

Where japply fits

japply is a resume builder, so it helps at the point where you are turning a job biodata into a resume for an application abroad.

You can open the resume builder as a guest, choose one of the 30 templates, and move your details across, leaving the personal fields behind. Paste the job description you are applying to and the builder shows a live ATS score as you edit; export as PDF or DOCX. To check the result for free without an account, paste your resume and the posting into the ATS checker, which lists the posting's keywords you match and miss. If the job is in Europe, cover letters in japply are free and unlimited in English, Finnish, German, French, Spanish and Swedish.

Common questions

Is a biodata the same as a resume?

No. A biodata lists personal and factual details in fields; a resume summarises achievements selected for one job. Send whichever the employer asks for, and default to a resume for any job outside South Asia.

Should I mention religion or caste in a job biodata?

No. They have nothing to do with your ability to do the job, and putting them on the page invites bias. If an official government form has a specific category field, fill it in on that form only.

Does a biodata need a photo?

A marriage biodata almost always has one. For a job biodata, include a passport-size photo only if the employer expects it. For jobs in the US and UK, leave the photo off a resume unless asked.

What should the declaration say?

A single line is enough: "I hereby declare that the information given above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief", followed by place, date and signature. Leave it off resumes for jobs abroad, where it is not used.

How long should a biodata be?

One page for most people, two if you have several jobs or qualifications to list. A marriage biodata should fit on one page if you can manage it.

Can I send my biodata for a job in Europe?

You can, but you will be at a disadvantage. Convert it into a resume or CV using the steps above, and tailor it to the job description before you send it.