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How to make a marriage biodata (step by step, with sample)

A marriage biodata is the first thing another family sees of you, and it is usually read in under a minute on a phone. Here is how to make one that gets read properly — section by section, with a filled sample you can copy.

What a marriage biodata is, and who reads it

A marriage biodata (also called a shaadi biodata, vivah biodata, lagna biodata or rishta profile) is a one-page introduction exchanged between families when an arranged marriage is being considered. It is not a CV and it is not a matrimony-site profile. Its job is narrow: give a family enough to decide whether a first conversation is worth having.

That shapes everything about how you make it. The first reader is often not the prospective partner but a parent, an aunt, a family friend or a matchmaker scrolling through dozens of biodatas on WhatsApp. They skim for a few facts — age, height, education, work, family, city — and look at the photo. If those are easy to find, the rest gets read.

Step 1: Collect the details before you start

Most people get stuck halfway because they are hunting for a birth time or a sibling’s job title. Gather these first:

• Full name, date of birth, and — if your family uses horoscope matching — exact time and place of birth
• Height (in feet and inches; most families read it that way), religion, mother tongue, community if your family mentions it
• Highest qualification with college or university, and current job title with employer and city
• Annual income as a range
• Parents’ names and occupations, siblings and whether they are married, native place
• One recent photo and a phone number of a parent or elder who will take the calls

Step 2: Fill the six sections in this order

Families expect a familiar order, and matchmakers skim by position. Keep it:

If your family does not follow horoscope matching, delete that section entirely rather than leaving blanks. An empty row looks like something is being hidden.

Step 3: Write the parts that need care

Income. Write a range such as “₹12 – 15 Lakh per annum”. An exact figure invites comparison and goes out of date the next time you get an increment.

About me. Three or four sentences: what you do, where you live, what you enjoy, and one line about what matters to you. Skip adjectives you would never say out loud — “hardworking, honest and family-oriented” describes everyone and tells a family nothing. Our guide to writing About Me has 20 examples.

Partner preferences. An age range, a height range, education and one line on values. A long list of conditions narrows your matches and reads badly to the families you most want to impress.

Step 4: Add one good photo

Families look at the photo before they read anything. Use one recent photo — shoulders-up, plain background, daylight on the face, looking at the camera. Traditional or formal dress both work. Avoid sunglasses, heavy filters and faces cropped out of group photos. See the photo guide for a quick setup at home.

A filled sample you can copy

All names and details above are made up. For complete biodatas, see the samples for a girl and a boy.

Step 5: Choose a format and design

You can type a biodata in Word, use a free marriage biodata format, or use an app that lays it out for you. What matters is that it fits on one A4 page, the text is large enough to read on a phone, and the design does not compete with the photo. Traditional borders suit most families; if you are sending to younger relatives, a clean modern layout reads faster. You can browse 19 templates to see the difference.

Writing in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil or another Indian language? Make sure the font is embedded in the PDF — otherwise the text turns into boxes on the other person’s phone. See biodata in your language.

Step 6: Check it and share it

Before sending, read it on your own phone at normal zoom. Check the date of birth, spelling of names, and the phone number — a wrong digit is the most common reason families never hear back. Then export a PDF and send the PDF. A Word file can shift on a phone without the fonts, and a screenshot gets blurry every time it is forwarded. The guide to sending a biodata on WhatsApp covers filenames and a message to send with it.

Last updated 16 September 2026 · Biodata for Marriage team