Every posting, every new course and every fresh combat uniform needs the same three things stitched and attached before the first parade: a name tab, a blood-group tab and, for most units, a patch with the unit or course emblem. Getting them right is mostly about the spec and the order flow, and both are simpler than the scattered marketplace listings make them look. This guide puts the 2026 essentials in one place.

The spec that makes a name tab fit

For the combat uniform, the name tab is 12 cm wide and about 3 cm high, with block capitals around 1.3 cm tall and a maximum of 14 characters including spaces. The newer pattern uses a green ground with black lettering; the earlier pattern is olive with yellow. CAPF tabs follow the MHA name-tab specification, 12 to 14 x 2.5 cm, in each force's shade: BSF black with yellow, CISF navy with silver, SSB black, CRPF and ITBP in the force camouflage shade, with the blood group stitched in red on the tab itself. State police tabs for combat and duty wear are khaki with black lettering, 12 x 2.5 cm; the formal khaki shirt takes a pinned plate. Ask any seller to confirm these numbers before paying. A tab that is 2 cm too wide does not fit the loop panel.

Lettering is satin stitch on firm twill with a satin border. The hook side sits on the tab; the loop panel stays on the uniform. Sew-on and iron-on finishes exist for shirts without a panel.

Blood-group tabs and unit patches

A blood-group tab is a safety item first, so the letters are stitched large and high-contrast on a 5 x 2.5 cm base. Order it in the same preset as the name tab and the pair reads as one set on the uniform. For CAPF and police combat tabs the blood group sits in red on the name tab itself, so it is ordered there rather than as a separate piece.

Unit, course and adventure-node patches are made from your own artwork at 3.5 inches for most round crests, 3 inches for chest and sleeve or 4 inches for shoulders and bags. Fine detail is simplified so it stitches clean, and a stitched proof photographed against a ruler comes before the run, so the first piece you see is the piece the whole batch is made from.

What moves the cost up or down

Quantity. The biggest lever. Digitising and set-up are shared across a batch, so a unit order of 50 lands well below the single-piece rate per tab. Breaks apply at 10, 50 and 100 pieces on our product pages.
Backing. Hook-and-loop costs a little more per piece than sew-on. Iron-on sits in between.
Size. A 4-inch patch carries more stitches than a 3-inch one. Name tabs are fixed at 12 x 3 cm, so size is not a variable there.
Artwork readiness. Clean artwork digitises faster. A photo of an old patch works, but it adds a day for redrawing.
Who stitched it and how. Hand-worked zari name plates from the Punjab clusters are a ceremonial product and sit at the top of the market. Embroidered tabs made to order sit in the middle; stocked marketplace tabs with no spec control sit at the bottom.
Delivery. Tracked courier to a cantonment or unit line is the same anywhere in India. Only express delivery adds cost.

The current rate for each item, and the quantity breaks, are on the product pages. We keep them there rather than in an article so they are never out of date.

What a civilian embroiderer can and cannot make

Name tabs, blood-group tabs, unit patches with the unit's own artwork, veteran patches and security-agency logos are open to order. Formation signs, regimental crests, rank and qualification badges are made only against a unit indent, an official letter or a valid service ID, and a careful studio keeps that record. The State Emblem is never reproduced for retail buyers, and nothing is cut from the registered combat-pattern fabric. If a seller offers those freely, that is a reason to look elsewhere.

How a unit order usually runs

Send the artwork or a photo of the existing patch, the size, the quantity and the delivery address. For name tabs, a name list in a message or a sheet is enough.
Receive the stitched proof, photographed against a ruler. Approve it or ask for changes.
Pay 50 percent to start. The run is made and couriered with tracking and a GST invoice for unit funds; the delivery window is the same as every made-to-order piece on the site.

If you are planning a batch right now, the velcro patches and name tabs page covers every item and preset, and a WhatsApp message with the force, quantity and names gets a confirmed quote.