Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes (and forms)
New York City is “moving forward with a plan to let people alter the sex on their birth certificate even if they have not had sex-change surgery.” (New York Times, “NY Plans to Make Gender Personal Choice,” Nov. 7, 2006; via Howard Bashman) shlep has no position on the impending policy (and we don’t know what David Bowie feels about it). We can, nonetheless, offer a link or two for those planning to take advantage of this new policy — or others merely hoping to handle a name change without a lawyer.
New Yorkers wanting to change the gender designation on their birth certificates will “have to have changed their name and shown that they had lived in their adopted gender for at least two years.” They can go to the New York CourtHelp website to find forms needed to Petition for Individual Adult Change of Name. In addition, the West Village Trans-Legal Clinic has offered a Name Change Project since 2002, which assists transgendered people in obtaining legal name changes.
In addition to the NYS forms, prospective name-changers in other states can use the links found on the NCSC State Forms page to locate websites with online forms in their own states. For example, Arizona’s Adult Name Change forms, and Minnesota Name Change forms for both adults and minors.Finally, in California, it seems you still must have undergone gender reassignment surgery in order to request a change in the gender marker on your legal documents. For help in that process, the Access Center of the Superior Court for San Francisco County “can help you fill out the forms and make sure the affidavit from your doctor is complete.”
MaryWhisner
November 7, 2006 @ 9:00 pm
More resources:
david giacalone
November 7, 2006 @ 11:33 pm
Thank you for these very helpful pointers, Mary.
shlep: the Self-Help Law ExPress » Blog Archive » monday miscellanea
November 21, 2006 @ 2:39 pm
[…] Thanks to Jen Burke at the weblog Transcending Gender for linking to our posting on Living-Together & Pre-Marital Agreements as part of Blawg Review #84. Her posting for BR #84 contains a lot of links to resources on transgender law, rights, legislation and policy (which greatly expand on our Nov. 7th post about gender and name changes), as well as a moving section on the Annual Day of Remembrance for those who have lost their lives due to gender-based hatred and violence, Nov. 20th.” […]