This site talks about theĀ social,Ā legal, and medical parts of a gender transition. For those who want to make a legal transition, here are the steps.
For non-US citizens
Please see my section on international transgender resources for applicable legal resources. I also have a section for foreign nationals residing in the United States.
For American citizens
You MUST make these legal changes to keep your basic rights.
Some people who did not do these changes had bad things happen to them. Some had their old name used in the news. Some had problems at their bank. Some were stopped from traveling on airplanes, buses, or trains. A few even got sent to the wrong jail.
Take care of these legal things as soon as you are ready. They will help you later!
I recommend doing them in the following order:
Wills and power of attorney
- Trans adults MUST have a will and power of attorney that says what they want to happen when they get sick or die. If you have one, your spouse or partner MUST do this, too. You should do this now and update it after you get a legal name change and change your birth certificate.
Court Order For Name Change
- After writing a will, get a court order for name change. This will make other things easier to change.
Social Security
- After getting a court order for name change, get your Social Security record changed next.
Driver’s License / State ID
- Some US states let you get a driverās license or state ID with your preferred name and gender, but this is not a legal change of name or sex. You MUST get a court order for name change and an amended birth certificate for a legal change of sex.
Passport
- All people in our community MUST get a valid passport with the correct name and gender. You will need this if you want to go outside your country of citizenship, but even if you do not plan to travel outside the country, you MUST get a passport now. It could be much harder in the future.
Birth certificate
- Change your birth certificate as soon as you are allowed. The rule is based on the state where you were born. Each one is different. If you were born in a state that allows you to seal your original birth certificate so the original record is not public, you MUST do this.
Educational documents
- Educational documents include high school or college transcripts and diplomas, licenses, and certifications.
Marriage
- Summary of information on legal aspects of marriage for post-transition people. Trans people seeking a divorce face unique challenges that may require extra planning.
Transgender prisoner resources
- Summary of information for people held in legal custody.
Legal advocacy organizations (US)
Transgender Law Center (transgenderlawcenter.org)
Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) (transequality.org)
- Trans Legal Services Network
- transequality.org/transgender-legal-services-network
- Formed by a 2024 merger of:
- Transgender Legal Defense & Education FundĀ (transgenderlegal.org) [archive]
- National Center for Transgender Equality (nctequality.org) [archive]
Sylvia Rivera Law Project (srlp.org)
TGI Justice Project (tgijp.org)
Trans Justice Funding Project (transjusticefundingproject.org)
Immigration Equality (immigrationequality.org)
New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (transgenderrights.org)
Trans Unity Coalition (transunitycoalition.org)
Lambda Legal (lambdalegal.org)
Pride Foundation (pridefoundation.org)
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (glad.org)
National Center for LGBTQ Rights (nclrights.org)
ACLU (aclu.org)
National Black Justice Coalition (nbjc.org)
Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org)
Historic legal advocacy organizations
Transgender Law and Policy Institute (transgenderlaw.org) [archive]
Press for Change (UK)Ā (pfc.org.uk) [archive]
TransLawHelp (translawhelp.org) [archive]
Disclaimer: This is legal talk, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change often. Some of this may not apply to you. It is presented without warranty. It may contain errors or omissions. You must do your own research.