Alabama transgender resources

Youth

Children’s of Alabama (childrensal.org)

  • EMLALA Clinic takes care of kids with gender questions related to gender identity and gender dysphoria as well as children with ambiguity in their genital organs. 

Resources

Campaign for Southern Equality (southernequality.org)

Association of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual & Transgender Issues in Counseling of Alabama – ALGBTICAL (algbtical.org)

Rainbow Mobile (rainbowmobile.org)

World Professional Association of Transgender Health (wpath.org)

Legal

National Center for Transgender Equality (transequality.org)

Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org)

Williams Institute (williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu)

Name change

A reader writes in August 2008:

I live in a small town of Jackson County. I went in to probate judge’s office at courthouse for name change – all went well, was over and done with in matter of 15-20 mins.I didn’t see a judge or nothin, the clerk typed it all up, had me to verify and sign papers, gave her $19 and the change was done.

A reader writes in July 2003:

I recently received my legal name change in Mobile Alabama. Although the state requires a petition filed with the county probate court. My county required that I hire an attorney to file it for me. Our state mentions no hearing or waiting period, however I endured both. 

My county probate Judge admittedly denied my name change until a national letter writing campaign began on my behalf. The Montgomery Institute, of which, Becky is well aquatinted, was instrumental in persuading Judge Davis to reverse himself. 

I thought you might be interested in that little bit of my story.

Another reader writes in December 2003:

I just went and performed a name change less than 7 months ago in my city of Tuscaloosa.

It was a piece of cake to do– all I had to do was go to the local probate judge’s office and fill out a form and pay them 18 dollars.

And it was a done deal and I was scared to death as I went from a very male name to my new name .

I received this on April 2004:

I read the other two letters about name changes in Alabama, so I thought I would let you know of my experience in Calhoun County in 1999.

State law requires a petition be prepared to change name (they do accept a form, but I wrote my own petition). The secretary in an attorney’s office helped me find an example in one of the law books, so I wrote my petition from that. In my petition, I stated that I was a transsexual woman and used the words, “inward gender” and female pronouns throughout the document. I have been criticized for that. But to me, it established that I considered myself a woman. (The final order states that it appears to the court that “the facts contained in the petition are true and correct…”) 

I also filled out the form and carried both to the Probate Judge’s office. The clerk read the petition, looked at the form, gave the form back to me and recorded the petition. I did not have to go before the judge and immediately my name was changed. Cost was $10.00.