November is Transgender Awareness Month, and the 20th is Transgender Remembrance Day, which honors the memory of transgender people whose lives have been lost to anti-transgender violence. As a Community Development Financial Institution, Self-Help
is in a unique position to support and empower underrepresented communities, particularly those who have had to overcome significant financial barriers.
As we reflect on this solemn holiday, it’s important to address challenges faced by transgender people, including the complex decision and process of changing legal names and updating identification documents.
In this blog post, we will be exploring the current landscape and process of ID and naming protocols and alternatives if you don’t want to go through a legal change.
The Naming Process
Choosing to legally change your name to align with your gender identity is a very personal decision, as people can have differing relationships to their name based on their own experiences and preferences.
Whether you choose to keep your name, make a small change to a first name, or change your full name entirely, your choice is entirely valid. It is important to keep in mind, however, that any name change, no matter how small, will require quite a
bit of paperwork and logistics. All of that is worth it if a new name helps you to feel like you, but just make sure you aren’t settling or changing your name before you’re ready.
Step 1: Court Order
The first step in most states is to file a petition with your local court. Once you have a court order, you can use copies of that order to change your name on any document and record that you’d like to update.
To find specific instructions for your state, including a list of documents and fees you may need to provide, head to TransEquality.org/Documents.
Keep in mind:
You can also use this opportunity to change your gender marker, if you’d like, but you will likely need additional documentation for this
Some fees can be waived
You can ask for your case to be sealed if you are concerned about privacy or safety
You should obtain multiple certified copies of the court-ordered change (there may be additional fees associated with this)
Step 2: Update Your Social Security Record
Once your name is legally changed, the next step should be updating your social security record by locating your nearest Social Security office. For your name change, bring a certified copy of your name change order.
If you’re also changing your gender, you will need to bring proof of transition by providing an accepted document, which includes a court order recognizing your gender change or a signed letter from your doctor.
Step 3: Update Your License or State/Territory ID
To update your license or state/territory ID with your new name and/or gender marker, bring your court-ordered change document and follow the specific instructions by state/territory over on TransEquality.org/Documents.
Step 4: Update Your Insurance, Financial Accounts, School, and Employment Records
The next step in the name change process involves updating important accounts that contain personal information and that are a part of important records or services. This includes:
Insurance – Don’t forget the various types of insurance you may have, including health, car, life, disability, and home insurance plans.
Financial accounts – To ensure safety in terms of access to your financial assets, make sure to update your bank accounts, credit cards, investment/retirement accounts, and other financial records with your new name.
School records – while this might be most applicable to people who are still in school, you may want to consider changing former school records if you feel that doing so may support your privacy or if you may need to connect with previous
schools at any point in time. The right to change your educational records is protected under FERPA, according to Lambda Legal.
Employment records – Make sure to not only update current, but also former employment records – this will be particularly helpful if/when you are looking for a new job and your new employer needs to verify employment at previous
places of work.
In most cases, you should only need a copy of your name change order to make these changes. Many of these accounts don’t show gender in their documentation, so changing your gender marker is likely unnecessary.
Step 5: Update Your Passport
If you are just changing the name on your passport, the process is fairly straightforward –
it can be done by submitting an application in person or via mail and will require proof of your name change through a copy of your court order.
If you are also changing your gender marker, you will need to complete a new passport application
form and submit your application in person with your updated driver’s license in addition to your other documents.
Step 6: Update Your Birth Certificate
Changing your birth certificate can be challenging, depending on what state you are in. If this is the case, you can oftentimes use your updated passport to show proof of citizenship instead.
If you are living in a different state than you were born, you may need to petition for a court order in the state you were born in order to change your birth certificate. For specifics on your state’s process, head to TransEquality.org/Documents.
Step 7: If Applicable, Inform Selective Services and/or Update Immigration Documents
Individuals assigned male at birth are required to register with Selective Service. To change your name, you can fill out a change of information form and submit it with your name change order. If you were assigned female at birth, but you are legally
changing your gender markers to male, you may need to obtain a status information letter to show that you are exempt from registering.
If you have immigration records and have changed your name, make sure to submit your court-ordered name change to update your immigration records. If you changed your gender marker, you will need to submit a government-issued document showing the
gender designation or a letter from a licensed health care professional.
Step 8: Change Important Legal Documents Like Wills, Deeds, Titles, Leases, etc.
Changing a will likely require a codicil or rewrite, which both require witnesses. If you are the beneficiary of someone else’s will, you can reach out to the Executor to have them update your information.
For house deeds, you will likely need a grant or quitclaim
deed that is signed by a notary to change your name. Don’t forget to also reach out to your lender (if applicable), title insurance company, and homeowners insurance provider as well as updating your tax assessor records.
For your car title and registration, some DMVs may require a name change notification
within a certain number of days. Name changes are required to be submitted in person.
Changing the name on a lease can likely be done with a lease amendment. If lease
amendments are not allowed, you may need to sign a new lease.
Step 9: If Applicable, Notify Licensing Boards
If you are licensed to perform your profession, make sure to notify your licensing board to have your information updated. This process can vary by state and board.
Step 10: Update Voter Registration
Make sure you are registered to vote with your new name and/or gender marker!
Alternate Options, if You Don’t Want to Legally Change Your Name
For many people, having up-to-date identification is an important part of feeling like themselves in their everyday lives. However, changing your name legally may not be the best option for you. There are concerns of privacy,
costs for all these applications that can add up, and potential legal barriers.
If, for whatever reason, you choose not to change your name legally but still want to be called by a new name, there are things you can do that can allow your name to be recognized in many of your daily interactions without the tedious legal processes.
The biggest thing you can do is to take advantage of preferred or chosen name options that many institutions and organizations allow people to use. Here are a few places that this is often available:
ID Cards – University and college ID cards, credit and debit cards, employee ID cards, and specialized bank cards sometimes allow for preferred or chosen names to be shown instead of legal names. Self-Help offers
the My Name Card, which we will share more about later in this post.
Class Rosters – If you’re in school, universities may be able to show preferred names on class rosters, even if your documentation shows your legal name. If this isn’t part of policy, you can also notify
professors of a nickname to use instead.
Places of Work – Many employers have incorporated policies or systems where they ask employees for preferred names and use those names companywide. Ask your administrative team about how/where you can use a preferred
name. You can reinforce this through an updated email signature, new business cards, name tags, etc.
Email Addresses & Other Communications – This may be an obvious one, but showing your preferred name on any type of communication is probably the easiest thing you can do to ensure that people are referring
to you by your chosen name on a regular basis.
Non-legal Documents – As long as a document with your name on it is not legally binding, use your chosen name instead.
Committees, Boards, & Professional Groups – Notify any organization you are involved in of your preferred name change.
With the ease of online ordering, many companies have adopted programs or policies where customer info and orders for food or goods use the name that is shown on your card in their system. This can be frustrating or painful for some people who want to
be recognized by their chosen name without going through the complex legal renaming process.
At Self-Help, we offer the My Name Card, which allows your credit or debit card to display your preferred name,
telling merchants who you really are and giving you the freedom of expression you deserve.
When you go through this process, your legal name will still be in our system, but we will acknowledge your preferred name on your cards and when communicating with you. To update your card with your preferred name, visit your local branch or
call 800-966-7353.