Name Changing and Gender

I live in the UK, so it's very different here, but I did do some quick research for you.

The legal requirements to change your gender vary by state. In Washington (where your location is listed) you require a medical letter which confirms that you are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and intend to live as a man permanently in order to change any of your legal documents, such as birth certificate. You would need to see a clinician who specifies in gender in order to receive your diagnosis and your letter, but you wouldn't be required to have SRS. I don't know if it costs anything to actually request the legal documents to be changed.

As for name, in Washington you need to be over 18 and can do it in one of two ways:

- from https://depts.washington.edu/qcente...used-resources/legal-name-change-in-wa-state/

I would really recommend going for the court order, since it is more binding and more likely to be accepted by most legal/business companies. Better safe than sorry.

 

1) How to go about changing your name varies from place to place. To make the process easier, I would say to go to you county court house and ask someone there what the step my step process is; and if they can write it all down for you, that's even better.

Generally, my understanding is you go there and they'll tell you what you need to do. You'll need to go to your local police station to get finger printed so they can do a background check on you. Another thing is you'll have to do a petition to get your name change granted, which may also include you needing to get a notice about your name change published in at least two newspapers (I think that's how it goes here in Pennsylvania). You could probably get around this if you can prove to the county that your life would be in danger if this was the case, but I don't know for sure.

The process can take several months, and how much it will cost will vary. I've heard of people paying $180 and I've heard people paying over $300. Again, be sure to reach out to your local court house for help.

2) With your gender marker, it's generally the same thing, but more complicated. In the US there's different laws on how to go about getting your gender marker changed. Some states are fine with letting you get your marker changed on your driver's license or state id if you have a written letter from your doctor, therapist, social worker, or case worker. However, some states require that you have some sort of proof of surgery to get your marker changed on your birth certificate. You can find more on that here:

ID Documents Center | National Center for Transgender Equality

3) As I mentioned in the above, this will depend on where you are. Some states aren't as strict and will let you get your marker changed if you have a letter from your doctor/therapist/case worker to vouch for you and some will do it upon request. Check the link above for an idea as to what you'll need to do. Just remember that the law is changing constantly, so there's a good chance we'll reach a point where proof of surgery isn't required anymore.

 

In the US a name change goes through the courts and may or may not require an announcement in the news paper.

The tried and true method of getting ID with your right gender is to have it changed on your US passport and then notifying social security. The requirements are.minimal compared to the state level and doing this first can make the birth certificate easier.
If your state allows sex to be edited birth certificates it requires a court order. You will need to convince a judge, that means you will probably need a letter confirming you've had gender confirming surgery, but not always. That's why having then federal government recognize your gender before you ask the judge to do so.

 

I live in the State of Washington, like you, and I have done this. This is how you change your name in Washington. It will take you ten minutes, in front of a Superior Court Commissioner in your county. The first step is to file a Petition for Change of Name with the Superior Court Clerk and pay the filing fee. Then, you will take the Petition (with the Clerk's assigned case number affixed) and an additional Order Changing Name (which you or your attorney will have prepared) to the ex parte division (or simply to the bailiff of the local Superior Court judge in smaller counties). In a large county (such as King, Snohomish, Pierce, Thurston), you'd just walk into an ex parte commissioner's chambers, wait your turn, and then present your two documents. The Commissioner will administer the oath, and ask you a few questions, one of which will be something like, "you aren't doing this to defraud anyone are you?" Once you've answered these questions satisfactorily, the Comissioner will sign your Order Changing Name, which you'll then take back to the Clerk's office to file. At that time you should request several (5 to 10) certified copies.

The Order Changing Name will state that your name is changed "for all purposes." Once you present the certified copy of the order to the Social Security Administration, the Department of State (passport), the Department of Licensing (driver's license), and anywhere else you have official status, you will have documents in your new name.

Now, what I can't advise you on is how to change your birth certificate. That's a whole different game. Most of us present the old birth certificate, along with the certified copy of the Order Changing Name, whenever a birth certificate is required. If you want to alter your birth certificate, I think this is going to cost you a lot more money than simply changing your name, which if you know what you're doing you can do for under $200.

Once upon a time, people in Washington just used other names, which is permitted legally. In other words, aliases. However, with 'homeland security' and terrorist theater and bank regulations these days, the only practical way to use another name is to get it changed as described above.