The big day for my court hearing was today, and I want to share my experience.
I arrived at the court room I was assigned and it was clear from the beginning that it was going to be a mix of civil cases. At first I thought I would be the only transgender person, but there was one other and two other cis gender people who were just changes their names. Outside the room there was a list of people who were getting their name and/or gender changed. The list had way more people than actually showed up.
Once inside, everyone was asked to sign in with the court clerk at the front. For the name /gender cases, ID was required to show you are a resident of San Francisco county. For the other civil cases, the people/lawyers were required to submit business cards for the businesses that had civil cases.
That went quickly, maybe 10 minutes or so. Then the clerk reminded the name/gender cases that afterward they could get certified copies at the filing clerks office. Then everyone was sworn in, all at once.
After that we waited about 30 minutes, before the judge comes in. He announces that the name/gender cases will go first, because they are very quick. After calling for the no-shows (and ones that already rescheduled), my case was first. The judge asked:
1) Have you been sworn in?
2) Please say and spell your current legal name (ie old name).
3) Are you here to legally change your name and gender?
4) Is the new name XXX YYY ZZZ?
5) Are you changing your name for any malicious intent? (I can't remember the exact wording here)
6) I see you have your doctors affidavit and everything looks in order. I will grant the grant the request for name and gender change.
Then I went to the side and the clerk handed me my signed copy. The other name and gender case was exactly the same as mine. The cis name changes, had slightly different questions.
After the name/gender changes cases were done, I left.
At that point I made a major mistake. I did not get certified copies. I was going to do that another day. My plan was to go directly to the SSA office and update my name and gender there. After 2 hours of waiting, they looked at my original, and they said "That's not valid. There is no stamp or seal on it." And they said it looked like a photocopy (which it was not).
I went back to the courthouse, to the filling clerks office, and get in line. Once I am at the counter, they say I need to go to the "public viewing" room, and they can help you. And it's down the hall, around the corner, right by the emergency stair well. Once I found that room the line was short, and I got copies (with the stamp and seal) at $25.50 per copy! They said, I was not supposed to leave the building with my original! Yikes! But they let it pass. They did understand why the SSA rejected it. Even though the SSA wants originals, they actually want the certified copies.
Once I was back at the SSA office (a short hour and a half wait), they accepted the copy, and made a photocopy of it for their records and handed back mine. They approved the change with only a few minutes to spare before they closed.
That was my adventure. I hope it is useful to other, and just people in San Francisco county.
