Worried About Being Able To Change Name Before Starting T

[Tristyn]

Yeah, I'm worried that I am still gonna be called by my overtly feminine name even after my voice is deepened and I start acquiring more masculine features from T that simply do not match. I remember Arch brought up an awesome suggestion to have my name changed through a fee waiver that may be applicable to people on public assistance and financial aid. Well, I am on both I have financial aid for school and get SSI with SSD.

I live in the states of Florida, so would this even be a possibility? If you know how to get this done, please let me know or PM me the resources. I gotta at least have a carry letter to explain my transition. I don't know what is taking my therapist so long to generate it. I really need it. The other day, I had some trouble purchasing a beer all because of the picture on my I.D. from two years ago did not match how I look right now.

[purplewuggybird]

You can ask people to call you a different name but not necessarily have to have it changed Until later. That might be a great way to start!


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[LatrellHK]

I live in MN, so I'm sorry if this doesn't apply, but I got my name changed a month before starting T. My current name, Chris, is a heck better than my old, feminine, "it's so pretty, why would you ever want to change it" name. Trust me, I feel you.

What I did was apply for a fee waiver. I am not on government assistance, but I make little and qualify someone living in poverty. Just be honest and tell them how much you make, any assistance you are on and how much you get, and fill it all out along with your name change documents. You'll get notified via mail if you were approved or denied, and it takes 1-2wks to know and 4wks until your court date, where you need two people as witnesses. I only had to pay for my fingerprints and such, but its cheaper than almost $400 for a name change!

Again, this is in MN and I don't know how it might differ from FL. But it might work. Good luck!

[Dena]

Settle down. I couldn't change my name until after gender surgery so I walked around with the wrong identity in my purse for about 3 years. Even today, my birth certificate is still in the old name. The two solutions to the problem are to have a letter from your doctor that you present with your ID that explains you are transitioning and old name/new name are both you.

California was pretty advanced and you could change your name by usage . This alone will not change your paper work but it means you can go by another name as long as no crimes are committed.

[Tristyn]

You can ask people to call you a different name but not necessarily have to have it changed Until later. That might be a great way to start!


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I am called the name I want already in certain situations. But my own family constantly refers to me inappropriately no matter what I do. I even sign my preferred name at the end of every phone text and am still called by my dead name. I feel so disrespected. Only family that actually tries is a brother. This signature helps I think. And you're right, it's a great start but I need to go further.

I live in MN, so I'm sorry if this doesn't apply, but I got my name changed a month before starting T. My current name, Chris, is a heck better than my old, feminine, "it's so pretty, why would you ever want to change it" name. Trust me, I feel you.

What I did was apply for a fee waiver. I am not on government assistance, but I make little and qualify someone living in poverty. Just be honest and tell them how much you make, any assistance you are on and how much you get, and fill it all out along with your name change documents. You'll get notified via mail if you were approved or denied, and it takes 1-2wks to know and 4wks until your court date, where you need two people as witnesses. I only had to pay for my fingerprints and such, but its cheaper than almost $400 for a name change!

Again, this is in MN and I don't know how it might differ from FL. But it might work. Good luck!

I think I found the form just now for the fee waiver. I have to make sure with my nearest Clerk of Court. When I have time either tomorrow or friday, I will call and ask if this is the right form. I really think it is. I didn't think it would be easy to find.

Yeah, I think it's crazy to pay $400 for a freakin' name change. But I want to change my whole name, first, middle and last.

Settle down. I couldn't change my name until after gender surgery so I walked around with the wrong identity in my purse for about 3 years. Even today, my birth certificate is still in the old name. The two solutions to the problem are to have a letter from your doctor that you present with your ID that explains you are transitioning and old name/new name are both you.

California was pretty advanced and you could change your name by usage . This alone will not change your paper work but it means you can go by another name as long as no crimes are committed.

Hi.

Yeah, I mentioned the letter for presenting it with my I.D. from my therapist. I guess I could ask my endo too? Is that what you meant? I need something like that, asap. But I don't give up easy. I have to figure this out and try every possible route out there before I even think about throwing in the towel with this name change.

[Dena]

My letter was from my therapist and I called it my get out of jail free card. I never had to use it because I drove carefully, stayed out of trouble with the law and never found a time where anybody complained. I have some paper work I need to sort through after my move and I am going to keep an eye open for it just for kicks as I haven't needed the thing in about 33 years.

[LatrellHK]

Good luck and hope your thing works out! I got my first and last name changed, kept middle to show some ties to my moms side (aka members I actually like) so it wasn't too difficult. I will advice you to immediately get your ID and Social Security Card updated first, everything else last. Be prepared to carry paperwork in a folder, it helps.

Forgot to add, birth certificate is a no-go though. At least in IL (where I was born) and some other states. So that one might still have the wrong name and/or gender on it until surgery. Might want to check state laws in that case. Also, I got to get my gender legally changed as well. Just thought I'd throw that out.

[Tristyn]

Awesome advice there, Latrell. I'll keep in mind about getting my name on my I.D. and Social Security changed first. Yeah, I think in Florida I have to have some form of gender reassignment surgery  before taking care of the name on my birth certificate. I called my clerk of court office today and they said when I actually file my petition there is the time I need to request the fee waiver on the court fees.

But it will be a good while before I even get to this point because I have to get my fingerprints and criminal records check done first and all that is gonna be about $50.00. Unfortunately that is all I get once a month from my dad as an allowance from my SSI because he is my representative payee. But before this I really need to update the picture on my I.D. at least, at the tax collector's office so no one thinks I am committing some kind of identity fraud. I really wish my gender therapist would just email that damn carry letter already! XD

[FTMax]

Birth certificate is doable in many states without SRS. You can check the legal document changes page on the Wiki for current rules in specific states.

As far as document changes go, go to SSA first. All it takes is your court order from your name change and a letter from your endo saying they're treating you for gender dysphoria and that your identification should be changed to read "male". Easiest change. Different states have different procedures about how to correct driver's licenses. Again, the Wiki would list what the current rules for that are.

My big recommendation is to not think about the birth certificate and go straight for a Passport. You don't need to have SRS in order to change your gender on there. A letter from your endo will suffice. And in any situation where you would need a birth certificate (new employee paperwork, citizenship verification, etc.), the Passport is valid.

I am only planning to ever update my birth certificate if I move far away from my birth state. I believe I'd have to go to some department there at least once in order to make the change, and that would be inconvenient if I didn't live as close as I do now. As it is, the Passport works great. I strongly encourage it.

[Tristyn]

Birth certificate is doable in many states without SRS. You can check the legal document changes page on the Wiki for current rules in specific states.

As far as document changes go, go to SSA first. All it takes is your court order from your name change and a letter from your endo saying they're treating you for gender dysphoria and that your identification should be changed to read "male". Easiest change. Different states have different procedures about how to correct driver's licenses. Again, the Wiki would list what the current rules for that are.

My big recommendation is to not think about the birth certificate and go straight for a Passport. You don't need to have SRS in order to change your gender on there. A letter from your endo will suffice. And in any situation where you would need a birth certificate (new employee paperwork, citizenship verification, etc.), the Passport is valid.

I am only planning to ever update my birth certificate if I move far away from my birth state. I believe I'd have to go to some department there at least once in order to make the change, and that would be inconvenient if I didn't live as close as I do now. As it is, the Passport works great. I strongly encourage it.

Well, before changing the name on my birth certificate, I need to petition the name change at court to make it legal first right? I am really confused about the order I should do this stuff in. I am not at all experienced with court dealings.

[FTMax]

1 Name change with court

2 Get letter from HRT provider to take to SSA (there are templates online somewhere, message me if you need help finding one)

3 Get letter from HRT provider to State Department (same letter as SSA, just addressed to Dept of State for Passport)

4 Gender change with court (if applicable) / whatever process you need to do to get your gender on your license corrected

5 Visit Social Security - update name and gender marker

6 Visit DMV - update name and gender marker

7 Apply for Passport - using new name and gender

8 Update any accounts in your name (credit cards, insurance, student loans, etc.)

That should be it. In my state, I applied for a name change and got letters from my doctor to take to SSA, the DMV, and the Passport office all at once. As soon as my name change order came in the mail, I went to SSA and updated that. They gave me a print out saying I had updated everything. As soon as my approval for my license update came back in the mail, I went to the DMV with that, my court order, and the print out from SSA. Once my new driver's license came in the mail, I took all of the paperwork I had thus far, my original passport, and birth certificate to the Passport Office and applied for a new passport.

[Tristyn]

1 Name change with court

2 Get letter from HRT provider to take to SSA (there are templates online somewhere, message me if you need help finding one)

3 Get letter from HRT provider to State Department (same letter as SSA, just addressed to Dept of State for Passport)

4 Gender change with court (if applicable) / whatever process you need to do to get your gender on your license corrected

5 Visit Social Security - update name and gender marker

6 Visit DMV - update name and gender marker

7 Apply for Passport - using new name and gender

8 Update any accounts in your name (credit cards, insurance, student loans, etc.)

That should be it. In my state, I applied for a name change and got letters from my doctor to take to SSA, the DMV, and the Passport office all at once. As soon as my name change order came in the mail, I went to SSA and updated that. They gave me a print out saying I had updated everything. As soon as my approval for my license update came back in the mail, I went to the DMV with that, my court order, and the print out from SSA. Once my new driver's license came in the mail, I took all of the paperwork I had thus far, my original passport, and birth certificate to the Passport Office and applied for a new passport.

Thank you for this list. I'll have to copy and paste this into Word, if you don't mind. It's alot to remember. I hope I can actually pull all of this off. In my poorly limited situation, I have no idea how long all of this will take me but at least now I have an idea on what's involved and where to start.