Court Order For Gender Change (Indiana and other states requiring this)

[mmelny]

Being a resident of Toronto Ontario, but born and raised in Indiana, required that I receive a court order from the county of my birth place in order to change the gender marker on my birth certificate.   It's a backward-ass process, that ultimately grants the authority to legally change your gender status to one individual, the judge presiding in the case.  I officially filed my Petition for Gender Change yesterday with the Marion county court system in Indianapolis, after 3 months of working with lawyers in both Indianapolis and Toronto, to deem which jurisdiction actually applied.  I'll post back here with how this turns out. 

I will also, in keeping with the pay it forward theme of much of the community here at Susan's, offer up the format of the petition that I used to others that are facing the same harrowing step within their own states.  If you are needing to file this document, feel free to send me an email, and I'll send you mine (with personal information blanked).   You may want to see how well mine works and this saga turns out, before asking for it though, lol....

States that require court orders, per the Susan's Wiki:
https://www.susans.org/wiki/Changing_sex_on_birth_certificates_in_the_US

The following states require a valid court order of competent jurisdiction. It is possible to obtain a valid court order in another state, assuming the applicant abides by the regulations of that state, in order to bypass difficult requirements in another state. This does not typically make the process of changing the Birth Certificate record(s) easier.

Alabama    
Alaska    
Arkansas    
California    
Colorado    
Connecticut
Delaware    
Georgia    
Indiana    
Louisiana    
Maine    
Maryland
Minnesota    
Missouri    
Montana    
Nevada    
New Hampshire    
Oklahoma
Oregon    
Pennsylvania    
South Dakota    
Texas    
Utah    
Vermont
Virginia    
Washington    
West Virginia    
Wisconsin    
Wyoming    
District of Columbia

Some states will accept court orders from other states, which may be helpful if you don't presently live in your birth state.  The exception for me was that Toronto/Ontario have no legal mechanism in place for granting a court order for gender change, that is straight from a lawyer that was kind enough to work on this pro bono for me in Toronto.     The clerk of vital records in Indiana did indeed confirm that she would take a court order from Ontario,  it's just that Ontario doesn't have the capacity to issue such a document, as their gender marker change process for BC's is totally different.

*huggs*,
Melan

[mmelny]

I have been wondering how to do this as I was born in the District of Columbia. It seems so overwhelming, hiring a lawyer, court fees and court dates someplace long distance from you. Will they make you attend the hearing in Indiana or can your attorney handle that?

Thanks for sharing, Melan 

Ya on the lawyer thing.   One lawyer I talked to asked for $700, with no guarantees it wouldn't run higher if there were complications!    What I ended up doing, was at the Indy Pride Fest which I attended, there was a representative from a Transgender Rights group, who allowed me to use her petition for name/gender change.. I just modded it to my purpose, as I didn't need the name change (did that in Ontario last year).   So the filing fee of $136 was all I had to pay.

And yes, I will have to travel back to Indiana once I receive the court date.  What a hassle, eh?  It's a 9 hour drive.   I'm praying that they give me a Friday or Monday date, so that I can make a long weekend out of it, and not have to take off more then one vacation day from work.

One other note, I presented four exhibits with the Petition:
1.  Name Change Documentation
2.  SRS Completion Letter from Surgeon
3.  Birth Certificate showing incorrect gender marker.
4.  A letter from the Indiana Vital Records dept showing that they needed a court order in order to change the gender marker on my birth cert.

Also the petition must be notarized, and for Indiana, 4 copies submitted of the Petition and all supporting documentation (Exhibits).

If this doesn't go through... I'll be pretty much completely flabbergasted !

Take Care,
Melan

[Janet_Girl]

In Oregon, we have to use the same form and process as a name change.  You just cross out the "Name" on the form and add "Gender".  Then once the judge signs it, you send in a copy to Vital Statistics and request the change.

[mmelny]

In Oregon, we have to use the same form and process as a name change.  You just cross out the "Name" on the form and add "Gender".  Then once the judge signs it, you send in a copy to Vital Statistics and request the change.

Janet, you make it sound so easy 

I can tell you, after hearing horror stories of certain judges rejecting petitions of gender marker change in the state of Indiana, that I want to make sure my Petition is ironclad, and if they do indeed reject it.. I have sufficient evidence to take my claim to a human rights organization for elevation of an appeal, and hopeful change to this crappy bureaucratic requirement.   This "court order" business, which is a huge gray area withing the legal gender change aspect of transition, is the biggest hurdle that I have had to face, and ironically, the last step to being considered "legally female".

Take Care,
Melan

[Janet_Girl]

In Oregon it is easy.  to change gender on your d/l takes a letter from the state approved therapist.

[mmelny]

In Oregon it is easy.  to change gender on your d/l takes a letter from the state approved therapist.

Yes, Driver's License is it's own thing.  And that is relatively easy, as are Social Security, US Passport, Credit Bureau reporting agencies,  Court Order Name Change (which has a quite well-documented process), etc.  Birth Certificate gender marker change requirements are a completely different beast, ultimately (at least in Indiana), dependent upon a judge arbitrarily making his/her best and hopefully unbiased opinion on determining that you are the gender that you say you are. 

[Janet_Girl]

One other note, I presented four exhibits with the Petition:
1.  Name Change Documentation
2.  SRS Completion Letter from Surgeon
3.  Birth Certificate showing incorrect gender marker.
4.  A letter from the Indiana Vital Records dept showing that they needed a court order in order to change the gender marker on my birth cert.

And thus because it is Indiana, your plan is the best course of action. 

I would wish you luck, but I think you will succeed.

[glendagladwitch]

In Georgia, my name change petition included a clause for a gender marker change upon presenting papers from a surgeon.  Killed two birds with one stone.

[SynthiaSMS]

Great I didn't even know it would be that much work and I've lived here in Indiana my whole life. Must try to change birth state and not deal with so much paperwork. Oh my god it's the government back demon back you shall not have control over what gender I am and how I want to change it.

[mmelny]

I'm getting to be an expert at this, in Indiana at least.   My court date *should* be the last Monday of July!  Praying ! Knocking on wood!  Rubbing a buddha statue, and clicking my heels together that this happens!

The best thing to do, IF you can, is to do the name and gender together.  I've learned this from talking to two attorneys in Indy, as well as a couple of folks that have successfully navigated the process.  I couldn't do that in my case, and frankly, I can't see how anyone could.   Because they require gender confirming surgery, how the hell can you live full time for a year with a mis-gendered name?  Hi Bob, lovely dress you're wearing today! 

Best Wishes, Good Luck!
Melan

[Rosa]

In Indiana, do you have to go to a judge in the county that you were born in, or can you go to any Indiana court?  I would imagine that judges in Marion county would be more open minded than some of those in tiny counties. 

[glendagladwitch]

I'm getting to be an expert at this, in Indiana at least.   My court date *should* be the last Monday of July!  Praying ! Knocking on wood!  Rubbing a buddha statue, and clicking my heels together that this happens!

The best thing to do, IF you can, is to do the name and gender together.  I've learned this from talking to two attorneys in Indy, as well as a couple of folks that have successfully navigated the process.  I couldn't do that in my case, and frankly, I can't see how anyone could.   Because they require gender confirming surgery, how the hell can you live full time for a year with a mis-gendered name?  Hi Bob, lovely dress you're wearing today! 

Best Wishes, Good Luck!
Melan

Well, it's like I said upthread.  You go ahead and get it now for both, but the part that states to change the gender marker says "upon presentation of a surgeon's affidavit attesting to completion of sexual reassignment surgery" or something like that.  So you have a court order you can use now to change your name, and then you can use the same court order later to change the gender marker by presenting it together with a surgeon's affidavit.  It will save time and money in the long run to do it that way.

[aubrey]

Great!...I always heard it was easy to change the gender marker if u were born in Indy, and was thinking that might go smoothly. Is it more of a county thing (the difficulty) or a statewide thing? Hope your plan is successful Melan!

[Rosa]

Indianapolis, being the largest city in Indiana, is much more liberal than our smaller towns and counties.  Indiana is in the "Bible Belt"  and some of our towns are probably the most difficult place for anyone in the LGBTI community to live in.  We still have the KKK holding meetings, burning crosses, and sometimes harassing people because of race, so you can imagine how it is for our minority.  Still, there are dabblings of open minded people sprinkled throughout - God bless them.

Does anyone know about changing your legal gender in a foreign country, or must it be done in your home country?
Post Merge: July 10, 2010, 12:39:46 PM
Here is a helpful link, which states that in Indiana, you go to the court in the county where you currently live.  It also says that there are two types of birth certificates - a long and a short.  http://www.indyboyz.org/resources/legalissues/changebirthcert/

[Arch]

I don't know why South Carolina is categorized as it is. That state should be in the "will not amend" list. The authorities there will not change your birth certificate; they attach a little card to the original. That's it. And for this privilege, I'm told, I need a court order for the name change portion. They won't accept common usage name changes that apply in other states. I have a problem with that policy because it means that SC is not recognizing another state's laws...anyway, I think SC should be moved to another list.

[glendagladwitch]

I don't know why South Carolina is categorized as it is. That state should be in the "will not amend" list. The authorities there will not change your birth certificate; they attach a little card to the original. That's it. And for this privilege, I'm told, I need a court order for the name change portion. They won't accept common usage name changes that apply in other states. I have a problem with that policy because it means that SC is not recognizing another state's laws...anyway, I think SC should be moved to another list.

There's a difference between amending a birth certificate and issuing a new one.  Most lists I see specify whether the state will amend or issue a new one.  So there are three categories.

[Laura91]

Indianapolis, being the largest city in Indiana, is much more liberal than our smaller towns and counties.

I live in southcentral Indiana in a small town and I never have any problems from the general population. The problems I have are with my idiotic brother and his brain dead friends.

[Arch]

There's a difference between amending a birth certificate and issuing a new one.  Most lists I see specify whether the state will amend or issue a new one.  So there are three categories.

Yes, but the three Wiki categories are basically "will change gender marker with court order, "will change gender marker with doctor's letter," and "won't change gender marker." SC will not make any changes...neither will Idaho, I see, but I'm not going to read all of them...I just don't think SC belongs in the category it's in.

[K8]

My birth state (Michigan) didn't require a court order to change the birth certificate, but the Department of Defense did.  Fortunately I live in a small town where I'm friends with a lawyer who talked to the court clerk and she got the judge to sign the order a couple of days later - no hassle.  It still cost $$$ though.

However, Michigan did require that Dr Bowers fill out MIchigan's form that says exactly the same thing as the original letter but is not on their form.  I'm still working through that process.

- Kate

[Vanessa_yhvh]

I reside in Mississippi, with birth records in Texas.

My court date is in a couple of weeks, and I'm holding off on reporting much of anything until after I see the judge, as some question marks remain vaguely in the air. If it works, I'll gladly share the document I used as a template, should anybody need a copy.

If I can manage a birth certificate reissue, that's great. But if that turns out to be a PITA and I can still get my other records changed by mandate of court order, I'll still be doing the Snoopy dance.