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 (https://www.susans.org/wiki/Changing_sex_on_birth_certificates_in_the_US)
Quote
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
Quote from: Valeriedances on June 16, 2010, 08:07:28 AM
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
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.
Quote from: Janet Lynn on June 16, 2010, 11:04:42 AM
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 ;D
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
In Oregon it is easy. to change gender on your d/l takes a letter from the state approved therapist.
Quote from: Janet Lynn on June 16, 2010, 09:57:10 PM
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.
QuoteOne 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. ;D
I would wish you luck, but I think you will succeed.
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.
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.
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
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.
Quote from: Melan on July 09, 2010, 05:02:58 PM
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.
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!
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/ (http://www.indyboyz.org/resources/legalissues/changebirthcert/)
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.
Quote from: Arch on July 10, 2010, 12:47:27 PM
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.
Quote from: Robertina on July 10, 2010, 12:31:29 PM
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.
Quote from: glendagladwitch on July 10, 2010, 01:36:56 PMThere'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.
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. :P
- Kate
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.
Quote from: Arch on July 11, 2010, 01:00:00 AM
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.
OK. Here is another list that I usually refer to for info and instructions. http://www.drbecky.com/birthcert.html (http://www.drbecky.com/birthcert.html)
Quote from: glendagladwitch on July 11, 2010, 03:29:30 PMOK. Here is another list that I usually refer to for info and instructions. http://www.drbecky.com/birthcert.html (http://www.drbecky.com/birthcert.html)
Thanks; I guess we were talking at cross purposes or something. I already know what needs to be done, but I don't think it's worth it for a BC that will remain the same. I'm just pointing out that our Wiki should be changed, IMHO.
Just to update my continuing saga of gender marker change for my birth cert........
Does it, should it have to be a saga? In my case, it's turned out to be the hardest part of transition. I've cried tears over this, the powerlessness, and the lack of a mechanism, to make this thing go away.
Sooooo..... read my posts above to understand my situation, if it is interesting to you. I'll sum up what a judge in Indiana has told me I have to do to get a court order for gender change, with the goal being to change the gender marker on my birth certificate from male to female.
Because I have already performed name change in a different state (well, province) , IE Ontario, and filed a motion for Change of Gender in the state of Indiana, the judge had no precedent to follow, and ruled that I have to publish an ad in a local paper stating that I am changing my gender, and if anyone wishes to contest that, list out the court date, etc. I filed the ad, because at this point, I'm too exhausted mentally, and fiscally to give up any other fight on this. I just want to be done, and this hoop jump, *should* be the last. I'm outraged senselessly, as this is a modern day Scarlet Letter... I was told by a judge to put a large pink "T" on my forehead. But I did it, and have my court date in October to go forward with receiving my court order, stating that I am a big fat Farcking "F". Sigh, bittersweet.
Melan.
Just a fyi to this saga.
I went to court yesterday, October 25th, and received a certified and signed copy of my "Court Order for Gender Change". This saga is a wrap. The judge apologized for where he had to go with this. I said "thank you", and left out the bailiff door. Not looking back. Closure.
Melan
Congrats.
Melan, Finally! Seems like this has been going on for months and months.
Good. I'm glad to hear that it worked out.
YAY!
Thank you everyone! :icon_geekdance:
Maybe they think we are secretly all terrorists and that's why they make us jump through hoops. I mean, c'mon, we all know terrorists will go to any lengths to blow something up, even if it means cutting the family jewels off. Oh, wait... will it grow back when all those virgins are there waiting for you?
When phobes make the laws, irrational fear is the foundation of the law.
I'm still trying to figure out how to do this for WA state.
WA state doesn't have forms to do it because to get your gender marker changed on your WA birth cert is fairly trivial.
My problem is I was born in CA and they do require a court order gender change....but to do it through their process, I have to attend court in CA which is ridiculous.
I've had lawyers quote me $1200 for them to do it via pleadings in WA. Ugh.
Quote from: Debra on June 13, 2011, 05:15:02 PM
I'm still trying to figure out how to do this for WA state.
WA state doesn't have forms to do it because to get your gender marker changed on your WA birth cert is fairly trivial.
My problem is I was born in CA and they do require a court order gender change....but to do it through their process, I have to attend court in CA which is ridiculous.
I've had lawyers quote me $1200 for them to do it via pleadings in WA. Ugh.
I had a lawyer in TX quote me $3,200.00 to do it for TX. Sheesh...
Do I correctly understand that in Indiana, there is no way to get a court order to change the gender marker on a birth certificate without having SRS (unlike changing a US passport)?
Also, congrats from me too!
Quote from: mmelny on June 16, 2010, 09:35:26 AM
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
Melan, I live in Indiana and would like to know if could get a copy of those name and gender change papers you got from the person you mentioned at pride fest. I am trying to write my own but there is no laws on what needs to be in the papers for gender change and I would rather not have any issues with the courts.
Thanks
Rose