I have a California drivers license, but I'm moving to Colorado soon. Can I file for a name change in CO? Or do I need to do it in California?

It has always been my understanding, reading what others have done, that the state in which you were born is the one in which you need to have your name change.  I may be wrong, though.  I don't live in the US.

From what I know, your name change is done where you have your driver's licence, but legal gender change is done in the state where you were born. Lucky you, starting July 1, you no longer have to make a court appearance to change legal gender in California, if I remember correctly. You'll have to check with local authorities to make sure though.
Hope this helps

You don't need to file a name change only in your state of birth. If you are moving to Colorado pretty quickly, then you won't have enough time to take care of the name change before you leave. But if you have a bit of time, you might see which state does it more cheaply. On the other hand, it might be nice to already have the new name when you arrive in the new state. How long before you move?

I was born in TN, but I live in NJ. I'm currently in the process of changing my name in NJ Superior Court. Today I just confirmed everything with the judges secretary from TN Birth Certificate that I must bring to court to the court date. Anyway, you change your name in the state you are a resident in (usually the one your license is with) and once you have the court order for the name change you send a certified court copy to the Registrar of Vital Statistics of the state you were born in to update your birth certificate. (In my case TN.) By law, you must do this step.

For Gender it is the state you live in for DMV and for Social Security and Passport a Medical doctors letter with the appropriate wording and license#s. (I received 5 notarized copies from my doctor early this week.) Every state is different on the gender marker for birth certificate, some just a simple letter, others SRS and in my particular case, TN will NOT change the gender for ANY reason. To further add insult TN not only will not change the gender, but in the name change, you get another birth certificate with the old name crossed out (but still visible) and your new name printed above it. Thankfully once I get the driver's license and Passport change, I'd be happy if my birth certificate never has to see the light of day again.

I really appreciate the responses. So I'm planning to get to Colorado within the next week and a half. I was born in New Jersey so I guess I'd have to file the gender change there somehow. Can I take care of that from wherever I am? Also does anyone know if I can get a new drivers license in CO once I have proof of residency and then proceed to file for a name change afterwards?

For name change it's the state you are currently a legal resident of. Of course defining resident varies by state from 6 months to a year continuous. Getting a driver's license is one proof of residency you'll need for the court.

Quote from: Sydney_NYC on April 16, 2014, 11:01:16 PM
once you have the court order for the name change you send a certified court copy to the Registrar of Vital Statistics of the state you were born in to update your birth certificate. (In my case TN.) By law, you must do this step.

You are implying that people must update their birth certificate, but lots of people don't. I am legally male, but I haven't updated my birth certificate to reflect the new name or gender marker. As long as my birth state refuses to issue a new BC instead of a crappy amendment card stapled to the old BC, I probably won't bother with an update.

Quote from: Arch on April 18, 2014, 02:22:09 AM
You are implying that people must update their birth certificate, but lots of people don't. I am legally male, but I haven't updated my birth certificate to reflect the new name or gender marker. As long as my birth state refuses to issue a new BC instead of a crappy amendment card stapled to the old BC, I probably won't bother with an update.

The main benefit to updating a BC even if all you can do is get the new info added with the old stuff still visible, is that it changes what name would be considered your "maiden" or "birth" one for purposes like how your name would appear on a future child's BC (should that apply to you). As I learned from my research and a contact with one's state's Vital Statistics department, they want you to use your "maiden" or "birth" name and not a name acquired via marriage (since traditionally a mother's maiden surname would be a duplicate of the father's and using her maiden one gives more identifying information and is more useful for genealogical purposes); however, if you had a name change not connected to a marriage or other domestic partnership (a NC due to a gender transition included*) then the new name in most cases should be reflected on a child's BC - getting your BC amended ensures that the new name is recognized and not overlooked for that purpose. Of course, how the parent's gender would be handled if one has transitioned (i.e. whether you'd be listed as a mother, father, or other parent) is another can of worms in which results can vary greatly between jurisdictions (you can search the Internet for Thomas Beatie's comments on how it was handled with him being a pregnant man).

*Other examples would be if the name on your OBC was entered incorrectly, if you were adopted or took a different parent's last name, you (or your parents) changed your first name for whatever reason, etc.

Quote from: Arch on April 18, 2014, 02:22:09 AM
You are implying that people must update their birth certificate, but lots of people don't. I am legally male, but I haven't updated my birth certificate to reflect the new name or gender marker. As long as my birth state refuses to issue a new BC instead of a crappy amendment card stapled to the old BC, I probably won't bother with an update.

I did misread the document from the state on that. It says you "must" notify DMV, but you "should" notify send a copy to The Registrar of Vital Statistics of the state you were born in.

If you ever need a background check done on you, you should. I'm doing some software for a company as a contractor and technically I'm suppose to get a TSA security clearance. (It can be put off for a little bit.) But the manager of the company said it would be best to wait until everything gets changed and updated to do it. They will do a background check and the birth certificate is going to be one of the first things they check.

While I grudgingly support states' rights, I feel that certain things should be uniform throughout the fifty. I tried to correct my mother's maiden name on my original BC, but the grand ol' state of South Carolina wouldn't do it without court documents to prove my new name and identity. I don't have such documents. I know that I would need the same documentation to get an amendment card with my new name and gender marker, so that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Yet I do have ample OTHER evidence that I am who I say I am. It apparently isn't good enough. In fact, the woman I was corresponding with--I believe she was the supervisor of the department--stopped writing back to me and would not verify which alternative documents might be satisfactory. I guess she thought I was attempting identity theft. But she had no business cutting off communication with me and not answering the quite valid questions that I had.

I feel that if my name change is legal in my state of residence, then the nice folks in SC must recognize it and rely on whatever documentation I do have. But, waddaya know, they don't.

I guess this is a little off topic, but it does show that document changes are much easier in some states than in others. Personally, I think I would have changed my info in California before moving anywhere. It's almost like starting out fresh in a new state. But a week and a half definitely isn't enough time!

Sydney, ain't it great to have been born in a Southern state? Grrr.

I yes I feel the love from the TN legislation all the time. <Sarcasm>

For Kam's sake, let's hope that Colorado is more progressive than Tennessee or South Carolina.