Hi there!

My apologies if this was covered elsewhere, but Google is not my friend, apparently.... 

I was born in the Houston area, but left many years ago.  After transitioning in Arizona (no SRS, until next year), and having both my state and federal information changed from "m" to "f", in addition to a court-ordered name change, the only thing that really remains is an alteration of my birth certificate.

I have tried to do as much research as I can, and what I've come up with is that Texas is pretty hard to get anything recognized, but if you fill out the appropriate paperwork and send in copies of your court-ordered name change and court-ordered gender change, they'll accept it, even if it's from out of state.  The problem is, Arizona only has a process in place for court-ordered name changes, as you only need to provide a note to the Motor Vehicles Division from your MD stating that you have transitioned in order to change your gender marker in order to change it in all state systems. 

Long story short, I am unsure as to how I can get the ball rolling in Texas when I can't meet one of the requirements due Arizona not having that process in place.  I emailed with a lawyer back home and she said that she couldn't petition a court there for a gender change since I don't live in Texas.

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

Emily

I was also born in a different state than the one I live in currently. Texas ironically. Pretty much what I did was follow through with the state requirements where I live now and got a court order for the change. I did hire an attorney which made the whole process very simple and quick. Frankly I could have probably written the petition myself but I didn't know which judges to avoid and wouldn't be able to get an in chamber hearing like my attorney did for me. Talk to some people at a local trans support group maybe? They might have a better idea of how to go about it there. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply!

Just to clarify, are you saying that you live in Texas and hired an attorney to navigate the system, so that you could use the court order you received in order to petition your birth state?  If so, would it be possible to get the name of your Texas lawyer so that I could see if he or she might help me with my situation?

Thanks for your help!

Emily

Yes I live in Texas currently and was born in the Midwest. I can use the court order from Texas to change my birth cert in my birth state. I hired an attorney where I live now. I'm fairly sure you have to hire an attorney/see a judge in the county which you currently reside in. If you still want the attorney's info send me a PM.

Understood.  It's just that Arizona doesn't have a court order option, it seems, so I'm hoping he or she can possibly point me in the right direction, or may know someone here that can help me find another avenue.

Is there a threshold that has to be met before I can PM someone?  I can't seem to find a way to message you privately.  Would you mind PMing me instead?

Thanks!

Emily

You need 5 PMs to use the PM system, I believe, Emily. So just reply to this with something innocuous then you should be able to PM others.

Thanks, LizMarie.  I thought it was more.  Regardless, I'll get there eventually. 

I was born near Houston as well and I'm trying to deal with this from Oregon. This was awhile back that I first started dealing with it, and either the Texas records website wasn't up to date or I misread the requirements, as I missed the part about court-ordered gender change. I sent my doctor's letter, a photocopy of my driver's license and social security card (both the old ones and the ones that match my current name and presentation), a certified copy of my name-change court order, a check for 37 dollars that I could not afford at the time, the paperwork Texas told me to fill out, and some documents to verify and explain my PO Box address.

I don't know about Arizona, but in Oregon you can file to get your gender legally changed by using the name-change forms and crossing out the word "name" and writing in "gender." I've never heard of people having trouble with it, but a judge might ask some questions.

Texas took several months to respond to my request. They refused to honor it. They didn't change my name, they didn't send me a copy of my birth certificate under my old name, and they didn't refund my money. In their letter, I was told that my court order for name change was not a certified copy, that I needed to change my gender with a judge, and that I had to explain what I wanted a copy of my birth certificate for.

I was given 2 months to respond, but I couldn't handle it then and so I'm sure I'll have to give them more money when I get brave enough to deal with it. I understand the court order part. What made it frustrating and scary was that they refused to recognize my name change with valid documents, so I feel like there might not be a right answer to their questions about what I want to do with my birth certificate. I've had enough customer service nightmares just changing internet and utilities that the idea of wrangling with state bureaucracy is dreadful.

Anyway I'll try not to rant on your thread. There are worse states to be born in. Good luck. You should be able to do this with a little persistence.

Okay so, this got me riled up so I called the Vital Statistics people. The person who dealt with my file is no longer working there, and the person who took her place is was really nice. I'm not up for dealing with refiling in local courts for public identity amendments (it's seriously messed up that the process is so arduous) but I do need to be able to prove who I am so I'm sending back the previously-rejected court order for name change.

I will deal with the legal sex change later, when I've got ~$150 and some extra ambition and emotional fortitude lying around.