I know there are always questions about what's it's like to change name and gender, so I thought it might be interesting to post how things went for me.
Here's the first part of my experience with changing name and gender in Florida:
Name ChangeI was born in Florida, moved away for many years, and recently returned. I then discovered that to change my name, I first had to re-establish residency - which takes six months. Ouch!
After the waiting period (which seemed to take forever), I chose a local lawyer to file the necessary documents with the court. Nothing unusual was needed, but fingerprints were required, and at first I thought this meant a trip to the sheriff's station.
Instead, it turns out there are mobile fingerprinting services that will print you, check the records, and electronically file the necessary documents with the court. The fingerprint guy that came to my home was initially reserved but got pretty chatty, and the process went off without a hitch.
After all the name change documents were submitted, I had a case number assigned within a few days and a court date set for a few weeks later.
On my court date I was really nervous, but my sister was with me which made me feel a lot safer. She is very protective (so nice!) and made the whole thing much easier to take.
My lawyer said that the judge often saw people individually in chambers, rather than having a whole group there and calling them up one by one. It turned out that way for me, and it was just the judge, bailiff, my lawyer, my sister and me.
The judge asked me a couple of general questions which were right from the filing document ("are you changing your name to avoid debtors" ect.) and before knew what was happening, he said, "Well, that's it. Enjoy your new name ma'am." And that's all there was to it!
Before we left the courthouse, I requested several "original" copies of the court order and began the next part of the process - changing my birth certificate.
Birth CertificateWe filed the birth certificate name change documents on the way out of the courthouse. In Florida, you have to change your name first, then come back and change the gender marker. So about a month later my new birth certificate arrived (new name, same old sex), but hey, it's a major milestone.
I haven't filed the documents to change my gender marker yet - will document that in a future installment.
Treatment LetterIn order to change gender markers with the various state and federal agencies, a doctor's "treatment letter" is required. My doctor used the
Example Certification from Attending Physician found on the U.S. Department of State site, which is provided to cover passport gender reassignments, but has enough information to satisfy all agencies (I think).
I asked for several copies, but they only made one, so I'm guarding it with my life.
Social Security CardNext up was a visit to a Social Security office near me. I needed the name change and gender marker changed for a couple of reasons, the most pressing being (a) payroll, and (b) getting a Florida driver's license with the correct name and gender.
Florida uses the exact name on the Social Security Card, so you have to have the new one before getting a license with the correct name.
I arrived at the Social Security office a couple of minutes after closing - and just after they locked the entrance. Fortunately, the guard saw me through the glass doors and opened back up "just for me". He smiled really nicely, too. I was relieved but kind of flustered, but took my number and found a seat.
I was called to one of the windows after about an hour (busy place), and the woman behind the counter was very friendly and said, "How can I help you, miss?". I said I needed to change the name and gender marker on my Social Security card, and passed in a pile of documents. She smiled nervously, read through them, and said, "Oh my. Do you mind if I take a few minutes? This is my first time doing this."
I said "Me, too" with a deadpan look, and we both cracked up. The rest took about 10 minutes, I got all my original documents back (they make copies), and she said, "Miss, you're all set. You should receive your new card in about ten days. Have a nice evening."
So easy! I am really thankful for the new government policies that make the process simpler, and can't say enough good things about how I was treated.
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The next step is to get a Florida driver's license, which I plan to go for just as soon as the new Social Security card arrives. I'll post "Part 2" as soon as that's done.
Wish me luck!
