Any Washington State Residents with Out-of-State Birth Records?

[YellowPenguin]

Hi all,

I apologize if this has been asked before but I tried searching around the forums first and didn't find anything.

Have any of you changed your gender marker on your birth certificate in a state other than Washington, as a Washington resident? I live in Washington but I was born in Oregon. Oregon requires a court order to change your gender designation on vital records but Washington doesn't, so we don't even have a process to get a court order to change your gender. I know there's a way to get an ad hoc court order but figuring out how to do this has been such a pain. The court suggested some forms to try filing to get a court order but provided me with 0 guidance on how to fill them out.

I put this whole thing on hold for a while but now, I need to get this done. Everything else is complete and has been for quite a while: my name has been changed for a long time, my legal documents as a Washington resident reflect my correct name and gender, my SSA information reflects my correct name and gender, I've had GRS etc. This is really the last thing I need to do. I very recently decided to consult with an attorney since I'm at my wits end and they quoted me a deposit plus $325/hr, and that's a discounted rate through a referral. I have talked with Oregon vital records, Washington vital records, two county courts in Oregon, municipal, county, and district court here in Washington.....nobody has been able to give me any real guidance.

Anyway, I kind of went on a tangent there, I'm just really frustrated about this. Oh and since I'm not an Oregon resident, I can't obtain a frigging court order through them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Megan Rose]

You might try the Gender Justice League or the transgender law center:  http://www.genderjusticeleague.org/contact-us/ or www.transgenderlawcenter.org.

[SarahJ]

I live in Eastern Washington and went through a local attorney who filled out an amended request for name change and gender marker change, I went before a local judge and in 10 minutes had a signed court order with my gender marker changed.  For me, the hard part was getting the amended birth certificate from Texas.  They only amend the birth certificates, they won't issue a new one.  But in about 3 weeks, I had an envelope from the attorney which contained my "new" birth certificate.  I'd think that a court order from Washington state would be sufficient for Oregon state.  Best of luck with this!!!

Sarah

[YellowPenguin]

Thanks for the info!

Oregon will definitely accept a court order from Washington but I'm trying to find out how I can request the court order myself, since there isn't an existing process to get a court order for gender marker changes. There has to be a way to do it without needing to get an attorney.