Gender Change Certification

[2Wendy2]

Hi all! I have another question for you...

I have been considering changing my ID's to reflect who I am. I consider myself Transgender, not male for sure but not necessarily female either, but female certainly comes a whole lot closer. I have found that most states do not recognize Transgender as a legal gender, only Male or Female; however, Illinois where I live is considering recognizing Transgender as legal gender. I was however born in Indiana which does not; and will only change it upon court order. I am not sure if I get then in Indiana or Illinois yet.

I have a Dr appt in a couple of weeks and am strongly considering asking him for a letter certifying my gender change to Female.  I can forego the birth certificate change and get driver's license and other docs changes in Illinois without a lot of hassle or court interference.  If nothing else I could just hold onto the letter until the TG climate changes later.

On a side note, I intend to move to Tennessee who does not recognize any change.

Does anyone have any tips on how to go about all of this? I read the legal stuff so I am aware what states do what, Any pros or cons or roadblocks you may have had?

[madsen0yea]

Wendy, once you change the docs with Illinois, Tennessee will recognize them. So if you want to show you're female as opposed to male, I'd do it now.

For the birth certificate, check out the National Center for Transgender Equality. They offer legal advice and can help you.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[FTMax]

Indiana will amend a birth certificate with a court order. The court order does not have to originate in Indiana. You could petition a court in Illinois, get a court order for the change, and submit that.

Depending on where you are in your transition, you may need a court order to update your driver's license in Illinois. If so, the same court order could also be used to amend your birth certificate in Indiana.

I would also advise getting a Passport. The passport demonstrates both identity and citizenship, so it can take the place of both a driver's license and birth certificate for those purposes. If you weren't able to get the birth certificate amended, you could just substitute the passport in any situation you might've needed the birth certificate.

Tennessee would not be informed that you had previously updated your documentation. When you go to the DMV to get a Tennessee license, you would be handing in your Illinois license which says you are female and they will be none the wiser.

Depending on where you are in Illinois, see if there are any trans advocacy or support groups around you that could advise on the court order. The clinic that does my hormones offers free legal sessions once a quarter where people get help from lawyers on all the name/gender change documents and court orders. If you're near a larger city, I'd be surprised if they didn't have something similar there.

[2Wendy2]

Thank you so much! I hope someday that the states open their eyes and recognise trans as a gender, but until then you have given me a clue on how to go about it.

Thank you so much!

Wendy