Legal Name and Gender-Marker Changes
Contact Stonewall for questions about the process, and help completing your forms:
Fill out all your paperwork
People of any age can apply for a legal name and/or gender-marker change in California, even foster youth!
If you are under 18, you will need either all living parents/guardians to sign your forms or will need to provide additional documentation.
2. Get your Court Order
It takes 6 weeks to get your official court decree back. You get two official court orders
You NO longer need any letters from doctors or therapists, you don’t need to publicize, and in most cases, you don’t need a court hearing.
Contact Stonewall or a local legal advocacy organization if a Court does not respect these rights.
3. Change your Birth Certificate, Social Security Card, Driver’s License, and more!
Once you have your official court orders, you can then change your other legal documentation and IDs.
birth certificate
Each state has different laws regarding what is needed to change your gender-marker and name on your birth certificate. In California, this official court order is the only “proof” you need!
social security
You can change your legal name and gender-marker on your social security card in every state, and you will keep the same social security number! You just need the official court order, two forms of identification, and a completed Social Security Card Application (SS-5).
Note: There is no option for “nonbinary” as a gender marker because it is a federal form. However, you can change to either binary gender on federal documents, and still choose “nonbinary” on your California State IDs.
driver’s license
Once you have your new Social Security Card, you can change your legal name and gender-marker on your State Driver’s License.
If you want to change only your gender-marker, you can do this without a court order anytime by completing the form below!
health insurance, school records, bank accounts, and more!
Once you have your official court order, you can start changing the name and gender on file for you in all the different parts of your life.
Note: In the State of California, you have the right to be called by your preferred name and pronouns in school, at work, and by your landlord - even without any legal changes.