Changing Your Name or Gender Marker Under the Gender Recognition Act

Your Rights Under the Gender Recognition Act

You have the right to New York identity documents that match your gender identity. Under the Gender Recognition Act (GRA), you have a right to select an M, F, or X gender marker on a New York State driver’s license or state ID. If you were born in New York City, you have had the ability to select M, F, or X on birth certificates since 2018, and if you were born elsewhere in New York, you have had this option since July 2020. Parents also have the right to change their own name on their children’s birth certificates and to identify themselves as “mother,” “father,” or “parent.”

Required Documentation and Eligibility

What documentation is required to change my name or gender marker on a New York identity document?

New York operates on a “self-attestation” standard, which means that you can check a box to identify your gender. There is no doctor’s note, medical testimony, or court order required. You do not need to have had gender-affirming surgery in order to change the name or gender marker on a New York identity document.

If I was born outside of New York State, can I change my name and gender marker?

If you were born outside of New York State and you have a New York driver’s license or state ID, or a child or children who were born in New York and have New York birth certificates, you can change your name and gender markers on those documents using the same process as any other New Yorker. If you have a birth certificate issued by another state that requires a court order to change it, you can ask a New York court to issue such an order.

If I am a minor, can I change the name and/or gender marker on my birth certificate?

If you were born in New York City, and you are over 18, you may request to change your name or gender marker. If you were born in New York City and are under 18, you must involve a parent or guardian in these decisions. If you were born elsewhere in New York, and are 17 or older, you may request to change your gender marker, and if you are over 18, you can request to change your name. A parent or guardian must request a gender marker change for anyone under 17 and a name change for anyone under 18.

Do the rights in the GRA apply only to transgender, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary individuals?

No. The rights in the GRA apply to anyone seeking to change their name regardless of the reason for the name change.

Honoring a Name Change

Who must honor a name change?

The state or any city, county, town, or other municipality within the state must update the name on any document issued or maintained by the state, city, county, town, or other municipality. This means that school records for current and past students, marriage certificates, and other archival records must be updated upon request. The same obligation applies to private entities within the state.

What if an entity does not honor a name change?

Failure to honor a name change based on a name change order or other documentation is a violation of the New York Human Rights Law and the New York Civil Rights Law, and you can file a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights, https://dhr.ny.gov/complaint, or any other applicable enforcement agency.

Consent, Publication, and Privacy

Does anyone have to consent to a name change?

If you are under 18 or otherwise lack legal capacity, your parent, guardian, or legal representative must consent to a name change request. A court cannot condition a name change on spousal consent or consent from any other person.

Is there a publication requirement?

No. The GRA eliminated any publication requirement associated with a name or gender marker change.

What notice of a name change is required?

If you owe spousal or child support, you will be ordered to notify the court with jurisdiction over your support orders. Similarly, if you have been convicted of certain felonies, the court issuing a name change order must notify the State Division of Criminal Justice Services. If the court wants to require other forms of notice of a name change, it must inform you of the rationale for the requirement in writing. You can challenge these requirements. You cannot be required to notify ICE, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or any other immigration agency.

Do I have to show specific instances of violence or a personal history of threats to my safety to have records of my name or gender marker change protected from disclosure?

No. The court will consider the totality of the circumstances in determining whether to seal (or protect from disclosure) a name change and must pay particular attention to the risk of violence or discrimination for people who are transgender or who are survivors of domestic violence. You can request that your records be sealed, and the court can offer to seal the records voluntarily. The court is required to seal identifying information related to gender marker changes and to prevent their inadvertent disclosure.

U.S Passports and Federal Identity Documents

Have my rights changed under Trump’s presidency?

Regardless of federal changes, New York’s Gender Recognition Act protects New Yorkers’ rights to change their names and gender markers on New York State identity documents. States – not the federal government – determine sex and gender marker rules for driver’s licenses and birth certificates.

However, Trump’s actions are already impacting your rights to federal documents that match your gender identity.

Can I change my name and gender marker on a U.S. passport?

Trump issued an executive order declaring that the federal government will only recognize two sexes – male and female – and that “these sexes are not changeable” and ordered the suspension of processing any passports seeking a changed gender marker, including an X gender marker.

A Trump administration official told a reporter that the policy impacting gender markers on U.S. passports would not apply retroactively for current passport holders.

Individuals who have existing passports are able to use them, including passports that have X gender-markers on them.

Trump’s order will, however, prevent people from obtaining new passports, visas, and trusted traveler documents that reflect who they are. Online forms and websites providing instructions for how to update your gender marker on federal travel documents have already been removed. Current passport applications asking for an X gender-marker, or where the sex designation on the passport does not match the sex designation on the source documents (birth certificate, driver’s license, etc.) are “frozen,” and at least some government offices may be refusing to return source documents.

We recommend that you refrain from submitting new passport applications or passport renewals right now. If you do, in order to have your application successfully processed, you’ll need to select a sex designation that matches the sex designation on your source documents.

This a rapidly changing environment. As of January 27, 2025, we are awaiting further information about how the new passport policy will be implemented. We will continue to update as more information becomes available.

Resources and Documents

Below are the necessary instructions and forms to change your name and gender marker on New York documents.

Instructions to update a New York State birth certificate:
https://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/gender_designation_corrections.htm

Instructions to update a New York City birth certificate:
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/certificate-corrections.page

Form to correct the name or gender marker on a New York State birth certificate:
https://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-5305.pdf

Form to correct the name or gender marker on a New York City birth certificate:
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/vr/bcorrect.pdf

Form to correct the name or gender marker of a parent on a New York State birth certificate for a person 16 years old or younger:
https://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-5721.pdf

Form to correct the name or gender marker of a parent on a New York State birth certificate for a person 17 years old or older:
https://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-5722.pdf

New York State self-attestation form:
https://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-5303.pdf

New York City self-attestation form:
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/vr/birth-certificate-gender-self-attestation.pdf