Name Change

To change your name in the Social Security Administration (SSA) records, provide the following at your local SSA office.  All documents need to be originals or certified copies by the issuing agency.  You can find the nearest SSA office at the Social Security website.

1. A completed Form SS-5, “Application For A Social Security Card.”
2. Proof of identity.  One or more identity documents in your new legal name, such as driver license, passport, state-issued ID, etc.  These documents must show your current legal name.
3. Proof of former identity.  One or more identity documents in your former name.  These documents can be expired.
4. Proof of legal name change, such as your court order for legal name change, marriage document, divorce decree, or Certificate of Naturalization.
5. If you are a U.S. citizen and have not previously established citizenship with SSA, you will need to present a birth certificate, U.S. passport, or other proof of citizenship. Note: Your birth certificate or other document establishing citizenship does not need to show your current name or gender, but you will need to show proof that you are the same person.  In most circumstances this will be the same as #4 above.
6. If you are a non-citizen, you will need to show documents proving your immigration status and work eligibility.  These documents could include Form I-551, I-94 with unexpired foreign passport, and/or work permit card (I-766 or I-688B).  Because there are many types and combinations of qualifying documents for non-citizens, you should call SSA to confirm that your documents qualify.

 

Gender Change

To change your name in the Social Security Administration (SSA) records, provide the following at your local SSA office.  All documents need to be originals or certified copies by the issuing agency.  You can find the nearest SSA office at the Social Security website.

1. A completed Form SS-5  “Application For A Social Security Card.”
2.  Proof of identity.  One or more identity documents in your new legal name, such as, a driver license, passport, state-issued ID, etc.  These documents must show your current legal name.
3. A letter from the surgeon or attending physician verifying sex change surgery has been completed.  This letter must clearly identify you as the person changing their gender marker.  
4. If you are a U.S. citizen and have not previously established citizenship with SSA, you will need to present a birth certificate, U.S. passport, or other proof of citizenship. Note:  your birth certificate or other document establishing citizenship does not need to show your current name or gender.  However, you will need to show proof that you are the same person, such as with a court order for legal name change.
5. If you are a non-citizen, you will need to show documents proving your immigration status and work eligibility, such as, Form I-551, I-94 with unexpired foreign passport, and/or work permit card (I-766 or I-688B).  Because there are many types and combinations of qualifying documents for non-citizens, you should call SSA to confirm that your documents qualify.

Additional Information for Social Security Name and Gender Changes

One document can be used for two purposes, such as a passport to both establish identity and prove U.S. citizenship.

Your Social Security card is not required when changing your information, but can be helpful.

For more information, see this Social Security Administration webpage on name changes.

For more information on providing proof of citizenship and identity, see this SSA webpage.

To obtain a copy of your birth certificate, write or visit the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the state you were born in. For a complete listing by state, go to the National Center for Vital Statistics website.

While it is possible to mail in your application for name and gender changes, it requires sending originals of your current identity documents. Most people will likely find sending their driver license, or other ID, an impractical undertaking. If you live in the New York City Metropolitan area, Phoenix AZ, or Las Vegas NV, you cannot mail in your application and must go to the SSA office in-person.

Please contact NCTE if you have recently had problems (or notable success) changing your social security information. We are working hard on identity document issues and your help assists us in creating beneficial policy change.

Name Change

You must submit:

1. A completed DS-5044 form (Passport Amendment/Validation Application), which you can download here. Use this form only if you have a current, valid passport that was issued one year ago at most. If your passport is older than one year, you will need to use the DS-82 form (Application for a U.S. Passport by Mail), which you can download here. Unfortunately, this means you will have to pay all of the fees associated with getting a new passport.
2. A certified copy of a marriage certificate or name change court degree to prove that your name has legally changed.
3. Your current passport.

Using the DS-5044, there is no fee unless you need your passport immediately. All of this information should be mailed to the corresponding address below:

Using the DS-5044

Using the DS-82

Using the United States Postal Service

National Passport Processing P.O. Box 13290 Philadelphia, PA 19101-3290

National Passport Processing Post Office Box 371971 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7971

Using another mail delivery service

National Passport Processing ATTN: Department 13290 1617 Brett Road New Castle, DE 19720

Passport Services Lockbox ATTN: Password Supervisor, 371971 500 Ross Street, Room 154-0670 Pittsburgh, PA 15262-0001

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Gender Change

Understanding the New Passport Gender Change Policy

(Read as PDF)

In June 2010, the State Department announced a new policy to issue passports that reflect a person’s current gender when either a previous passport or other personal documentation presented by an applicant reflects a different gender. Under the new policy, a transgender person can obtain a passport reflecting his or her current gender by submitting a certification from a physician confirming that he or she has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition. This policy replaces the Department’s old policy, which required documentation of sex reassignment surgery.

Why the new policy was needed
The purpose of a passport is to facilitate travel between a person’s country of citizenship and other countries; there is no need for a person to reveal gender-related medical care to either U.S. or foreign government officials in order to be able to travel. In the past, many transgender people could not obtain an updated passport and were afraid to travel abroad. Traveling with a passport that does not reflect your current gender can cause great anxiety and can be dangerous. Incorrect gender designations can “out” a person as transgender in all kinds of situations, and can put people at risk of discrimination, harassment, and even violence.

In addition, like everyone else, transgender people’s medical needs vary. There are a variety of accepted treatment options for gender transition, and not all of them are appropriate for everyone. For example, people may have medical conditions that are contraindications for surgical procedures. Additionally, many people cannot afford the transition-related care they do need, and many insurance plans still do not cover these medical needs. Requiring particular medical treatments in order to change a passport did not reflect the reality of transgender people’s lives and is not in keeping with current medical practice.

Obtaining a passport with your current gender
Under the new policy, you can obtain a passport with an updated gender if you have had clinical treatment determined by your doctor to be appropriate in your case to facilitate gender transition.

If you are just beginning transition and need to travel abroad, you can obtain a two-year provisional passport. (The State Department calls it “limited validity” though it has all the force of a regular passport but is only good for two years.) Once your doctor and you believe you have had clinical treatment appropriate in your case, you can obtain a full, regular passport.

When a physician certification is required

Under the new policy, a physician certification is required if the documents you submit with your application, which may include a prior passport, driver’s license, birth certificate, or other documents, do not all reflect  the correct gender. If all the documents you submit with your application reflect the correct gender, you do not need to submit a physician certification. See the application instructions below for more details.

Who can write a letter to certify appropriate treatment
You will need a letter from a licensed physician with whom you have a doctor-patient relationship and who is familiar with your transition-related treatment. At this time, the physician must be an internist, psychiatrist, endocrinologist, urologist or gynecologist. Therefore, if you have or have had genital or other sex reassignment surgery, your surgeon can only provide a letter for passport purposes if he or she is practicing in one of those specialties. Otherwise, you will need to obtain a letter from your primary care physician or another qualified doctor.

If possible, the letter should come from a physician licensed in the United States. You may submit a letter from a foreign physician; however, your application may be delayed to verify the physician’s credentials. NCTE is working with the State Department to clarify how foreign physicians can document their credentials.

What the physician certification must include

The State Department has provided the following model letter for physician certifications. All certifications must include all of the information seen here.

I, (physician’s full name), (physician’s medical license or certificate number), (issuing State of medical license/certificate), (DEA Registration number), am the attending physician of (name of patient), with whom I have a doctor/patient relationship. (The letter must indicate that the physician is either an internist, endocrinologist, gynecologist, urologist or psychiatrist.)
(Name of patient) has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender (specify new gender male or female).
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the forgoing is true and correct.

Alternatively, to obtain a limited two-year passport, the letter should state that:

(Name of patient) is in the process of gender transition to the new gender (specify new gender male or female).

What constitutes appropriate clinical treatment

The new policy recognizes that people’s medical needs vary, and that treatment options must be decided by health care professionals on an individual basis. You are entitled to a passport reflecting your current gender if you have had the clinical treatment determined by your health care providers to be appropriate, in your individual case, to facilitate gender transition. No specific treatment is required, and details of your treatment need not be provided. In fact, NCTE encourages you and your doctor to only state in the letter that you have had the clinical treatment determined by your health care providers to be appropriate. Details about surgery, hormone treatment, or other treatments are unnecessary and not helpful.

Other medical information
Other than the required certification from your physician, there is no need to submit any additional details or documentation regarding your medical history or treatment. Your doctor does not need to certify that you have undergone any specific treatment or procedure and we recommend that, for the sake your privacy, that they not do so.

Passports for minors
The new policy applies to both adults and minors. All passport applications for minors are subject to special parental consent requirements. (These requirements apply to all minors, not just transgender minors.)

Name change on passports
State Department policies concerning name changes have not changed. You must submit form DS-5504, Application for a U.S. Passport (Name Change, Data Correction and Limited Passport Book Replacement), along with a court order or marriage certificate reflecting the name change, or records documenting consistent use of your current name over a five-year period. Consult the State Department’s website for more details.

Applying to renew a passport by mail

You may renew a passport by mail if:

• You can submit your most recent passport with your application
• You were at least sixteen years old when it was issued
• It was issued no more than fifteen years ago
• You presently use the same name printed on the last passport OR had your name changed by marriage or court order and can submit legal docu­mentation to prove the change

 

To renew by mail, you will need:

• A completed form DS-82, Application for U.S. Passport by Mail, available online at http://travel.state.gov/passport/forms/ds82/ds82_843.html
• The previous passport
• Two 2x2 inch photographs of your face
• A physician certification, as described above
• Legal documentation of name change, if needed
• Current applicable fees, available at

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html
Mail the application to the address listed on form DS-82.

Applying for a passport in person

If you are applying for a passport for the first time, or if you do not meet the criteria above to renew by mail, you must apply in person. You will need:

• Two 2x2 inch photographs of yourself
• Proof of U.S. citizenship such as a previous passport or a birth certificate
• A valid form of government-issued photo identification such as a previous passport, driver’s license or state or tribal identification card
• A completed form DS-11, Application for a U.S. Passport, available online at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/79955.pdf
• If one or more of the submitted documents does not reflect your current gender, a physician certification, as describe above
• Legal documentation of name change, if needed
• Current applicable fees, available at

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html

Take these documents and fees in person to any acceptance facility. These include courthouses, post offices, some public libraries and certain county and mu­nicipal offices. Additionally, there are thirteen regional passport agencies and one Gateway City Agency, which serves those who need expedited service. To find the ac­ceptance facility closest to you, visit the State Department’s website, Passport Ac­ceptance Facility Search Page, at http://iafdb.travel.state.gov or call the National Passport Information Center.

Changing a limited validity to a full validity passport

If you have obtained a limited validity passport and, within two years subsequently, have had the clinical treatment determined to be appropriate for you, you should submit the following by mail:

1. A completed form DS-5504, Application for a U.S. Passport (Name Change, Data Correction and Limited Passport Book Replacement)
2. A physician certification, as described above, stating that you have had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition

Submit these documents to the address specified on the form. Unless you request expedited service, no new fee is required.

Consular Record of Birth Abroad
A Consular Record of Birth Abroad (CRBA) is the equivalent of a birth certificate for American Citizens born abroad. The new policy for passports also applies for updating a CRBA. Consult the State Department’s website for more details.

If you have problems
The new policy specifically instructs passport specialists to treat transgender applicants with respect, including using appropriate pronouns, and to not ask unrelated questions. However if you encounter improper requests for information, unprofessional behavior, or other difficulties obtaining a passport, contact NCTE, your Regional Passport Office, or your U.S. Senator’s Office. NCTE is monitoring implementation of the new policy.

If you encounter discrimination, harassment or other serious difficulties relating to being transgender while traveling abroad, contact the closest U.S. Consulate or Embassy immediately.

Full text of the new policy
US State Department Foreign Affairs Manual, 7 FAM 300 Appendix M: Gender Change
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/143160.pdf

Other Resources

US State Department Passport Home
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

US State Department, “How to Change Your Name in Your Passport”
http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/ChangeName/ChangeName_851.htm

US State Department, Frequently Asked Questions: Passports and Citizenship
Documents http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/faq/faq_1741.html

National Passport Information Center
1-877-487-2778