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Welcome to our one-stop hub for name and gender change information. Find out how to update your name and gender on state and federal IDs and records. 

Most courts and government offices have resumed normal operations with the formal end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Make sure to contact your local court or other government offices for details on their current operating hours and procedures, including if they require appointments for in-person visits.. You should keep dated copies of any materials you submit by mail or electronically. 

Last updated November 2023

 

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Name Change, Driver's License & Birth Certificate Policies in:

Federal IDs and Records:

Wisconsin Name Change Laws

To obtain a legal name change in Wisconsin, an applicant must submit a petition to the court. The applicant must publish a notice of the hearing in a newspaper once a week for three weeks prior to the hearing date, however the publication requirement can be waived for the applicant’s safety. Any person required to register as a sex offender many not chnage their legal name. (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 786.37 & Wis. Stat. Ann. § 985.07)

For instructions on legal name changes for minors under 18 in Wisconsin, see NCTE's Name Changes for Minors in Wisconsin resource.

Wisconsin Drivers License Policy & Procedures

In order to update name on a Wisconsin ID, the applicant must:

  1. First change name with the Social Security Administration;
  2. Then submit a passport or court order demonstrating the name change (if applicable). 

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation addresses name changes here.

In order to update the gender marker on a Wisconsin ID, the applicant must submit:

  1. An affidavit or statement from a licensed physician certifying the gender change; or
  2. A court order for gender change.

Wisconsin Birth Certificate Laws

Wisconsin will issue an amended birth certificate upon receipt of a court order "to change the name and sex of the registrant on the certificate due to a surgical sex-change procedure." The certificate will be marked as amended unless "...the court orders the state registrar to prepare a new certificate" S.A. §§ 69.15 (4). The applicant should submit a birth certificate request form, the certified copy of the court ordered name and/or gender change, a notarized letter from the doctor that performed SRS, and payment of any applicable fees. The Wisconsin Office of Vital Records has, upon request, a form to request a gender change court order and the updated certificate.

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