Florida

ID Documents Center

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.

COVID-19 disruptions: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many courts and government offices have made significant changes to their operating procedures. This may cause delays in the processing of your name or gender marker change requests as a result. Contact your local court or other government offices for more details. You should keep dated copies of any materials you submit by mail or electronically. We understand this is a hardship for many, and we encourage you to reach out for support if you are distressed.

Not sure where to start? Here's a quick overview.

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Last updated February 2023

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

Federal IDs and Records:

Florida Name Change Laws

To obtain a legal name change in Florida, an applicant must submit a petition to the court. No publication is required. The applicant must be fingerprinted. No name change will be issued if the applicant's civil rights have been suspended. (Fla. Stat. Ann. § 68.07). Name change instructions and forms can be found on the Florida courts website.

For comprehensive instructions on the process of updating IDs in Florida, NCTE helped create a Florida Name and Gender Change Guide in English and Spanish! This guide was created for the Florida Chapter of the TransLatina Coalition and Arianna's Center, written and designed by Cooley LLP as a project of the National Center for Transgender Equality, and was created in partnership with Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

For an online guide to the name and gender change process, see Florida Name Change Website.

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

Florida Drivers License Policy & Procedures

In order to update name and/or gender on a Florida ID, the applicant must submit (1) the court order for a name change and/or (2) a signed original statement on office letterhead from the attending physician stating that the applicant is undergoing appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition. The Florida Department of Highway Services and Motor Vehicles addresses name changes here, and their memo on gender marker change policy can be found here.

Florida Birth Certificate Laws

Florida Administrative Code allows for amendments to the sex on a birth certificate with "original, certified, or notarized supporting documentary evidence." The Bureau of Vital Statistics will accept a standard passport gender change letter as evidence of gender change.

To apply for an amended birth certificate, the applicant, parent, or legal guardian must submit:

Application to Amend a Florida Birth Record;
Affidavit of Amendment of Certificate of Live Birth, signed in front of a notary;
Letter from a physician confirming appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition (use the exact language of this model letter); and
Payment of the $20 amendment fee.

Submit the application documents by mail to:

Department of Health
Office of Vital Statistics
ATTN: Amendment Section
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042