Wisconsin Identity Documents

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.