Change your name, update your IDs, find care

Step-by-step guides for every state: the real forms, fees, and waivers, checked against official sources.

Federal documents right now

The same in every state. You can update your name on all of them; the gender marker is a separate question.

Federal documents: name and gender marker
Document	Name	Gender markerThe sex or gender field (M, F, or X) printed on an ID document or stored in an agency's record.
US passport	Yes	No
Social Security	Yes	No
Immigration documents (USCIS)	Yes	No
TSA PreCheck & Global Entry	Yes	Limited

What each one allows, and why

The usual order

Most people update their documents in this sequence, because each office checks the one before it. Your state’s page shows its own rules for every step.

Court order for your new nameFiled in your state. Fees, newspaper notices, and hearings vary a lot.
Social SecurityFree. Other agencies check your name against this record, so it comes next.
Driver’s license or state IDSome states also let you change the gender marker here.
PassportName changes work. The sex marker is frozen while the lawsuit continues.
Birth certificateHandled by the state where you were born.

The rules change at the state line

Useful if you are thinking about moving, or were born somewhere other than where you live.

Compare states

29 / 56: let you change the marker on a driver’s license
23 / 56: let you change the marker on a birth certificate
22 / 56: offer an X on a driver’s license
18 / 56: have a shield law protecting care

Help paying for itCourt fee waivers, free legal clinics, and funds for hormones, surgery, and document fees.How we keep this currentEvery claim links to its source. Official pages are checked weekly and flagged while a change is under review.

Change your name, update your IDs, find care

Every state and territory

States

District of Columbia and territories

The usual order

The rules change at the state line