Trans Resource Navigator

Alaska birth certificates

Update your name
YesAfter your legal name change
Gender markerThe sex or gender field (M, F, or X) printed on an ID document or stored in an agency's record.
YesM or F with a letter from a provider

If you were born in Alaska, you can ask Alaska Vital Records to change the sex on your birth certificate to M or F, reportedly with a signed letter from your medical provider (or a court order). X is not available. Changing the name requires a court order. Email the Special Services Unit first to get the current forms; the state does not publish its sex-change instructions online.

Main cost
$30
Apply
By mail or in person
Typical wait
About 3 months

Draft from official sources, September 24, 2026. Not yet checked by a person. How we verify

This applies only if you were born here. Birth certificates follow your birth state, not where you live now. Choose your birth state

On this page
  1. How it works
  2. Steps
  3. Costs and fee waivers
  4. Forms
  5. Requirements
  6. After you finish
  7. Tips
  8. Laws and other guides
  9. Sources

How it works

Alaska Vital Records (Health Analytics and Vital Records, Department of Health) handles all changes to Alaska birth certificates through its Special Services Unit.

Name: under AS 18.50.290(c), Vital Records amends the birth certificate when you send a certified copy of the court order changing your name. When you file your name change petition (CIV-700), check Section 3 so the judge includes a birth-certificate order.

Sex marker: the state does not publish written instructions. According to Advocates for Trans Equality (July 2025), you send the birth certificate request form, a copy of your ID, the fee, and either a signed letter from a licensed medical provider stating that you have had appropriate clinical treatment for transition (surgery is not required) or a certified court order for a gender marker change. Only M and F are available.

Amended records are marked "amended" with the date (AS 18.50.290(b)).

Steps

  1. Email the Special Services Unit for current instructions[2][3]

    Email BVSSpecialServices@alaska.gov (or call (907) 465-1200) with your mailing address and say you want to amend the sex (and, if applicable, the name) on your Alaska birth certificate. They send the current forms and instructions. Ask whether they have a provider-letter template.

  2. Get a signed letter from your provider (or a court order)[4]

    Per A4TE, the letter should be on office letterhead with an original ("wet") signature and include the provider's full name, medical license number, and issuing state; state that the provider treated you or reviewed your medical history and that you have had appropriate clinical treatment for transition or are in the process of transitioning; and end with: "I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is true and correct." A certified court order for a gender marker change can be used instead.

  3. Mail or hand-deliver the packet with payment[3]

    Send the request form, ID copy, letter or court order, certified name change certificate (if the name is changing), and payment (check or money order to "Alaska Vital Records Office", or card) to Health Analytics and Vital Records, P.O. Box 110675, Juneau, AK 99811-0675. Or bring it to the Anchorage office (3901 Old Seward Hwy, Ste. 101) or Juneau office (5441 Commercial Blvd.), Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    Cost
    $30 correction / legal name change processing fee; $30 first certified copy of the birth certificate; $25 each additional certified copy ordered at the same time

  4. Wait for the amended certificate[3][2]

    Standard processing for amendments and legal name changes is 3 months, and expedited service is not available. If Vital Records asks for more documents, respond within 180 days or the application is closed.

    Time
    About 3 months

Costs and fee waivers

No fee waiver is available for this step.[3]

The request form lists no fee waiver. A $30 fee applies to returned checks.

WhatCostNotes
Correction / legal name change processing fee[3]$30
First certified copy of the birth certificate[3]$30
Each additional certified copy ordered at the same time[3]$25

More detail

Forms1 form: Birth Certificate Request Form

Open a form for tips on filling it out.

Birth Certificate Request FormAlaska Birth Certificate Request Form (rev. 04/2026)Required

How to fill it out

  • Applicant: yourself ("Self"), with a copy of your government photo ID (expired less than one year is accepted).
  • Record information: your name, date and city of birth, and parents' names exactly as on the current certificate.
  • Order section: enter the $30 "paternity, correction, adoption, legal name change" processing fee plus the number of certified copies you want ($30 first, $25 each additional).
  • Attach your provider letter (original wet signature) or certified court order, and a certified copy of your Certificate of Name Change if the name is changing.
  • Mail or hand-deliver the originals; amendments cannot be done by fax or through VitalChek.

Open Birth Certificate Request Form[3][4]

RequirementsWhere you live, age, timeline
Where you live
You must have been born in Alaska. Where you live now does not matter. If you were born in another state, that state's rules apply; contact its vital records office.[1][4][2]
Age
Adults request their own change. A parent or guardian can request a change for a minor.
How long it takes

About 3 months after Vital Records receives a complete packet, plus time to get the provider letter or court order.

After you finishAn amended birth certificate lets you skip the provider sections of the DMV's Form 427.

An amended birth certificate lets you skip the provider sections of the DMV's Form 427. As of September 2026, the Social Security Administration and the State Department do not update the sex field based on an amended birth certificate. If you were born outside Alaska, your birth state's rules apply, not Alaska's.

Tips2 tips from people who have done this
  • If you are also changing your name, get the court order first and include a certified copy so both changes are made in one request and one fee.
  • Order extra copies ($25 each) in the same request; ordering later costs $30 for the first copy again.
Laws and other guides1 law, 2 other guides

Laws and rules

Other trusted guides

Sources

4 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. AS 18.50.290, Corrections and amendmentsAlaska Legislature, Law. accessed
    “Upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order changing the name of a person born in the state ... the state registrar shall amend the certificate of birth to reflect the new name.”
  2. Vital Records OrdersAlaska Department of Health, Official page. accessed
    “Changes and corrections are processed by our Special Services Unit. Please email them at BVSSpecialServices@alaska.gov and they will provide you with the necessary forms and instructions.”
  3. Alaska Birth Certificate Request Form (Revision 04/2026)Alaska Department of Health, Health Analytics and Vital Records, Form. accessed
    “All Paternity, Adoptions, or Corrections (including Legal Name Change) to a birth certificate must be mailed or hand delivered ... The standard processing time for these services is 3 months and expedited services are not available.”
  4. Alaska Identity DocumentsAdvocates for Trans Equality, Organization. accessed
    “Birth Certificate (Gender Marker): Yes. Requires certification from medical provider. Alaska does not allow non-binary gender markers on birth certificates.”