Trans Resource Navigator

Arkansas

ID documents
Restrictive
Care
Restrictive
Shield lawA state law that protects patients and providers of gender-affirming care from investigations, subpoenas, or extradition attempts by states that ban that care.
No

Arkansas is restrictive for trans people.

More about Arkansas

Name changes are straightforward (no newspaper publication, fee about $165), but the sex on a birth certificate changes only with a court order citing surgery, and a 2025 law (Act 711) lets the driver's license show only M or F matching an amended birth certificate. Adults can get hormone therapy, including by informed consent, but care for minors is banned (Act 626, upheld in 2025), insurers need not cover transition care, and there is no shield law.

This state’s pages are drafts written from official sources and not yet checked by a person. What this means

Your documents, in order

Most people go in this order, because each office checks the one before it. On every document, updating your name and changing your gender marker are separate questions with separate answers.

  1. Legal name changeState court
    Name
    YesNo newspaper notice, hearing sometimes
  2. Social SecurityFederal, same in every state
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    NoCannot be changed right now
  3. Driver's license / state IDArkansas DMV
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    LimitedM or F with an amended birth certificate
  4. US passportFederal, same in every state
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    NoCannot be changed right now
  5. Birth certificateOnly if born in Arkansas
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    LimitedM or F with proof of surgery

Born somewhere other than Arkansas? Your birth certificate follows the state where you were born. Choose your birth state

Gender-affirming care

Adults
Allowed
Under 18
Banned
Adults 18 and older can legally get hormone therapy in Arkansas, including by informed consent at Planned Parenthood and by telehealth.Find clinics, health centers, telehealth, and ways to pay

Local help

Statewide organizations

  • Legal Aid of Arkansas[7]

    Free civil legal help for low-income Arkansans statewide. Call 1-800-952-9243 or apply online.

    • Free
    1-800-952-9243

  • Intransitive[8]

    Trans-led Arkansas organization offering anti-violence advocacy, community care, immigration support, and financial support funds.

    • Free

  • Trans Lifeline[9]

    Peer support hotline run by and for trans people.

    • Free
Sources for this page (9)

Sources

9 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.

  1. Act 711 of 2025 (HB 1796)Arkansas General Assembly, Law. accessed
  2. Change Sex and Name on a Birth RecordArkansas Department of Health, Official page. accessed
  3. Act 626 of 2021 (HB 1570), Arkansas SAFE ActArkansas General Assembly, Law. accessed
  4. Brandt v. Griffin, No. 23-2681 (8th Cir. Aug. 12, 2025) (en banc)U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Court. accessed
  5. Act 955 of 2025 (SB 486), safety and privacy in certain entitiesArkansas General Assembly, Law. accessed
  6. Arkansas equality profileMovement Advancement Project, Organization. accessed
  7. IntransitiveOrganization. accessed
  8. Trans LifelineOrganization. accessed