Trans Resource Navigator

Maryland

ID documents
Protective
Care
Protective
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.
Yes, protects care

Maryland is protective for trans people.

More about Maryland

You can change the sex on a driver's license or ID to M, F, or X just by checking a box at the MVA; name changes need no newspaper publication; and a birth certificate can be updated with a provider's statement or a court order. Maryland Medicaid must cover gender-affirming care, including hormones and surgery, and a 2024 shield law protects patients and providers from other states' bans. Federal documents (passport, Social Security) are the exception: their sex fields are currently frozen nationwide.

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 IDMaryland DMV
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    YesM, F, or X with your own signed form
  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 Maryland
    Name
    Limited
    Gender marker
    YesM or F with a letter from a provider

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

Gender-affirming care

Adults
Allowed
Under 18
Allowed
Gender-affirming care is legal for adults and minors in Maryland.Find clinics, health centers, telehealth, and ways to pay

Local help

Statewide organizations

  • FreeState Justice[6]

    Maryland's LGBTQ+ legal aid organization, based in Baltimore. Free legal services for low-income clients, including name changes and judicial declarations of gender identity. Legal intake 443-977-4254.

    • Free
    443-977-42542601 N Howard Street, Suite 120, Baltimore, MD 21218

  • Trans Maryland[7]

    Trans-led statewide organization. Its Name Change Program has helped over 1,400 trans Marylanders, pre-fills court forms, and covers costs for those who cannot afford them. Also runs document clinics, support groups, and a list of trusted care providers.

    • Free

  • Trans Lifeline[8]

    Peer-support hotline run by and for trans people, 877-565-8860.

    • Free
    • Unverified
    877-565-8860Languages: English, Español
Sources for this page (8)

Sources

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

  1. Transportation Article § 12-305Maryland General Assembly, Law. accessed
  2. Health-General Article § 4-211Maryland General Assembly, Law. accessed
  3. Health-General Article § 15-151Maryland General Assembly, Law. accessed
  4. SB 119 (2024), Legally Protected Health Care - Gender-Affirming Treatment, Chapter 863Maryland General Assembly, Law. accessed
  5. Identity document laws and policiesMovement Advancement Project, Organization. accessed
  6. Trans MarylandOrganization. accessed
    “already helped over 1400 trans Marylanders to legally change our identity information”
  7. Trans LifelineOrganization. accessed