Missouri 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.
- LimitedM or F with proof of surgery
If you were born in Missouri, the law allows the sex on your birth certificate to be changed only with a certified court order saying your sex "has been changed by surgical procedure" and that your name has been changed. Without surgery, a sex change is not available. Name-only changes are routine with a certified name change judgment and a $15 fee.
- Main cost
- $15
- Apply
- By mail or in person
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
How it works
Missouri birth records are kept by the Bureau of Vital Records of the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in Jefferson City. This guide applies only if you were born in Missouri; if you were born elsewhere, your birth state's rules apply, wherever you live now.
Sex marker: RSMo 193.215.9 says the certificate "shall be amended" when DHSS receives a certified court order stating that your sex "has been changed by surgical procedure" and that your name has been changed. The state regulation (19 CSR 10-10) repeats that a court order is required when "sex changed by surgical procedure." There is no self-attestation or doctor-letter route in the law, no X option, and no statute telling judges how to handle a request for such an order, so practice varies by judge.
Name only: send a certified copy of your name change judgment, a signed cover letter asking DHSS to apply it to your birth record, and the $15 processing fee. The fee does not include a new certified copy ($15 each).
Steps
- Name only: your certified name change judgment is enough.
- Sex marker: you need a certified order from a court "indicating the sex ... has been changed by surgical procedure" and that your name has been changed (RSMo 193.215.9). The order must identify your birth record (full name at birth, date and place of birth) and tell the Bureau which items to change (19 CSR 10-10). Missouri has no standard form for this; talk to a lawyer about asking for this language in your name change judgment or in a separate petition.
Send to Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Vital Records, 930 Wildwood Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109:
- A certified copy of the court order.
- A signed cover letter asking that the order be applied to your birth record.
- $15 processing fee for the court-ordered change, plus $15 for each new certified copy (application MO 580-0641, notarized).
Questions: 573-751-6387, option 2.
- Form
- MO 580-0641
Costs and fee waivers
No fee waiver is available for this step.[5]
More detail
Forms1 form: MO 580-0641
Open a form for tips on filling it out.
MO 580-0641Application for Missouri Vital Record, Birth/Death (to order certified copies)Sometimes required: Use it to order the new certified copy along with your amendment.
Use it to order the new certified copy along with your amendment. Mail-in requests must be notarized and include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
How to fill it out
- Write your name as it will read after the amendment in "Full name on certificate" and your prior name under "Also known as."
- The form's sex box offers only Female or Male.
- Sign in front of a notary if mailing; include $15 per copy.
RequirementsWhere you live, age, timeline
- Where you live
- You must have been born in Missouri. Where you live now does not matter.[1][2][3]
- Age
- Adults request their own amendment. For a minor, a parent or legal guardian applies; a court order for a minor's sex change is not realistic under current law because gender transition surgery is banned for anyone under 18 (RSMo 191.1720).
- How long it takes
DHSS does not publish a processing time for amendments. Mail-in orders for certified copies take about 4 to 8 weeks.
After you finishUse the new certified copy to update your passport and other records.
Use the new certified copy to update your passport and other records. If your sex marker could not be changed here, you can still update the name everywhere else with your court judgment.
Tips2 tips from people who have done this
- Order two or three certified copies at the same time as your amendment; each costs $15.
- If you were born in another state, check that state's rules; many allow sex marker changes without surgery.
Laws and other guides2 laws, 1 other guide
Laws and rules
- RSMo 193.215.9: Birth certificate amended on a court order that sex was changed by surgical procedure and name changed
- 19 CSR 10-10: Vital records rules, including when a court order is required for corrections
Other trusted guides
- Advocates for Trans Equality, Missouri identity documents. Last updated December 2025. Says a physician's letter confirming surgery may also be accepted; this guide could not confirm that with DHSS.
Sources
7 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
- RSMo 193.215, amendment of vital records
“Upon receipt of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction indicating the sex of an individual born in this state has been changed by surgical procedure and that such individual's name has been changed, the certificate of birth of such individual shall be amended.”
- 19 CSR 10-10, Vital Records
“Court order if 1) sex changed by surgical procedure”
- RSMo 191.1720, SAFE Act
- Correct/Amend a Vital Record
“When sending in a legal name change court order, the certified copy of the court order is required, along with the statutorily required fee, and a signed cover letter requesting the court order be applied to the applicable record.”
- Notice of Fees (May 2024)
“$15.00 - Processing court-ordered change related to birth/fetal death/stillbirth (does not include new certified copy)”
- Application for Missouri Vital Record, Birth/Death (MO 580-0641)
- Vital Records FAQ