Trans Resource Navigator

North Dakota

ID documents
Mixed
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

North Dakota is mixed for ID documents and restrictive for care.

More about North Dakota

You can change your name in district court (newspaper publication can be waived if you change only your first or middle name) and change the sex on your driver's license to M or F with a form signed by a medical provider. But state law has barred changing the sex on a North Dakota birth certificate because of gender identity since 2023, and a 2023 law makes it a crime to provide puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery to anyone under 18. Adults can get care, and ND Medicaid covers hormones and many surgeries. 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
    YesNewspaper notice sometimes, 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 IDNorth Dakota DMV
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    YesM or F with a letter from a doctor
  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 North Dakota
    Name
    YesAfter your legal name change
    Gender marker
    NoCannot be changed right now

Born somewhere other than North Dakota? 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 and surgery in North Dakota, and ND Medicaid covers hormones and many surgeries.Find clinics, health centers, telehealth, and ways to pay

Local help

Statewide organizations

  • Legal Services of North Dakota[5]

    Free civil legal help statewide for people with low income and people 60 and older. Apply by phone Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 3 pm Central, at 1-800-634-5263 (under 60) or 1-866-621-9886 (60 and older).

    • Free
    1-800-634-5263

  • Dakota OutRight[6]

    Bismarck-based LGBTQ2S+ community organization (since 2004) that runs Capitol City Pride, year-round meetups, and a resource list.

    • Free

  • Trans Lifeline[7]

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

    • Free
    877-565-8860
Sources for this page (7)

Sources

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

  1. N.D.C.C. ch. 23-02.1, Vital Statistics (see 23-02.1-25.1)North Dakota Legislative Branch, Law. accessed
    “The sex designation on a birth record of an individual born in this state may not be amended under section 23-02.1-25 due to a gender identity change.”
  2. SFN 61146 Gender Designation (4-2026)North Dakota Department of Transportation, Form. accessed
  3. N.D.C.C. ch. 12.1-36.1, Minor Sex Change TreatmentNorth Dakota Legislative Branch, Law. accessed
  4. North Dakota equality profileMovement Advancement Project, Organization. accessed
  5. Legal Services of North DakotaOrganization. accessed
    “Apply for Assistance Mon. – Thurs., 9 am – 3 pm Central Under age 60: 1-800-634-5263”
  6. Dakota OutRightOrganization. accessed
  7. Trans LifelineOrganization. accessed