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Nebraska 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 Nebraska, you can get a new birth certificate with a changed sex only with a notarized affidavit from the surgeon who performed your gender-affirming surgery and a certified court order changing your name. Only M or F. Changing just the name is simpler: send the court order with an amendment application.

Main cost
$16
Apply
By mail

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

Nebraska law (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-604.01) lets the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issue a new birth certificate in your new name and sex when it receives both:

  1. a notarized affidavit from the physician who performed your sex reassignment surgery, and
  2. a certified copy of a court order changing your name.

The new certificate looks like any other birth certificate. The original and the documents you sent are sealed and can be seen only with a court order. Only male or female can be listed.

If you have not had surgery, you cannot change the sex on a Nebraska birth certificate, but you can still update your name with a court order. This guide applies only if you were born in Nebraska. If you were born elsewhere, follow your birth state's rules, even if you live in Nebraska.

Steps

  1. Get a certified court order changing your name[1][6]

    The statute requires a certified copy of a court order changing your name for a new certificate with a changed sex. See the name change guide. A4TE reports that Vital Records accepts name-change orders from other states.

  2. Get a notarized affidavit from your surgeon[1][6]

    The physician who performed your surgery signs a notarized affidavit stating that they performed sex reassignment surgery and the date. There is no DHHS form for this; a letter-style affidavit signed before a notary is used.

  3. Mail the application, documents, and fees to Vital Records[3][4][5]

    Send the notarized Application for Amendment (HHS-81), copy of your photo ID, certified court order, surgeon's affidavit (for a sex change), and a check or money order to:

    Nebraska Vital Records, P.O. Box 95065, Lincoln, NE 68509-5065

    Include a self-addressed business envelope. Questions: 402-471-2871 or DHHS.VitalRecords@nebraska.gov. The office is at 301 Centennial Mall South, First Floor, Lincoln.

    Form
    HHS-81
    Cost
    $16 amendment fee; $17 certified copy of the new or amended certificate (each)

Costs and fee waivers

No fee waiver is available for this step.[4]

WhatCostNotes
Amendment fee[3]$16
Certified copy of the new or amended certificate (each)[3][4]$17

More detail

Forms1 form: HHS-81

Open a form for tips on filling it out.

HHS-81Application for Amendment (birth certificate), with instructionsRequired

How to fill it out

  • Section 1: list your name and details exactly as they appear now on the birth certificate.
  • Section 2 ("items to be corrected"): list the name and, if applicable, the sex, with the new information.
  • Section 4: sign in front of a notary. The application must be notarized.
  • Enclose a photocopy of your current photo ID, the certified court order, the surgeon's notarized affidavit (for a sex change), and a check or money order to "Vital Records."
  • The form's general instructions about "documentary evidence established five years prior" are for correcting errors; for these changes the court order and affidavit are the evidence.

Open HHS-81[3][6]

RequirementsWhere you live, age, timeline
Where you live
You must have been born in Nebraska. You do not need to live in Nebraska now.[1][3][2]
Age
The amendment application must be signed by the registrant if of legal age (19), otherwise by a parent. Surgery for anyone under 19 is prohibited in Nebraska (Let Them Grow Act), so in practice the sex change route is for adults.
How long it takes

DHHS does not publish a processing time for amendments. Call Vital Records for the current wait.

After you finishUse the new certificate to update other records if needed.

Use the new certificate to update other records if needed. The DMV does not require an amended birth certificate to change your license marker; it uses its own provider form.

Tips2 tips from people who have done this
  • The free birth-certificate copy "for voting purposes" does not apply to amendments.
  • If you were born in another state, that state's rules apply, even if you live in Nebraska. Some states allow changes without surgery.
Laws and other guides1 law, 1 other guide

Laws and rules

Other trusted guides

Sources

6 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-604.01, Birth certificate; sex reassignment; new certificate; procedureNebraska Legislature, Law. accessed
    “Upon receipt of a notarized affidavit from the physician that performed sex reassignment surgery on an individual born in this state and a certified copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction changing the name of such person, the department shall prepare a new certificate of birth”
  2. Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-7304, Gender-altering procedures; prohibited, whenNebraska Legislature, Law. accessed
  3. Application for Amendment, HHS-81Nebraska DHHS, Form. accessed
    “$16.00 to correct the record ... x $17.00 each ... This application MUST be signed in the presence of a notary public.”
  4. Vital RecordsNebraska DHHS, Official page. accessed
    “To get a birth certificate by mail, send a $17.00 check or money order made out to "Vital Records"”
  5. Changing a RecordNebraska DHHS, Official page. accessed
  6. Nebraska Identity DocumentsA4TE, Organization. accessed
    “A Physician's Affidavit, stating they performed gender reassignment surgery and the date the surgery took place, with the physician's notarized signature”