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New Mexico 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.
YesM, F, or X with your own signed form

If you were born in New Mexico, you can get a reissued birth certificate showing male, female, or X by sending a notarized request form to Vital Records. No doctor's letter or court order is needed for the gender marker, and the new certificate is not marked "amended".

Main cost
$20
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

Since 2019 (SB 20, NMSA 24-14-25(D)), New Mexico reissues a birth certificate with a sex designation of male, female, or X when the person (or a parent, guardian, or legal representative) signs a statement under penalty of perjury stating their gender identity. "X" means "a gender other than male or female or an undesignated gender." The reissued certificate is not marked "amended".

If your current legal name differs from the name on the birth certificate, include a certified copy of your court-ordered name change and the name is updated at the same time. A name change alone (without a gender change) is done by mailing a certified court order with a letter and the $20 fee.

Only people born in New Mexico can use this process. If you were born elsewhere, contact your birth state's vital records office.

Steps

  1. Choose the right form[2]

    Adults use the Adult Form. For a minor, a parent or guardian uses the Parent/Legal Guardian Form (or the Two Parent Signature Form), and a minor 14 or older also signs the consent form.

  2. Fill it out and sign before a notary[2][1]

    Choose male, female, or X and sign in the presence of a notary public. No medical letter, proof of surgery, or court order about gender is needed.

  3. Add your certified name change order, if needed[2]

    Optional

    If your current legal name is different from the name on your birth certificate, include a certified copy of your court order. The new certificate will show both the new name and the new sex designation.

  4. Mail the request with the fee[2]

    Mail the notarized form, any name change order, and the fee ($20, which includes one new certificate; $10 for each extra copy) to New Mexico Vital Records, PO Box 26110, Santa Fe, NM 87502. The office's street address is 2554 Camino Entrada, Santa Fe, NM 87505; phone 1-866-534-0051.

    Cost
    $20 gender designation change, including one new birth certificate; $10 each additional certified copy ordered with the request

Costs and fee waivers

No fee waiver is available for this step.[2]

No fee waiver was found on the Vital Records page. Ask TGRCNM or a legal aid program whether any local fund covers document fees.

WhatCostNotes
Gender designation change, including one new birth certificate[2]$20
Each additional certified copy ordered with the request[2]$10

More detail

Forms4 forms

Open a form for tips on filling it out.

Request to Change Gender Designation on a Birth Certificate: Adult FormSometimes required: For people 18 and older.

How to fill it out

  • Choose male, female, or X.
  • Sign in front of a notary public; an unnotarized form will be returned.
  • If your legal name differs from the one on your birth certificate, attach a certified copy of the court order changing your name.

Open the form[2]

Request to Change Gender Designation on a Birth Certificate: Parent/Legal Guardian FormSometimes required: For a child under 18, signed by one parent or legal guardian.

Open the form[2]

Request to Change Gender Designation on a Birth Certificate: Two Parent Signature FormOptional

Alternative to the single-parent form when both parents sign.

Open the form[2]

RequirementsWhere you live, age
Where you live
You must have been born in New Mexico. Where you live now does not matter.[1][2]
Age
Adults use the adult form. For anyone under 18, a parent or legal guardian applies; if the minor is 14 or older, the minor must also sign a consent form.
After you finishUse the new birth certificate to update anything that still shows the old marker.

Use the new birth certificate to update anything that still shows the old marker. The MVD does not require it (you can change your license by self-attestation), but an X birth certificate is accepted there. Federal records are different: as of September 2026, the passport and Social Security sex fields cannot be changed, though name changes are still processed.

Tips1 tip from people who have done this
  • Order an extra copy or two ($10 each) with your request; ordering later costs more through VitalChek.
Laws and other guides1 law, 2 other guides

Laws and rules

Other trusted guides

Sources

2 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. SB 20 (2019), enrolled text amending NMSA 24-14-25New Mexico Legislature, Law. accessed
    “the certificate of birth of the individual shall be reissued to reflect a designation of male, female or X, as prescribed by regulation. The certificate of birth shall not be marked "amended"”
  2. Gender Designation Change on Birth CertificateNew Mexico Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Official page. accessed
    “Must be signed in the presence of a notary public”