Trans Resource Navigator

Puerto Rico birth certificates

Update your name
Limited
Gender markerThe sex or gender field (M, F, or X) printed on an ID document or stored in an agency's record.
YesF or M with a letter from a provider

If you were born in Puerto Rico, you can get a birth certificate showing female or male without going to court. File the Registro Demográfico's gender change form with a license or passport that already shows the change, or a signed certificate from a health or behavioral health professional, plus a $20 stamp. An X marker is not available right now. Changing the name requires a court (or notary) order.

Main cost
$20
Apply
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

In court: Arroyo González v. Rosselló Nevares, 305 F. Supp. 3d 327 (D.P.R. 2018)

This permanent order is why F/M changes are available today.[4][3]

About this case

Struck down Puerto Rico's ban on changing the gender marker on birth certificates and ordered new certificates with no marks showing the change. The government did not appeal.

U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Last update 2018-07-16. Case page

In court: De la Fuente Díaz v. González Colón

No X marker is available now. F and M changes are not affected.[5][6]

About this case

Six nonbinary people born in Puerto Rico sued for an X marker. The district court ruled for them on May 30, 2025. On September 3, 2026 the First Circuit reversed that ruling under rational-basis review and sent the case back to decide whether a stricter standard applies.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (on appeal from D.P.R.). Last update 2026-09-03. Case page

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

Until 2018 Puerto Rico did not allow any change to the sex on a birth certificate. In Arroyo González v. Rosselló Nevares (D.P.R., April 2018), a federal court struck down that ban. It ordered the Registro Demográfico to issue a new birth certificate with the correct gender, without strike-outs or anything that reveals the change. The Registro started accepting requests in July 2018.

Today there are two ways to do it:

  • Administrative (most people): at a Registro Demográfico office, file the form "Solicitud para el cambio de género en los certificados de eventos vitales". Attach one of: a current driver's license showing your gender, a current passport showing your gender, or the certificate on the form signed by a health or behavioral health professional who treats you. Add $20 in internal revenue stamps. No lawyer, notary, or judge is needed.
  • Court: ask for it in a name change petition (form OAT 1896) or in a petition only for the gender identifier, under Article 694 of the Civil Code. Then take the certified resolution to the Registro.

Only F and M are available. Only people born in Puerto Rico can use this. If you were born in another state or country, contact that place's vital records office.

Steps

  1. Get one supporting document[1][2]

    A current Puerto Rico license or ID showing your gender (see the driver's license guide), a current passport showing your gender, or Part B of the form signed by your clinician.

  2. File the form at the Registro Demográfico with a $20 stamp[1][3]

    Take the completed form, your supporting document, a photo ID, and $20 in internal revenue stamps to a Registro Demográfico office. Ask by phone first which offices handle gender changes; in 2018 it was the central office.

    Cost
    $20 gender change request (internal revenue stamps)

  3. To change the name, get a court resolution first[1][7]

    Optional

    The Registro changes a name only on a court or notary order. You can ask for the name and gender identifier together on OAT 1896, then bring the certified resolution to the Registro.

  4. Order a new certificate and check it[1][4]

    Order a certified copy and check that the gender (and name, if changed) are correct and that nothing reveals the change.

    Cost
    Varies certified copy of the birth certificate

Costs and fee waivers

WhatCostNotes
Gender change request (internal revenue stamps)[1]$20
Certified copy of the birth certificate[8]VariesA4TE lists $5 for the first copy and $12 for each additional copy. Not confirmed with the Registro.

More detail

Forms2 forms: Solicitud cambio de género, OAT 1896

Open a form for tips on filling it out.

Solicitud cambio de géneroRequest for gender change on vital records certificates (Registro Demográfico)Sometimes required: For the administrative route. This link is the 2018 version published by Lambda Legal;…

For the administrative route. This link is the 2018 version published by Lambda Legal; ask the Registro for the current copy.

How to fill it out

  • Part A: your name as on your current certificate, the ID you are presenting, and your addresses. Check Femenino or Masculino. Sign the statement, under penalty of perjury, that the request is only so your certificate matches the gender you identify with.
  • Part B: only if you are not bringing a license or passport that shows the change. A psychologist, therapist, social worker, physician, case manager, or counselor who treats you writes their license number, checks F or M, and signs.

Open Solicitud cambio de género[2][1]

OAT 1896Court petition for change of name, surname, and/or gender identifierSometimes required: Only for the court route, or if you are also changing your name.

Only for the court route, or if you are also changing your name. See the name change guide.

Open OAT 1896[1]

RequirementsWhere you live, age, timeline
Where you live
You must have been born in Puerto Rico. Where you live now does not matter.[1][2]
Age
The form is signed by the person whose certificate it is. We could not confirm the procedure for minors.
How long it takes

Not published. Ask the Registro when you file.

After you finishWith your new birth certificate you can update records that ask for it, such as the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones, schools, and employers.

With your new birth certificate you can update records that ask for it, such as the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones, schools, and employers. For REAL ID, CESCO wants the post-2010 Puerto Rico certificate. The U.S. passport and Social Security record currently cannot change the sex marker; you can still update your name on them.

Tips2 tips from people who have done this
  • Change your driver's license first (a clinician can sign that form too), then use the license as your supporting document at the Registro.
  • If the new certificate shows a strike-out, a note, or anything revealing the change, the Arroyo court order says it should not. Contact Lambda Legal's Help Desk or the ACLU de Puerto Rico.
Laws and other guides1 law, 2 other guides

Laws and rules

Other trusted guides

Sources

8 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. Cambio del identificador de género en el Certificado de NacimientoPoder Judicial de Puerto Rico, Court. accessed
    “El proceso ante el Registro Demográfico es un proceso administrativo que se realiza en una de sus oficinas. No requiere intervención de abogados(as), ni de notarios(as) o del Tribunal... Sellos de Rentas Internas por la cantidad de $20.00”
  2. Solicitud para el cambio de género en los certificados de eventos vitales (2018)Registro Demográfico (copy published by Lambda Legal), Form. accessed
  3. Puerto Rico Begins Allowing Transgender People to Change Their Birth CertificatesLambda Legal, Organization. accessed
  4. Arroyo González v. Rosselló Nevares, Opinion and Order (D.P.R. Apr. 20, 2018)Lambda Legal, Court. accessed
  5. Lambda Legal: Disappointed by the First Circuit's Decision on Puerto Rico's Birth Certificate Case for Nonbinary PeopleLambda Legal, Organization. accessed
    “This decision does not affect the earned rights of transgender Puerto Ricans who identify as male or female to correct their birth certificates.”
  6. De la Fuente Díaz v. González Colón (case page)Lambda Legal, Organization. accessed
  7. Ley del Registro Demográfico de Puerto Rico (Ley 24-1931), consolidated textOficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto, Law. accessed
  8. Puerto Rico Identity DocumentsAdvocates for Trans Equality, Organization. accessed