Virginia birth certificates
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- 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.
- YesM or F with a letter from a provider
If you were born in Virginia, you can get a new birth certificate showing male or female by mailing VDH Vital Records form VS42, signed by any licensed health care provider who has treated you. No surgery or court order is required for the sex change. Nonbinary (X) is not offered. Changing the name requires a certified court order.
- Main cost
- $10
- 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
How it works
Since 2020, Va. Code § 32.1-261(A)(5) requires the State Registrar to issue a new birth certificate showing a change of sex when you submit a VDH form completed by a health care provider who has treated you, stating that you have "undergone clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition". The law bars VDH from requiring any evidence or documentation of a medical procedure. Clinically appropriate treatment is decided by you and your provider; it can be counseling, hormones, a change in gender expression, or other care.
The new certificate replaces the original, and the original is sealed. If you also send a certified court order changing your name, the new certificate shows the new name.
Steps
Any licensed health care provider who has treated you can sign. Community clinics such as Health Brigade in Richmond and Whitman-Walker in DC routinely provide letters for legal document updates.
- Form
- VS42
Put together your request[3]
Include:
- A written request from you (or your parent if you are under 18).
- A copy of your valid photo ID.
- The original VS42 with the provider's ink signature.
- A certified copy of your name change court order, if you want the new name on the certificate.
- Payment: $10 administrative fee plus $15 for each certified copy you want.
- Form
- VS42
Mail it to VDH Vital Records in Richmond[4]
Mail to Virginia Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond, VA 23218 (the address printed on VS42). Keep copies of everything.
VDH establishes a new certificate that replaces the original and seals the old one. If VDH decides your paperwork is insufficient, it must tell you in writing and explain your right to petition a circuit court.
Costs and fee waivers
No fee waiver is available for this step.[3]
No fee waiver is listed by VDH. The Virginia DMV has a program for no-cost vital records for youth experiencing homelessness; funds like Genderbands and He She Ze and We's Trans Wellness Fund may help with costs.
More detail
Forms1 form: VS42
Open a form for tips on filling it out.
VS42Form for Changing Sex DesignationRequired
How to fill it out
- Your provider completes and signs this form, not you. It must be a licensed health care provider (any type, licensed in any state) from whom you have received treatment: for example a doctor, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or licensed therapist.
- The provider fills in their name, provider type, state and license number, your full name, date of birth, and Virginia city or county of birth, and writes Male or Female.
- It needs a live ink signature and date (no electronic signature) and the provider's business address. No notary is required on the form.
RequirementsWhere you live, age, timeline
- Where you live
- You must have been born in Virginia. Where you live now does not matter. If you were born in another state, that state's rules apply.[1][3]
- Age
- Adults request for themselves. For someone under 18, a parent makes the request.
- How long it takes
VDH does not publish a processing time for these requests; plan on several weeks.
After you finishYour new Virginia birth certificate is accepted by the Virginia DMV and most state agencies.
Your new Virginia birth certificate is accepted by the Virginia DMV and most state agencies. As of September 2026, the Social Security Administration and the State Department will not change the sex field based on it, but they will update your name with a court order. If you were born outside Virginia, contact your birth state's vital records office.
Tips2 tips from people who have done this
- Order several certified copies in the same request; each later copy is another separate order.
- A circuit court can also adjudicate a change of sex (§ 32.1-261(A)(6)), but the VS42 route is simpler and cheaper for most people.
Laws and other guides2 laws, 2 other guides
Laws and rules
- Va. Code § 32.1-261(A)(5): New birth certificate showing change of sex on a provider form; no medical-procedure proof may be required
- Va. Code § 32.1-269: Amending vital records; name change by court order; denial and right to petition circuit court
Other trusted guides
- VDH Vital Records, updating a birth certificate after gender transition
- Advocates for Trans Equality, Virginia identity documents. Last updated November 2023; its $12 copy fee is out of date (VDH now lists $15).
Sources
5 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
- Code of Virginia § 32.1-261
“Requirements related to obtaining a new certificate of birth to show a change of sex shall not include any requirement for evidence or documentation of any medical procedure.”
- Code of Virginia § 32.1-269
- What is the procedure to update a Virginia birth certificate after a person has undergone gender transition?
“$10 administrative fee to establish the new birth certificate; $15 for each certified birth certificate requested”
- Form VS42, Form for Changing Sex Designation
“To be completed by the health care provider from whom the person received clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition.”
- Virginia Transgender Resource and Referral List (updated September 17, 2026)