Wisconsin birth certificates
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- 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 Wisconsin, you can change the sex on your birth certificate only with a court order, and state law allows that order only after a "surgical sex-change procedure." There is no X option. A lawsuit filed in July 2026 challenges the surgery requirement, but nothing has changed yet. Name changes are added with any name change court order.
- Main cost
- $164.50, can be waived
- 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
In court: Trans Law Help Wisconsin, Inc. and Jaida Birch McGuire v. Gov. Tony Evers and DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson (caption unconfirmed)
None yet. The surgery requirement still applies while the case is pending.[10][11]
About this case
Filed July 31, 2026 by the ACLU of Wisconsin and Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Argues that requiring an undefined "surgical sex-change procedure" (and disclosure of surgery) to change a birth certificate's sex marker violates the Wisconsin Constitution, including as applied to intersex people.
Dane County Circuit Court. Last update 2026-08-24. Case page
On this page
How it works
Under Wis. Stat. § 69.15(4)(b), a person may petition a court to change the name and sex on a Wisconsin birth record "due to a surgical sex-change procedure," and a court may not order a sex change on a vital record any other way (§ 69.15(4)(c)). The law does not define which surgery counts. The court form (CV-452) asks you to confirm you understand this, and the order (CV-474) records the date of the procedure. Talk with your surgeon or doctor about whether the care you have had qualifies, and bring a letter from them to the hearing.
Once you have the order, you mail a certified copy to Wisconsin Vital Records with a $20 filing fee. Only M or F can appear.
Changing only your name is simpler: any name change court order (from Wisconsin or any US or Canadian court) updates the name for a $10 filing fee, and a Wisconsin court clerk usually sends it for you. The certificate shows an annotation of the amendment.
Steps
Ask your surgeon or physician for a signed letter naming the procedure and its date. The law does not define which surgery counts, so the judge decides; Trans Law Help Wisconsin can explain your options.
File CV-452 (and CV-474 if your clerk wants it prepared) with the clerk of circuit court and pay $164.50, or file CV-410A for a fee waiver. If you are also changing your name, file the name change petition too; the two can proceed in the same county.
- Cost
- $164.50 circuit court filing fee, petition to amend a vital record
Attend the hearing and get certified copies of the order[4]
The judge reviews your evidence and signs CV-474 granting or denying the petition. Ask the clerk for certified copies of the signed order.
- Form
- CV-474
Mail the certified order and fees to Wisconsin Vital Records[2]
Mail a certified copy of the order with the $20 filing fee, plus $20 for the first certified copy of the new certificate and $3 for each extra copy, to: Wisconsin Vital Records, ATTN: PSSU, PO Box 309, Madison, WI 53701. Questions: dhsvitalrecords@wisconsin.gov.
Costs and fee waivers
Can’t afford it? You may not have to pay.[8][2][9]
The court filing fee can be waived for people receiving means-tested benefits (Medicaid/BadgerCare, FoodShare, SSI) or who otherwise cannot pay (Wis. Stat. § 814.29). Vital Records does not waive its fees; Trans Law Help Wisconsin's grant may help with court costs.
| What | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit court filing fee, petition to amend a vital record[6] | $164.50 | Can be waived |
| Vital Records fee to file a sex-change court order (no copy included)[2] | $20 | |
| Vital Records fee to file a name change court order (no copy included)[2] | $10 | |
| First certified copy of the amended certificate[2][5] | $20 | |
| Each additional copy ordered at the same time[2][5] | $3 |
More detail
Forms4 forms: CV-452, CV-474, CV-410A, F-05291
Open a form for tips on filling it out.
Forms everyone files (2)
CV-452Petition for Gender Change on Wisconsin Birth Certificate (adult or minor 14 or older)Required
How to fill it out
- Items 1 to 4: your address, county, date of birth, and confirmation that you were born and your certificate was issued in Wisconsin.
- Items 5 and 6: the current sex on the certificate and the one you want (male or female only).
- Item 7 is a statement that the court can grant the request only if you have had a surgical sex-change procedure. Be ready to show proof (for example, a letter from your surgeon with the procedure and date).
- Item 8: if you already filed a name change in the same county, give that case number. If you have not, file CV-450 (or CV-451) too.
CV-474Order on Petition for Gender Change on Wisconsin Birth CertificateRequired
Fill in the top; the judge completes the findings (including the date of the procedure) and the decision.
Forms only some people need (2)
CV-410APetition for Waiver of Fees and Costs, Declaration of IndigencyOptional
Only if you cannot afford the $164.50 court filing fee. It does not waive Vital Records fees.
F-05291Wisconsin Birth Certificate ApplicationOptional
Use to order certified copies of the corrected certificate, if you do not order them with the amendment.
RequirementsWhere you live, age, timeline
- Where you live
- You must have been born in Wisconsin. You file the petition in the circuit court of the Wisconsin county where you live. If you were born in another state, that state's rules apply to your birth certificate, not Wisconsin's.[1][3][7]
- Age
- CV-452 is written for adults and minors 14 or older. The statute lets "any person with a direct and tangible interest" in the record petition, which can include a parent.
- Other
- A court order must be based on a surgical procedure. No X or nonbinary marker exists on Wisconsin birth certificates.
- How long it takes
Depends mostly on the court calendar (one hearing). Vital Records does not publish a processing time for amendments; ordinary copy requests take up to 2 weeks plus mail time.
After you finishUse the new certificate with agencies that accept it.
Use the new certificate with agencies that accept it. As of September 2026 the Social Security Administration and the State Department will not change the sex field based on it. The Wisconsin DMV does not need your birth certificate changed: a physician's note is enough for the license (see the driver's license guide). If you were born in another state, contact that state's vital records office.
Tips2 tips from people who have done this
- Order two or three copies ($3 each) with the amendment; extra copies later cost $20 for the first one again.
- Follow the ACLU of Wisconsin lawsuit. If the court strikes down the surgery requirement, this guide will change.
Laws and other guides1 law, 2 other guides
Laws and rules
- Wis. Stat. § 69.15(4): Name change; change of name and sex on a birth record by court order due to a surgical sex-change procedure
Other trusted guides
Sources
11 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
- Wis. Stat. § 69.15, Changing vital records
“(b) Any person with a direct and tangible interest in a birth record registered in this state may petition a court to change the name and sex of the registrant on the record due to a surgical sex-change procedure. ... (c) A court may not order the state registrar to change any vital record due to a surgical sex-change procedure except as provided under this subsection.”
- Vital Records, Amending a vital record
“To change the sex on a birth record, after a sex change, please mail the following: A certified copy of a court order from the United States or Canada that orders the sex designation on the birth record to be changed. A $20 fee to file the court order. This does not include a certified copy of the new birth certificate. The first certified copy is $20, and each extra copy is $3.”
- CV-452, Petition for Gender Change on Wisconsin Birth Certificate (rev. 05/23)
“I understand that, according to Wisconsin law, the court can only grant my request if I have undergone a surgical sex-change procedure.”
- CV-474, Order on Petition for Gender Change on Wisconsin Birth Certificate (rev. 11/23)
“The petitioner underwent a surgical sex-change procedure on [Date].”
- F-05291, Wisconsin Birth Certificate Application (rev. 05/2026)
“Requests for certified and uncertified copies of birth certificates may take up to 2 weeks plus mail time to complete.”
- Wisconsin circuit court fee tables (updated September 2, 2026)
“Vital statistics amendments after one year ... name, sex change, birth record ... $164.50”
- Change a gender marker on a Wisconsin birth certificate
“Wisconsin requires either an F or M gender marker on birth certificates. There is no gender neutral or X option.”
- Gender marker change forms
- Emma Katherine Court Cost + Publication Fee Grant
- Accurate Birth Certificates for Trans and Intersex Wisconsinites
“Filed: Jul 31, 2026 ... seeking to overturn a provision in state law that denies transgender people the right to change the sex markers on their birth certificates unless they first undergo a surgical sex procedure.”
- Trans Law Help WI challenges Wisconsin birth certificate law (August 24, 2026)
“The lawsuit is now pending in Dane County Circuit Court in front of Judge Stephen Ehlke.”