Guide
A Personal Note
Steps
Obtain a letter of transition from your medical provider
Create the Court Order and Petition to amend the birth certificate
File the Court Order and Petition with the court
Mail the Application to Vital Records
Correct your other forms of ID (driver’s license, etc)
Other Requirements
If you haven’t changed your name, and you want to, do that now.
Linked here is a good guide for changing your name. The guide was created by someone changing their legal name in Madison County, but the process is similar for other counties. The goal here is to get a Court Order Changing Name, which you can then use to update other documents.
If you live in a different county and are having trouble locating the name change forms, find your probate court’s website, or search for “<county> county probate court name change”. A statewide form is also available, but you should make sure your county doesn’t have their own form they prefer first.
In some counties, you may need to schedule a hearing before the probate judge to complete the name change. Check your local probate court office’s website for details, or give them a call.
Once the name change is complete, you’ll end up with certified copies of the completed name change Court Order. They’ll have an embossed seal on them from the probate court.
Hang onto these! You will need them later, and perhaps beyond that.
What if I don’t want to change my name?
If you don’t want to risk delays, you can change the spelling of one of your names, and that will comply with the letter of the law (subsection (d)). This could theoretically be your first, middle, or last name (please reach out with corrections).
If you’re willing to tack some extra time onto the process (NOT RECOMMENDED), you can try to go through this without the legal name change (note that you will need to modify the Court Petition and Court Order to remove all references to the legal name change).
Someone is known to have done this, but they could not provide any supporting documents. If you or someone you know completed a birth certificate gender marker change and still have your Court Petition and Order changing your gender marker, please send them my way so that can be included in the process.
The letter can be found here. (Note, this is somehow not opening in Safari, which Discord may secretly be using if you got here from there.) Copy the text and replace the angle brackets < > with your information. For example, where the form says “(date of birth <DOB>)”, it should read something like “(date of birth 8/4/87)” after you change it.
The letter needs to be signed by someone who provides you medical care (either your doctor (General Practitioner), your hormone provider, or a surgeon). It seems like most surgeons are very particular about the language they use in these letters and may not sign it, so it’s a good idea to try a different provider first.
Give the letter to them to sign, either through your patient portal, or even hand-written on a piece of paper. If you write it on paper, you can hand it to the office staff for them to type out and print on official letterhead. If they’re telehealth only, they may mail you a physical copy or send you a scan of the signed letter for you to print.
Make sure to make copies/scans of the original.
If your doctor uses different language in the letter, you’ll need to modify the Court Petition and Court Order to match the language they used. (If you’re attempting to go through a different county and using different language, you’ll need these: Petition, Order.)
As you’re doing the other steps, you can simultaneously create your Court Petition and Court Order to amend your birth certificate.
If your county isn’t listed below, please let us know if they do/do not process these types of orders so we can update this guide.
Counties’ probate courts that process birth certificate amendment court orders:
Counties’ probate courts that will not process birth certificate amendment orders:
If you don’t know if your county’s probate court processes birth certificate amendment court orders, you can call them and ask. If your county’s probate court office is large enough, you may be able to get a different answer from a different clerk.
Remember, after you’ve printed the Petition, do not sign it yet. You will need to bring a valid photo ID and the document to a notary and sign the document in front of them. Notaries are typically available through your bank for free, or may be available through your local library for free, or for a nominal fee.
The Huntsville-Madison County Library offers notary services at some branches for $1 per document.
The Jefferson County Library Co-op offers notary services for free.
Contact your library directly if you can’t find information about notary services on the internet (typically “<county> county library notary” will help you find what you need).
My county doesn’t do birth certificate court orders! What now?
From here you have two options:
Option 2 may not be possible, but if you’re out of options, you can give that a try. You’ll need to make sure to fill out the Petition and Order to correspond with the county you live in and the county you’re filing in. The web form linked above will accommodate this.
You’ll need a photo ID to file your documents with the probate court. If you don’t have a valid form of photo ID, make sure to contact your probate court and see what forms of ID they will accept.
The fee paid to the probate court may vary based on location and number of pages in the filing. Using this guide will result in five pages being filed, bringing the total to around $37.25. Typically it can be paid in cash, though check, card, and money order might work. Make sure to contact your probate court if you’re unsure.
Bring with you the following to your probate court office:
Because the filing fee is based on page, you’ll need to write “Exhibit A” at the top of the Letter of Transition and “Exhibit B” at the top of the Name Change Order, if the clerk thinks that’s a good idea.
Your probate court may send the Application and supporting documents to Vital Records for you. If so, you’ll also need:
If they don’t send the Application to Vital Records, make sure to ask them for copies of the documents as processed, and perhaps a Certified letter from the court stating that the copies are official.
Print and fill out the Application to Change an Alabama Birth Certificate (cropped from the Vital Records website). If you’re changing both the name and gender marker simultaneously, you’ll need two copies of the form.
The two copies should be identical except for the “What changes are you requesting?” field, which should be written on the two forms as:
All other fields under the “Birth” section should match the information on your current birth certificate.
Only one change should be indicated on each: name on one, gender marker on the other. This is honestly so confusing, but they’ll know what you mean, especially if you include instructions. You’re requesting two changes to be made simultaneously, and a number of copies to be sent back with both changes made on all of them.
You’ll need to mail the following to Vital Records, if your own probate court doesn’t mail the application for you:
Address the letter to:
Center for Health Statistics
Attn: Birth Amendments
P.O. Box 5625
Montgomery, Alabama 36103-5625
Cost Breakdown
You can submit the application for as little as $20, and receive one certified copy of the amended birth certificate.
However it’s highly recommended that you expedite it for $15, and perhaps get multiple copies (at $6 apiece). The total for two expedited copies would be $41. If you need assistance with this, reach out to gender@altrac.works.
The Check
When writing the check, make it out to “Center for Health Statistics”. It’s recommended to put in the memo line “Amend birth certificate” along with the number of copies and a note to expedite it if you’ve chosen to.
Include Instructions
You may want to include a letter outlining the changes you want made. Feel free to use the following:
<date>
Please find enclosed two applications for the Change of an Alabama Birth Certificate, submitted on my behalf. I would like both changes (Name and Gender) to be made at the same time, so I have enclosed a single application fee of $20, in addition to $15 for expedited service and <$6 * # of additional copies> for <# of additional copies> copies – a check totaling <$>. In addition to the applications, please find enclosed the court-certified supporting documents and copies of requisite identification.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out at <phone number> or <email address>.
<thanks>
<current legal name>
Alabama Driver License
Driver licenses are handled by ALEA (the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency), and you can renew it (to update the info) for $38.75.
When you go to an ALEA office (which may be included at your local “DMV,” license office, or “Service Center”), tell them you need to update info on your driver license. When they ask what info, tell them you need the gender marker changed to correspond with your birth certificate, then just hand them the birth certificate. You should not need to explain why you’re changing this, or what medical procedures you’ve undergone. You have a right to dignity here.
Don't let them tell you you need to provide your personal medical details. You've now gone through the process outlined in the Code of Alabama to update your sex marker, and they have to honor that change. In the unlikely event that they still give you guff, try again with a different office. Keep up your nerve!
Other Alabama Documents
You should be able to update the gender marker on other legal documents using your amended birth certificate. Write in if you’ve completed that with any obscure documents, and we’ll include them in this guide!
Federal Documents
At this time, the ACLU is discouraging people from updating the gender marker on their passports. You may want to likewise be careful about updating your gender on legal documents with other federal federal administrations (Social Security, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), etc).
It worked??
Congratulations! If you followed this guide and it worked for you, please write in to askmeaboutmybirth@altrac.works!
Checklist (incomplete)