NAME AND GENDER CHANGE NYS

NYS Department of Health
 
On June 5, 2014, the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) heeded the call and amended the guidelines for gender changes on birth certificates issued by the NYS DOH. (This does not include birth certificates for individuals born in NYC, which issues it’s own birth certificates.)
 
The NYS DOH no longer requires sterilizing surgery in order for an individual to correct the gender on their birth certificate.
 
The new guidelines require an “affidavit on professional letterhead from a physician (MD or DO) or nurse practitioner or physician assistant, license in the United States …that the applicant has undergone appropriate clinical treatment …”
 
There are additional requirements for the language of the affidavit, but removing the surgery requirement is HUGE.
 
Transgender individuals, allies, advocates, and organizations, such as the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and Affirming Transgender Rights, that work for transgender equality applaud this change. 
 
Within hours of the news of the change in the guidelines, I began receiving happy emails from name change clients asking what they need to do to get their birth certificate gender corrected ASAP.
 
Why transgender individuals are so excited and in such a hurry
 
This is the final step for transgender individuals born in NYS (outside NYC) to get their identity documents all aligned with their gender!
 
Both joy and relief are filling NYS-born transgender individuals.
 
The ability for them to be recognized in their correct gender on all of their identity documents – driver’s license, with social security, on their passport, and now on their birth certificates – is LIFE CHANGING.
 
NYS DOH says that processing the applications will take approximately 3 months, but it is my hope that the NYS DOH recognizes the importance to the individual applicants – and to all of us of – and that they are able to make the process as speedy as possible.
 
This change should also please NYS taxpayers
 
Perhaps you don’t know anyone who is transgender.
 
Or perhaps the transgender individuals that you do know have been lucky enough to work for employers who value an employee for his or her skill and commitment and are unconcerned about an employee’s gender.
 
And perhaps they are lucky enough to own their own home or have a landlord who is happy to receive rent rather than focus on a tenant’s gender identity.
 
If this is the case, you may not be aware of the huge percentage of transgender individuals who lose jobs when they transition to their correct gender and cannot find new jobs because of discrimination.
 
This discrimination in employment costs the State of New York “more than $1 million in state Medicaid expenditures” annually.
 
You may be unaware that a huge percentage of transgender individuals are made homeless because of discrimination based on the fact that they are transgender.
 
Discrimination in housing costs New York State “as much as $5.9 million annually in federal and state housing program expenditures.”
 
How a gender correct birth certificates help
 
How does the change to the guidelines for correction of gender on NYS DOH issued birth certificates make a difference?
 
Previously, an individual who needed to prove citizenship for employment (as we all now do) who either had no passport* or one with an incorrect gender, had to use their birth certificate for proof of citizenship and the right to work in this country.
 
If that person had a birth certificate issued by the NYS DOH, their gender could not be corrected without expensive and sterilizing surgery. Thus, an employee was “outed” to the employer before beginning work.
 
This is not a hypothetical problem. I know many people who have been offered jobs who have seen those job offers revoked when an employer becomes aware that they are transgender.
 
NYS DOH birth certificates will no longer “out” transgender individuals. Thus, many transgender individuals will be able to enter the workforce who were not able to do so before.
 
This benefits NYS taxpayers because transgender workers will generate millions in income tax revenues. And the fact that they are working  and can likely now find housing, since birth certificates will now confirm gender, will reduce the housing and healthcare costs caused by transgender individuals being unemployed and homeless due to discrimination.
 
Seems we all have reason to celebrate!
 
Byrgen
 
*It may seem like a no-brainer for transgender individuals to simply get passports with their correct gender as proof of the right to work. However, the cost of obtaining a passport can be prohibitive for individuals who cannot work because of discrimination.

New York State Birth Certificate - (Policy updated as of 05/23/14)
New York State's birth certificate policy has recently been updated to remove surgical and hormonal requirements. For more information, please see [url=http://www.nytransguide.org/local--files/know-your-rights/How to Change Your Birth Certificate in New York State - New Policy.pdf]How to Change Your New York State Birth Certificate[/url]. For an example email to send to Vital Records, please see [url=http://www.nytransguide.org/local--files/know-your-rights/NYS Birth Certificate Change - Draft Email.pdf]Vital Records Email Example[/url].
 
 How to Change the Gender Marker on Your Birth Certificate in New York State
If you were born in New York City, the New York State Department of Health cannot assist you, your birth certificate is on file and under the exclusive jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Health. Please see How to Change the Gender Marker on Your Birth Certificate in New York City
If you were born within New York State (outside of New York City), submit the following documents to the New York State Department of Health:
To change a name on a birth certificate filed in New York State outside of New York City, a court order is required. The order must bear the court seal and be certified by the clerk of the court. Include certified proof of publication if required in your jurisdiction. Please be sure the order includes the following information needed to identify the individual named on the birth certificate: birth name, date and place of birth.
Individuals seeking to change the gender marker on their birth certificate must make a request in writing to the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records. Each case will be reviewed individually and determined based on the following documents:
1. A completed Application for Correction of Certificate of Birth (DOH-297) signed by the applicant. This application indicates:
o the applicant’s name, date of birth, parents’ names on existing birth certificate, and place of birth, and
o the change being requested, including the corrected gender designation and, if applicable, name change.
2. A certified copy of the applicant’s current birth certificate or a notarized affidavit from the applicant confirming that they are 18 years of age or older. In each case they need to submit a Notarized Affidavit of Gender Error, substantially similar to the one enclosed, attesting that the applicant has been living in their correct gender immediately preceding the application.
 
And either (3) or (4):
3. A notarized affidavit from a physician (MD or DO) or nurse practitioner or physician assistant, confirming that surgical procedures have been performed on the applicant to complete sex reassignment.
4. A notarized affidavit on professional letterhead from a physician (MD or DO) or nurse practitioner or physician assistant, licensed in the United States that have treated, or reviewed and evaluated, the gender-related medical history of the applicant. The notarized affidavit must include a statement noting that the provider is making his/her findings upon independent and unbiased review and evaluation and is not related to the applicant. The letter must include:
o the physician (MD or DO) or nurse practitioner or physician assistant’s license number
o language stating that the applicant has undergone appropriate clinical treatment for a person diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria as defined in the most current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders OR language stating that the applicant has undergone appropriate clinical treatment for a person diagnosed with Transsexualism as defined in the most current edition of
 
 
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems; or as these diagnoses may be referred to in future editions.
 
As soon as all documentation is provided, it is submitted for legal and medical review. Processing takes approximately three months. One certified copy will be provided following the amendment, any additional copies are $30 each.
Additional notes:
 When a new certificate of birth is made, the Commissioner will substitute the new certificate for the certificate of birth on file, if any, and will send the registrar of the district in which the birth occurred a copy of the new certificate of birth. The registrar will make a copy of the new certificate for the local record and hold the contents of the original local record confidential. The original state record and the local record will not be released or otherwise divulged except by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
 If an applicant is incarcerated pursuant to a state sentence of imprisonment, the application for correction of certificate of birth must first be submitted through the appropriate state judicial or legal process, then through the New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records.
o If an incarcerated applicant’s criminal history includes one or more felony convictions enumerated in Article 6 of the Civil Rights Law or its equivalent, if committed in another jurisdiction, the application shall for each such conviction specify such felony conviction, the date of such conviction or convictions, and the court in which such conviction or convictions were entered.
o At the same time that the application is submitted for consideration, the applicant shall serve, in like manner as a notice of a motion upon an attorney in an action, a copy of the application upon the district attorney of every county (or comparable jurisdiction) in which such person has been convicted of such felony and upon the court or courts in which the sentence for such felony was entered.
 If the applicant is under community supervision, the applicant shall submit a letter from their department of correction and community supervision (or comparable entities), on official letterhead TO THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, BUREAU OF VITAL RECORDS, with knowledge of the applicant's history certifying that there are no public safety concerns with the application.
 If you have any questions, please contact Guy Warner, Director, Bureau of Vital Records directly at (518) 474-5245 or email vr@health.state.ny.us
 
To start the process:
 To start the process of changing your birth certificate in New York State, email the Department of Vital Records at vr@health.state.ny.us. Below is a draft email: Hello,
I was recently informed that New York State's policy around amending the gender marker on a birth certificate has changed. I would like to make this change. Can you tell me what paperwork I need to fill out and how I should go about submitting it? Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
The Department of Vital Records will then email you the updated letter containing the criteria for changing your birth certificate, as the application and an example of a Notarized Affidavit form.
__________________________________________________________
If you use a physician letter, it must come from a licensed physician with whom you have a patient relationship and who is familiar with your transition-related treatment. This may be any physician who is familiar with your treatment, including a primary care physician or a specialist. All certifications must be on the physician’s office letterhead and include all of the information seen in the sample letter below, including the physician’s license or certificate number.
 
 (This will work in NYS for DMV and Social Security*)
*Social Security requires this format.
*NYC  has their own rules still  which have not been updated since the 1970’s
 I, (physician’s full name), (physician’s medical license or certificate number), (issuing U.S. State/Foreign Country of medical license/certificate), am the physician of (name of patient), with whom I have a doctor/patient relationship and whom I have treated (or with whom I have a doctor/patient relationship and whose medical history I have reviewed and evaluated).
(Name of patient) has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender (specify male or female).
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the forgoing is true and correct.
Signature
Typed Name
Date

. This below can work in NYS   . 
Used by Mallory Livingston( http://transgenderalliance.ning.com/  )  quote..

"If you feel that publication of your change of name in a classified ad in the newspaper (which is normally required) would threaten your safety, you can ask the judge to waive that requirement."



"Pursuant to Civil Rights Law §64-a, I respectfully request that the publication provisions of Civil Rights Law §§ 63 and 64 be waived and rendered inapplicable because publication would jeopardize my personal safety. Publication would out me as a transgender person to the general public and violence against transgender people permeates our society."


_______________________________________________________

According to the law, if your safety is in danger you can have your name change request "sealed" right away [New York Civil Rights Law section 64-a(2)]. A sealed name change request cannot be found in the public records. The court file will stay sealed while the court considers the request.

After the judge rules on your name change, If the court finds that your safety is in danger, the law also says that you do not have to publish the name change in the newspaper and the court can seal your name change for good [New York Civil Right Law section 64-a(1)].
Please note that you cannot use this for the DYI route.   
  
http://www.nycourthelp.gov/diy/nameChange.html
 
Below are blank forms.
BLANK-namechange_poor-ord.doc   (If you are low income you may be able to file for free, this is the petition to ask for that.)
 
BLANK-name change order.doc
 
BLANK-name change petition.doc
 
BLANK-REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL INTERVENTION.doc