Changing Your BC in Washington State
Hey guys-
I've been emailing back and forth with some people from the Department of Health about what exactly is needed to change the gender marker on your birth certificate.
Thank you for your inquiry about amending the gender and name on our birth certificate. The documents that we require are listed in the next paragraph. There is no fee to change the record. The only fee is the cost of obtaining a copy of the updated birth record, which is $20.
People who want to change the gender designation on their own birth certificates must make a request in writing to the State Registrar at the Department of Health. Requests must include:
· A letter from the requestor identifying the record by name, date of birth, parents’ names, and place of birth and explaining the change being requested and giving appropriate new information such as name and gender;
· A letter, on applicable letterhead, from the requestor’s medical or osteopathic physician stating that the requestor has had the appropriate clinical treatment ; and
· An original or certified copy of a Court Ordered Name Change, if requesting a name change.
This request should be sent to:
Center for Health Statistics
P.O. Box 9709
Olympia, WA 98507-9709
This response came from someone at the DOH Office of Health Statistics.When I responded asking what would be considered "the apropriate clinical treatment", I got the following response from the Deputy State Registrar-Center for Health Statistics:
This is up to your physician. You and your physician agreed to a course of medical treatment that would get you to your goal of changing gender. We do not need to know the details. All we ask is that your physician certify that whatever treatment that you agreed upon has been completed.
To me, this seems pretty easy for changing all of your documents. You just need a letter from a doctor stating that you've undergone apropriate clinical treatment to change genders. I haven't actually tried it, as I just received that second email this morning, but I did already call my doctor's office requesting just such a letter. Once I've gotten through the process I'll post an update letting you know how it went.
Any one have experience changing their docs in Washington with just that much info? How'd it go?
Haven't done it yet, but will be x-posting in FTM
I've been emailing back and forth with some people from the Department of Health about what exactly is needed to change the gender marker on your birth certificate.
Thank you for your inquiry about amending the gender and name on our birth certificate. The documents that we require are listed in the next paragraph. There is no fee to change the record. The only fee is the cost of obtaining a copy of the updated birth record, which is $20.
People who want to change the gender designation on their own birth certificates must make a request in writing to the State Registrar at the Department of Health. Requests must include:
· A letter from the requestor identifying the record by name, date of birth, parents’ names, and place of birth and explaining the change being requested and giving appropriate new information such as name and gender;
· A letter, on applicable letterhead, from the requestor’s medical or osteopathic physician stating that the requestor has had the appropriate clinical treatment ; and
· An original or certified copy of a Court Ordered Name Change, if requesting a name change.
This request should be sent to:
Center for Health Statistics
P.O. Box 9709
Olympia, WA 98507-9709
This response came from someone at the DOH Office of Health Statistics.When I responded asking what would be considered "the apropriate clinical treatment", I got the following response from the Deputy State Registrar-Center for Health Statistics:
This is up to your physician. You and your physician agreed to a course of medical treatment that would get you to your goal of changing gender. We do not need to know the details. All we ask is that your physician certify that whatever treatment that you agreed upon has been completed.
To me, this seems pretty easy for changing all of your documents. You just need a letter from a doctor stating that you've undergone apropriate clinical treatment to change genders. I haven't actually tried it, as I just received that second email this morning, but I did already call my doctor's office requesting just such a letter. Once I've gotten through the process I'll post an update letting you know how it went.
Any one have experience changing their docs in Washington with just that much info? How'd it go?
Haven't done it yet, but will be x-posting in FTM