Name Change Experiences

[Guest Sotha]

Hello everybody,

My mom asks me questions quite often, and while I am able to answer most of them, there are some for which I just don't know what to say. Often, it is because I merely do not have the experience to actually address them for myself. To help bring some light to these questions of hers, I asked her a while ago (and several more times after that) to compile a list of questions for me so that I may post them here for you to answer yourselves and talk about your experiences. This is most likely merely the first one.

If it is of any importance, I live in LA County, CA. My mom doesn't actually know yet, but I am already in the process of trying to change my name (and gender) in my High School (hopefully on the records and official forms too, though I don't know about that). All I know about that so far though is that I need to talk to the Registrar about it (and of course have parental consent, which is not a problem).

This is her question:

"What experiences did other people (you) go through changing name (gender too) while still in High School?

This is in regards to school records, college applications, Social Security Number, Driver's License, etc."

Any input is welcome. It doesn't need to be about high school experiences either depending on what you're talking about (like the driver's license, though I know for changing the gender marker you only need to fill out a form, or something simple like that).

Thanks,

Kate

[Guest miss kindheart]

Hi Kate,

<< hug >>>

Every state has there own laws with regard to changing your name, maybe do a search on your states website for the requirements, and maybe even download the required forms to submit.

As for changing to gender marker, I believe that you have to wait till you have surgery such as SRS or an Orchidectomy.

vanna

[Guest KimberlyF]

I don't know what you need to get anything like a DL state by state, but with the new requirements for a passport, maybe you could get one of those (official federal ID) with the new gender marker and then get some of the other things like a DL the very first time with the new gender marker?

[Guest Amanda joan]

Sotha,

I agree with Kimberly.

You will need to start at the circuit court in your county. They do this all the time for newly married woman. The forms are a bit different for us but, they will have those ready for you. They is going to be fees of course and some state require that these kind of name changes be posted in a local newspaper. It cost me $125 to file with the court and $30 for the news ad. I was told if you get the passport first even before you have surgery you can get the gender marker that matches your name. Then next step is Social Security and then the Driver's License. Doing things in this order should make the next steps less difficult. The thing about filing anything with the courts is they take a long time to do everything. So be patient and relize that Colleges have transgendered students too.

Peace & Love Amanda Joan