These guides are not written by lawyers, nor should they be interpreted as legal advice. They are based on the personal experiences of many members of the North Alabama transgender and non-binary community.

Lawyers

A lawyer is generally not required when updating your documentation. However, if you are having trouble with this process we recommend:

Maynard Cooper

Changing your name

The process for changing your name varies by county. The goal here is to get a Court Order Changing Name, which you can then use to update other documents.

There's specific info below for Madison, Limestone, and Morgan counties.

Madison county

A community member has created a good guide for changing your name. The guide was created for Madison County, but the process is similar for other counties.

You'll need to fill out the appropriate paperwork and bring it to the Madison county probate office (which is in the Madison County Services Center) along with the other documents listed on the forms.

After a several weeks (~6 currently), the court order for name change will be mailed to you.

You may also need to specifically ask them to return your birth certificate.

Limestone county

You'll need to fill out a name change request form and schedule a hearing with the county probate judge in Athens. The clerk will inform you of all the paperwork to bring.

At the scheduled hearing, the probate judge will review your documents and you'll need to swear and affirm to a few things. Once that's done you'll get 3 copies of your court ordered name change.

The office staff and judge are very friendly, so don't be intimidated! This process typically only takes about a week to get scheduled.

Morgan county

Please refer to this page for details on the process in Morgan county.

Other counties

If you're having trouble locating your county's 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.

After you get your court order

Once you have a court order for your name change, the first place to visit is Social Security.

If you're able to print, you can save time by completing page 5 of Form SS-5 in advance. At this stage, it is possible to simultaneously update your gender marker with them when submitting Form SS-5 (see below Gender Marker section for details). This must be done eventually if changing your gender marker, and can be completed without providing any medical documentation. Checking this box now may save you time later.

When you update with Social Security they will give you a letter indicating that you requested changes. This letter is important, so hold on to it!

24 hours after updating with Social Security you can update your driver's license. Most DMVs should be able to change your name. Be sure to bring your letter from Social Security in addition to your court order. While you're at the DMV, you should also update your car registration and title.

Once you've updated your driver's license you should start updating all the other places that know your name. Some important places to notify:

Your employer's HR department
Banks
Credit card companies
And many more (it's amazing how many people know your name!)

Updating your gender marker

Currently, having an updated birth certificate is the quickest way to change your gender marker on other legal docs (like your driver's license). If you're at least on hormones and can get a letter from a doctor or other provider, this process may be possible for you.

At this time, Alabama does not offer a nonbinary gender identification.

Birth Certificate

Following the letter of the law in Alabama, you must obtain a letter of transition from a medical provider to update the gender on your birth certificate.

If you have an Alabama birth certificate, you can use this guide from ALTRAC to update it without the use of a lawyer. This has been proven to work in Madison County, and could potentially work in other counties.

Morgan County will not process birth certificate changes. If you know of any other counties that claim to not have jurisdiction, please notify the team at gender@altrac.works.

If you were born outside Alabama, refer to the specific guide for your state.

Alabama Driver's License

ALEA will update the gender marker on a driver's license when presented with an amended birth certificate.

Once you've received certified copies of your amended birth certificate, you can bring one to an ALEA office at a DMV, service center, or other licensing office. Find a local office here.

If you've had "full" bottom surgery (excluding orchiectomy, etc) there is a shorter path to changing the gender marker on your driver's license. Based on current ALEA policy, letters regarding other gender-affirming surgeries will not be enough to change the gender marker with. The letter will need to be from the surgeon and say that they "performed and completed" "gender reassignment surgery".

Passport

At this time (January 2025), the ACLU is recommending that people not update the gender markers on their passports.

Similar to passports, it may not be a good idea at this time (January 2025) to attempt to update one's gender marker with Social Security.