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

This presentation from the Magic City Legal Center covers the process for name and gender marker changes, for adults and minors. The slides are also available.

A lawyer is generally not required when updating your documentation (except when attempting to change gender marker on an Alabama birth certificate). However, if you are having trouble with this process there are two legal firms we recommend:

Changing your name

The process for changing your name varies by county:

Madison county

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.

A community member has written this more detailed guide which may be useful too.

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.

After the 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

In most circumstances, surgery is not required to update your legal gender markers. Hormone treatment or other steps indicating "medical transition" are usually required.

As far as we are aware, no form of non-binary gender marker has been obtained on any official Alabama state documentation.

Passport

Passport gender markers are entirely self-identified. Refer to this guide from the state department for details.

Social Security

Refer to this article from the Social Security Administration. Marker changes have been done successfully at both the Huntsville and Decatur Social Security office. The link to the form on their page is currently broken, but you can find it here: Application for a Social Security Card (Form SSA-5).

Birth Certificate

If you were born in Alabama, there are a few lawyers in Birmingham that have helped several people update their birth certificates without requiring surgery. See the section about lawyers at the top of this page.

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

Alabama Driver's License

According to ALEA's interpretation of Alabama law, proof of GCS is required to change the marker on you driver's license. However, ALEA will also update the marker on your driver's license if you provide an updated birth certificate with your new gender marker. Thus, depending on your circumstances, it is possible to update your marker without GCS.

Once you've updated your birth certificate (see below for alternatives), bring your updated birth certificate and doctor's letter indicating medical transition to the Madison County Service Center DMV or DMV on Governors Drive in Huntsville. Most DMVs cannot update your marker, but these offices are known to work and several people have successfully updated their markers at these locations. The offices have been known to reject people who don't bring both the doctor's letter and the updated birth certificate.

In a few documented cases, it seems to be possible to get an updated gender marker on a license without changing birth certificate. This is done with a letter from your doctor after having any gender affirming surgery.

One example of a letter that worked:

To whom it may concern,

[Name] is a patient under my care and on [date] she had a bilateral inguinal orchiectomy gender reassignment performed and completed by me. There were no complications during the procedure and the patient is doing well.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

[Doctor’s signature]

Another working template of a letter after top surgery:

[Name] has been a patient of mine since [Date]. Both psychological and medical testing has been carried out to determine [Name]'s true gender and they have undergone all necessary surgical treatment for the transition from male to female on [Date]. This qualifies [Name] to be legally considered female within the guidelines of the particular jurisdiction in which she seeks to legally change her gender status from male to female.

There's some indication that these letters might no longer be sufficient. The letter may also need to specifically say "sex surgery transition is complete".