Social Security

Name Change

You must submit the following information, in person, at a Social Security Office near you. Go to the Social Security Administration's Website for a listing of locations.

1. A document showing your previous name and an identifiable feature such as your date of birth, age, or social security number and a document showing your current name and the same identifiable feature. For example you can show your social security card with your previous name and your license with your current name if your license has your Social Security Number on it. You could also show your birth certificate with your previous name and your license with your current name.
2. A document showing your previous and current names listed together, such as the court order for your name change.

You must submit the following information, in person, at a Social Security Office near you. Go to the Social Security Administration's Website for a listing of locations.

1. An original and certified document stating your present, legally changed gender (for example, an amended birth certificate).
2. A completed SS5 form available here.
3. A letter from a surgeon stating that surgery has been completed. This letter must be an official, original letter.

Passports

Name Change

You must submit:

1. A completed DS-5044 form (Passport Amendment/Validation Application), which you can download here. Use this form only if you have a current, valid passport that was issued one year ago at most. If your passport is older than one year, you will need to use the DS-82 form (Application for a U.S. Passport by Mail), which you can download here. Unfortunately, this means you will have to pay all of the fees associated with getting a new passport.
2. A certified copy of a marriage certificate or name change court degree to prove that your name has legally changed.
3. Your current passport.

All of this information should be mailed to the corresponding address below:

Using the DS-5044	Using the DS-82
Using the United States Postal Service
National Passport Processing P.O. Box 13290 Philadelphia, PA 19101-3290	National Passport Processing Post Office Box 371971 Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7971
Using another mail delivery service
National Passport Processing ATTN: Department 13290 1617 Brett Road New Castle, DE 19720	Passport Services Lockbox ATTN: Password Supervisor, 371971 500 Ross Street, Room 154-0670 Pittsburgh, PA 15262-0001

Gender Change

You must submit:

1. Evidence of citizenship and proof of identity (for example, a driver's license or birth certificate).
2. A photo that is a good likeness of current appearance.
3. A fee of $85 to have a new passport issued.
4. Medical documentation stating that you have had or are planning on having surgery.

For Pre Op transpeople, this documentation consists of a detailed statement from a surgeon with whom you have plans to undergo surgery. This statement must outline the plans for your surgery. If you are traveling to undergo it, the passport agency will issue a temporary passport valid for one year.

All of this information should be mailed to the following address:
Charleston Passport Center
Attention: Amendments
1269 Holland Street
Charleston, SC 29405

There is a tendency for the State Department to “endorse” or simply “stamp over” the previous gender marker on a passport. The stamp states that a change of sex has taken place on a particular date. NCTE has been told that this happens if the passport is valid for a few more years. The Agency does not like to reissue passports so they simply use the stamp. The National Passport Information Center suggests that to get around this, you should start over completely by requesting a new passport. Send in all the above documentation with a letter stating why you need a new passport and not a stamp-over.

Please contact NCTE if you have recently had problems changing your passport information.

Links

Social Security Administration

State Department's Travel Section

Lambda Legal