LEGAL TRANSITION

If you require legal advice we recommend contacting the  Trans Legal Clinic, a grassroots, trans-led legal clinic providing free and accessible legal support to trans people across the UK.  They are able to assist with a variety of cases, including discrimination, gender-based violence, housing & homelessness, gender recognition & access to healthcare.

Free Deed Polls

Deed polls are a statutory declaration of a change in name. They declare that you have given up your old name and adopt your new name “for all purposes”.

If you are over 16 you can make your own 'unenrolled' deed poll for free. You will need two witnesses over the age of 18 to sign, preferably living at a different address and not close relatives. They do not need to be well known to you.

Trans Aid Bristol have a template you can use here, provided by a solicitor.

We recommend producing up to 10 copies of original deed polls, as various banks and other organisations may take these and either keep them or lose them in the return post.

You can use this deed poll straight away as proof of your new name.  Deed polls can be used to change IDs; see the section below for more information.

Certified Deed Poll

You may be asked by an organisation for a “certified” deed poll. While this isn’t a legal requirement, this is at the organisation’s discretion to make such a request.

A certified deed poll has to be signed by a solicitor and usually costs £10-20. If they don’t know you, the solicitor will likely ask to see ID to confirm you are who you say you are. They will add a note at the bottom to the effect of: “I have no reason to doubt the authenticity of this deed poll.” 

Enrolled Deed Poll

In very limited circumstances, an organisation may request an enrolled deed poll, or enrolled declaration. Organisations usually do not have to request one of these and should accept a statutory declaration unless they liaise with the courts in their capacity in working with you.

An enrolled deed poll must be submitted following the instructions on the GOV.UK website here.

Things to consider with an enrolled deed poll:

• It costs £50.32 not including postage;

• It puts your change of name on the public record, meaning your new name will be forever associated with your old name;

• If you can’t afford to change your ID (see below), banks can accept enrolled declarations to change your account holder name;

• Those that witness the form need to have known you for 10 years and be a property owner, but they can’t be a family member.

Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs)

A Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) allows you to change your gender marker on your birth certificate, which some local and central government services use to categorise certain information about you (eg. pensions, National Insurance Number, etc.)

In the UK, only “M” or “F” legal gender markers are available.

A GRC will change your gender marker retrospectively and locks down your previous records, which are only to be opened under extremely specific circumstances. These privacy rules are robust - for example, it is a criminal offence for someone to disclose that you have a GRC without your consent.

The majority of the process can be carried out online through the the GOV.UK website.

You do not need a GRC to change your gender marker on your driving licence, passport or medical records.

Things to consider when applying for a GRC:

• You need to have lived in your gender for two years. The easiest way of proving this is with a dated deed poll.

• A GRC has limited use cases - it applies to birth, adoption, marriage and death certificates. 

• It can be costly to apply - while the online application fee has now been reduced to £6, you may have to pay additional charges in gathering the relevant documentation.

Changing Identification Documents (IDs)

Changing IDs can be complicated. For the smoothest ride, we recommend you change your passport first, if you can afford it.

UK Passport

It costs between £94.50 - £107 to change your passport. The documents you need to provide will vary depending on what you want to do.

If you want to just change your name on your passport, you can send a deed poll (see above) and proof of your name change (eg. payslip, bank statement, council letter, employment offer letter, etc.) alongside a normal passport application.

If you want to change your gender marker on your passport, you can send the above information plus one of the following: GRC (see above), birth certificate or a letter from a medical professional confirming your change of gender is likely to be permanent.

Further guidance is available on the GOV.UK website.

UK Driving Licence

You can send off a form to the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) to change your name and/or title from the GOV.UK website.

You must send your old licence away with a passport photo and form to apply. It costs between £17-20 to change the name and/or title on your driving licence, not including postage. You can still apply if licence has been lost, stolen or destroyed.

If you own a vehicle you must also update your vehicle log book, which is usually free and follows the same process as changing your address.

Other Organisations

Other organisations will vary widely in what they require you to submit to change your name or gender marker. Many will require a deed poll, but some may not. Some may require certain types of proof of address, some may not. Unfortunately, the list is too broad for us to advise on any specifics here!

Changing Gender Markers

A letter from a medical professional, such as a GP or psychologist, confirming that your change in gender is likely to be permanent, is all that is needed to change your gender marker. You do not need a GRC (see above).

Some medical professionals may charge you to give you the letter - costs vary from practice to practice, but it is likely to cost around £20.

A word of warning: if you change your gender marker with the NHS, you will be issued a new NHS number. Some of your medical records may be lost in the transfer, so make sure you download or access a copy of your records before the change is made, just in case! You will also likely lose certain medical reminders, or be sent incorrect ones (eg. smear tests). These can be set manually by your practice, so contact your practice administrator to sort it out.

Employment and the Equality Act

If you’re having employment issues, we would highly recommend that you find legal schemes that can give advice to LGBT+ people. Some trade unions may offer this, though smaller ones may not have specific LGBT+ advisers available.

If you are unsure where to go, we would recommend contacting ACAS who can help with any work related issues. If you win an employment tribunal with ACAS, you may be able to claim a 25% pay uplift.

If you are facing harassment or discrimination, you are protected under the Equality Act. The Act covers 9 protected characteristics, including: having a protected characteristic; being perceived as having one and; being associated with someone who has one.

For trans people, the protected characteristic definition is wide and includes social, medical or legal transition. It is: "A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if they are proposing to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone a process (or part of a process) to reassign their sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.”

In order to make a claim under the Equality Act, the harassment or discrimination claim must be made within 3 months of the incident or, if ongoing, within 3 months of the latest incident. If you are making an employment claim and it is currently active, the claim "stops the clock" for approx. 1 month. You will also need to send a claim to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).