I live in Ontario, Canada, and had to get the ‘long form’ of my birth certificate for an application I’m making. I’ve only had the ‘short form’ of my birth certificate until now, which is a wallet sized form containing bare bones information.

Well, finally the ‘long form’ arrived today – it consists of a simple certified photocopy of the original birth certificate form submitted by my folks upon my birth those many years ago.

Over 25 years ago I changed my name by court order and figured that this old name would have been blotted out on all official documents (the ‘short form’ contains only my new name). I was shocked to see that the ‘long form’ still had my original name on it. My old name was simply put in ( ) brackets with my new name written by hand beside it. Needless to say, many of the old emotions of why I originally changed my name came flooding over me.

I suppose when I transition M to F, that some bureaucrat will yet again drag my form from the dusty government dungeons and simply ink in “fe” in front of the current “male” for all to see that there was a ‘change’ at some time.

I would imagine various jurisdictions have differing means of modifying this sort of information. I’d appreciate hearing of others’ experiences with this. Is this just yet another example of the burdens us transgendered folk have to bear?

Thanking you all for the support and encouragement.

karrietobe

I don't know about Canada. For a resident of Minnesota (such as me), once you've had SRS you can have a Minnesota birth certificate changed to reflect the change in sex. It seems clear from what I read though that, as an out-of-state resident, the state I was born in (Pennsylvania) will not make any changes to my birth certificate. I'm hoping I'm wrong here but I don't think there's even the possibility of someone inking in 'fe' in front of male.

karrietoBe, my suggestion is that you check with a lawyer and ask them about this. Yes, I know, someone else you have to explain your situation to and hope they understand. And someone you will probably have to pay some money to. But asking a lawyer is probably the most sure way to get the true answer of how birth cirtificates are handled where you live and where you were born.

Since birth cirtificates are handled by each individual US state and each individual Canadian province, how things are done probably varies a lot from state to state and province to province.

Sorry I don't have a suggestion that doesn't involve talking with a professional person, but I think asking a lawyer is the best way to really get the information you need.

California is pretty laid back regarding TS issues. Your birth certificate can be changed after SRS, but it is a true change, not just an amendment to the old certificate. The old one is sealed, and you get a new one in your true sex. I have even heard that some have had their certificates changed before SRS with just an orchiectomy (though not sure if the state knew they only had orchiectomies).

As far as California DLs go, they can be changed before the surgery - all you need is a letter from a doctor stating you are TS.