Legal Name and Gender Change in India

There currently are two main routes for legal name & gender change in India, the first being the older gazette approach, which is still active & may very well be preferable, please see https://transgenderindia.com/legally-change-gender-india/, https://transgenderindia.com/talk/d/3266-complete-legal-change-of-name-and-gender-experiences-and-some-important-points and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgNcGXBkfNQ for the steps & procedure there. The second is the new Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 & its rules, we outline the procedure under the same below.

The new Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020 notified and made effective from 25th September 2020: http://transgender.dosje.gov.in/docs/TG%20RULES,%202020.pdf outline the legal procedure for name and gender change in India.

**WARNING: A lot of agencies & officials have not yet updated their processes to accept the Transgender ID card for name & gender change, despite what the law and the rules specify, and may possibly require additional legal activism before they start to do so. There are a few workarounds in some cases like Aadhar & PAN with a letter from a gazetted officer, but the publication in the general gazette process outlined on https://transgenderindia.com/legally-change-gender-india/ may be preferable to the one described here, as most agencies already accept gazette publication.**

(Note: There are multiple ongoing court cases against the new law and rules (both at the Supreme court level and in some High Courts) and they may possibly be updated in the future based on the outcome of those cases)

**Official Govt Online portal: http://transgender.dosje.gov.in/**

WARNING (25th Dec 2020): The official government online portal has had serious security vulnerabilities which exposed your data & documents publicly. While the most glaring of them appear to be resolved now, we don't know if there are any other security issues that have not yet come to light, so please exercise appropriate caution

The process is roughly as follows:

* Apply for a Transgender ID card with your District Magistrate (can also be filed online via the portal above)
* Apply for a Revised certificate of identity for change of gender as binary male or female (if desired) after "medical intervention towards a gender affirming procedure" (can be done directly even without the Transgender ID card first via the portal above through a combined form)
* Use the Transgender ID card to get your name, photograph and gender updated elsewhere like your Aadhar card, drivers licence, pan card, passport, etc as outlined in the rules. **Warning**: Several govt bodies have not updated their policies to accept the Trans ID card as a valid document for updating details yet, and may require additional efforts for getting your details updated (see section below)

Note: People who have gotten their name and gender changed before the new law came into force do not need to go through any of these processes again but are still covered under the rules for protections and benefits

## Transgender ID card

This form for the Transgender ID card allows you to change your name and gender to "transgender" with a self declaration and affidavit, and **without** any physical examination or psychiatrist letter or medical certification or intrusive proof to be submitted.

This form needs to be submitted to the District Magistrate (DM) of the current place of your residence (no need of proof of residence, you need to submit a notarized affidavit stating the same and declaring your gender as outlined in Form - 2 of the rules).

You can find out who the DM for your area is online, and the form can be mailed in, delivered in person or simply submitted via the online portal. The DM has to process the form within 30 days of receiving it and either issue your ID card or a rejection with reasons. A rejection is unlikely but if issued, it can be appealed.

This ID card will be the basis for updating name, photograph and gender across all documents like Aadhar card, drivers licence, pan card, passport, birth certificate, etc as outlined in the Annexure 1 of the rules. You should not need any additional gazette notification or any additional proofs as per the rules. All your ID documents will continue to have the same ID number they had before, with just your details updated.

## Revised certificate of identity for change of gender

After undergoing "medical intervention towards a gender affirming procedure, either as a male or female", you may apply with the same DM to update it to a binary gender marker as either "male" or "female" by submitting the form along with a certificate from the Medical Superintendent or Chief Medical Officer of the "medical institution" in which you have undergone the said medical intervention.

Note: You can directly apply for this revised certificate without applying separately for the Transgender ID card first at least via the online portal, through a single form and it appears they will generate a Transgender ID card for you with your binary marker

Here "medical intervention" is defined as anything including but not limited to counselling, hormonal therapy, and surgical intervention, so even a psychiatrist's letter of support stating the same may technically be sufficient.

And the "medical institution" means any medical institution whether hospital or clinic, private or public, in rural areas or urban or overseas.

Upon receiving your submission, the DM is supposed to process it within 15 days and issue either an updated transgender ID card or a rejection with clear reasons. If they issue a rejection, it may be appealed within 90 days and they have to respond to this appeal within 60 days.

The updated Transgender ID card can then be used as the basis for updating all other documents as outlined above.

The law and rules also outline some anti-discriminatory protections in housing, employment, etc which still hold valid even after revising the certificate to a binary gender marker

## Applying Online

You can apply online via the Official Govt Online portal - http://transgender.dosje.gov.in/

The portal apparently asks you for the following while submitting the appropriate form:

These to be submitted in a JPEG or PDF format (size limited to 150kb):

* An affidavit
* A recent colour photograph
* And any identity document (You can upload multiple documents as listed in the rules)
* Signature

And you have to fill the other details, like in case of the combined revised certificate of gender identity for for male/female, "have you undergone through any medical intervention to affirm your gender" along with the hospital and doctor you visited. There doesn't appear to be a place to upload the "certificate from the medical institution" as the rules require on the portal yet, so people have been combining it into a single file along with the affidavit and uploading it there.

**Note**: You may possibly need to get in touch with your DM directly to get them to process the application after you submit it online, as several of them seem to not be aware of the portal or the new rules and are leaving the applications pending online, inspite of the clearly defined 15/30 day time limit for them to process the same

### Affidavit

The rules specify an affidavit format under Form - 2 and that it should be on a Non-judicial stamp paper of Rs.10/- and must be notarized. This affidavit also functions for the address proof clause, along with stating your gender identity and that you are transgender. You can either find a local notary or tehsil or use an online notary service to get this affidavit made and then scan and attach the same while submitting the form.

In case of combined application for "Revised Certificate of Identity Under Section - 7 & Identity Card" you can use your binary gender marker instead of "transgender" in the Affidavit, like so https://transgender.dosje.gov.in/docs/Affidavit\_Section7.pdf (See also https://transgenderindia.com/talk/d/14667-transgender-id-card/2). Some have also reported using an older affidavit format stating your correct name and gender identity successfully (see: https://transgenderindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/new-Name-and-gender-change-affidavit-format.docx)

#### Verification

It has been reported that Address and particulars verification is being done in some areas by police or officials from the DM office so that the DM can certify the same, and this appears to vary based on your local DM and their policies.

**Warning**: Unfortunately a lot of people have reported transphobia from the officials at this step, including instances of the officials outing them to their neighbours, asking to visit the police station, visiting in large groups, & taking photographs. None of which are sanctioned in the act or the rules.

## Changing documents

Please see https://transgenderindia.com/change-gender-marker-and-name/; the procedures should be similar here, but using the Transgender ID card as the supporting document in place of the gazette notification, and a lot of documents now have online portals where you can apply for changes instead of having to visit their offices physically.

**WARNING**: Not all departments and officials are fully up to date with the new act & rules, and may not have procedures in place to handle changes as required by the law, yet. You might encounter push-back and may need legal support to get your changes done in some cases/places.

### Aadhar

You can update your name & gender online via the aadhar portal - https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/

You will need to upload the Transgender ID Card by selecting the "Legal name change certificate" option as a supporting document for name change.

**WARNING**: Some have reported that this did not work for them, and they've had to get a letter from a gazetted officer instead for getting their name changed on Aadhar

### PAN Card

Process (Source):

>    1. Use e-Sign.
>
>
>    2. Fill in the form with your updated details.
>
>
>
>    3. Manually upload your documents - TG-ID, TG-Certificate, Updated Aadhar Card and a photo of your old PAN card.
>
>

Alternatives:

> 1. Publication of 'name-change' in gazette, or
>  2. A certificate from a gazetted officer stating name change along with copy of office identity proof of gazetted officer - Prescribed format for certificate from a gazetted officer: https://www.tin-nsdl.com/downloads/pan/Format-of-Gazette-Certificate\_03082012.pdf
>
>

Portal: https://www.onlineservices.nsdl.com/paam/endUserRegisterContact.html

### Passport

From https://transgenderindia.com/talk/d/15563-passport-update-with-transgender-id-card/2 :

> TL;DR the passport rules have still not been updated and officially speaking, you need a gender conformation surgery certificate. As this requirement is essentially unconstitutional, there are ongoing cases against the Union of India, but there is no ruling yet, and no revisions to the rule appear to be in sight.
>
>
> *However*, senior passport officials can overturn this requirement at their whim and I have spoken with trans people who got a binary marker based solely on their Transgender certificate (mentioning it as "a document issued by the district magistrate" seems to help, instead of mentioning it simply as the TG certificate).
>
>
>
> In the worst case, it seems the passport staff in most cases are willing to give you a T or X marker without surgery. So that's the "consolation prize" you can settle for, in the absence of a binary marker.
>
>

### Links

* https://uidai.gov.in/my-aadhaar/about-your-aadhaar/updating-data-on-aadhaar.html
* https://www.tin-nsdl.com/faqs/pan/faq-pan-reqfornewpan.html#proof-in-support

## Other topics under Gender Identity

* Non-Binary 101
* Resources on the basics of all things Trans\*
* A guide to questioning your gender
* Medical Transition in India