Connecticut name change for transgender people

Disclaimer: This is legal talk, not legal advice. Laws vary by state, and some of the information discussed on this page may not be applicable in your case. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information and provide it without warranty. Laws change and this information may contain errors and omissions. It is up to you to confirm any information herein by doing your own research.

In June 2008 a reader sent this:

I had my name changed last month in Avon, CT. The whole thing took 2 weeks. First you got to make an appointment. You show them your birth certificate and id, then they send you a letter telling you your appointment. They also ask for your social security number. Then you show up to meet with the judge in her office. She will ask you a series of questions, then you get 4 copies of your court order. There was no need to list anything in the newspaper.

In August 2003 a reader sent the following:

I am including a link for you to a document called "the Paper Chase" which describes the process of Name change in the State of Connecticut. The link is to the web site of the Twenty Club, the TS Support Group in the area.

http://www.twentyclub.org/docs/paper.html

Another reader sent this in August 2003 as well:

I recently (4/03) went through mine and you can find my story at:

http://members.aol.com/judithtrans/myhomepage/namechange.html

My only caveat is that I went through the Gender Identity Clinic of New England (GICNE) which can be found online at www.gicne.org . I suspect that GICNE is one of the few organizations or entities that the probate courts and DMV are comfortable as far as rubber-stamping things - and that letters from other professionals might require a bit more background info or evidence or research on the courts part. No corraboration of that, just a
gut feel based on what I hear around the community (problems and hassles in getting a name change ) vs. my experience (no problems, no hassle).

Another factor might be that I went through courts and the DMV in the urban center of Hartford; perhaps out in the hinterlands (burbs and rural areas) there are more problems to be had.

GICNE gets a bad rap around these parts (too expensive, only game in town, money grubbing) but they worked out fine for me.

Other resources

Connecticut state law

Precedent for transsexuals

[no specific case noted]