Legal Name and Gender Change in India

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.

(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 appears to be under-tested and serious security vulnerabilities which exposed your data & documents publicly have been reported recently. While the most glaring of them appear to be resolved now, things like enabling HTTPS and other such security measures don't seem to be in place yet and 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

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, inspire 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.

It is not made clear if the affidavit format can be different in case of combined application for "Revised Certificate of Identity Under Section - 7 & Identity Card" and how you can specify your correct gender identity. Some have reported using an older affidavit format stating your correct name and gender identity (see: https://transgenderindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/new-Name-and-gender-change-affidavit-format.docx) but it is as yet unclear if that will be accepted

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

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