The Florida Department of Health has clarified its internal policies
to describe what people who have completed sex reassignment surgery must do in order to
amend their Florida birth certificates.
The policy clarification was based on objective, non-political
criteria, including the need to update the policy to reflect current medical knowledge and
practice with regard to transsexual persons.
To request an amendment to a Florida birth certificate, the
registrant (the person filing to amend their birth certificate), must provide the Florida
Department of Health with the following information:
· A copy of the court order granting a change of name pursuant to
Florida Statute, Section 68.07, or a substantially similar statute from another state.
·
Once the name change is recorded,
the registrant must file a notarized affidavit from the physician who performed the sex
reassignment surgery. (The Department of
Health recommends using a form such as DH 430,
Affidavit of Amendment to Certificate of Live Birth).
The physician must include his/her medical license number in the affidavit.
·
Along with the physician’s affidavit, the
registrant must submit medical records indicating that the patient has completed sex
reassignment in accordance with appropriate medical procedures and that they are now
considered to be a member of the new gender for all medical purposes. The medical records must be signed by the
physician who performed the sex reassignment surgery.
·
The required amendment fee (currently $20) must be paid
and the record will then be amended in accordance with Florida law.
A complete Florida Name Change/Birth
Certificate Amendment kit, which will include the required forms as well as a sample
letter from a physician, is available here in PDF; the
downloadable DOC version is here.
For more information, please contact:
Karen Doering
NCLR Staff Attorney
Consultant to Equality Florida
[P] 813/873-2357
[F] 813/873-2358
doering@nclrights.org
