The name change process varies by county, but typically, you can expect to go to your local clerk’s office to request the forms, you may need to be fingerprinted at the police station, and you may need to submit a legal announcement to your local paper. In some counties, the fingerprinting process is only required for people over the age of majority. Many counties also have a form you can submit to try to waive the the requirement to publish notice of your name change hearing.

On the day of your hearing, the judge will typically ask you why you’re seeking the name change, as well as asking if you’re seeking the name change for fraudulent purposes (to evade the law/debt collectors, or as a form of ID theft). They may also ask you to confirm the spelling of your new name. It’s likely that you’ll need to state your birth name at the beginning of the hearing, if that is something that you need to prepare for ahead of time. Court can feel stressful, but as long as you stay calm, explain that you’ve chosen/been using a name that better reflects your identity, and that you’re not seeking your name change for any reason other than gender-affirmation, you’re almost guaranteed to have your name change granted. In some situations, if the name change order is denied, you can petition for a return of some of your filing fees.

Resources:

National Center for Transgender Equality–ID Document Center

Michigan Courts–Name Change Forms

Livingston County, MI–Name Change Procedure

Macomb County, MI–Clerk-Court Section

Monroe County, MI–Name Changes

Oakland County, MI–Legal Name Change

St. Clair County, MI–County Courts

Washtenaw County, MI–Name Change

Wayne County, MI–Name Change (Age 1-22) and (Age 22+)

Tracy Pease, Detroit Organizer w/ VoteRiders Voter ID Help
248-818-3321 Tracy@VoteRiders.org

Tracy’s group helps people with doing their name and gender marker changes for free, they also accompany people to hearings and filings as assistance/moral support (Michigan Area).

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