After much research and thought I went thought the process of legally changing my name. The process varies state and county, this is my experience with the process in King County, Washington.

Do your homework

Everything went very smoothly for me and I think that main reason was I did my homework. I started out with a Google search of “name change in king county Washington” which lead me to the official government site which contained the appropriate forms.

Your state should have the forms available online but you may have to go pick them up at an office. Make sure you read and re-read everything. Filling out everything correctly will make it a lot easier when it comes time to turn them in.

Besides the state resource site, visit forums, or other trans resources (like this one, you get a bonus point) A great site I found was TGRoadmap.

Have Confidence

You’ve heard it said that attitude is everything. I don’t always agree with this but in this situation I do. As someone who never had been to court before saying I was nervous was just the tip of the iceberg. In my case I got called up first (eek) I walked up there with confidence followed the judges instructions and all went well.

Be Sure

Changing your name is a big step. Be sure it’s something you really want to do. I would also suggest using your preferred name for some time before making the leap. Try on different names until you find one that is you. The main reason I say this is that changing your name will cost money (in my case around $180), more importantly it’s a pain to get all accounts in order and not something I think anyone should have to do more than once.

Smile

Smile, be happy, and enjoy being just a little more of who you want to become.

Posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 11:00 pm to Transitioning