Guide: Updating Your Identity Documents in Colorado

Use this guide to learn more about how to update your IDs in Colorado. 

Jude’s Law

In 2019, Colorado passed Jude’s Law to simplify the process for legal name changes and gender marker corrections on identity documents (IDs) and birth certificates. This removes barriers for transgender and nonbinary Coloradans to update their documents and have accurate, reflective IDs. 

One Colorado worked with legislators and community partners to run this legislation for 4 consecutive years leading to its passage. Named after a student who testified four years in a row in support of the bill, Jude’s Law provides the options of F, M, or X on IDs and birth certificates, and removes the requirements of surgery, a doctor’s note, a court order, and newspaper publication to make changes. Read the bill.

Changing your Name

For step-by-step instructions on changing your name, visit the Colorado Name Project.

Correcting your Gender Marker

As you update your IDs, be aware that each document must be updated individually; making changes to one document, such as your birth certificate or state ID, will not carry over changes to any other document, such as a passport or social security card. Below you can learn more about the process of updating each identity document. 

Pro tip: The Colorado Name Change Project suggests updating federal ID documents first, then state ID documents. 

Federal IDs

Social Security Card

How to make updates: Follow the steps to update your gender marker on your social security card–

• Gather the required documents listed here, 
• Complete an application for a social security card Form SSA-5, and 
• Take or mail your application and documents to your local Social Security office or local Social Security Card Center. 

‍What is required: To update your gender marker, you will need to provide evidence of your identity, such as a U.S. driver’s license, state issued ID, or U.S. passport, and proof of citizenship. The gender marker(s) on your state ID or passport does not have to match the marker on your Social Security record or the updated marker you’re requesting. The Social Security Administration does not require medical or legal evidence to change the gender marker on your Social Security record.

What gender markers are available: Currently, the Social Security Administration will only issue M and F gender markers on Social Security cards. They do not issue cards with X markers. However, they do accept IDs with X markers as evidence of identity needed to update your card to another gender marker (read more above). 

For more information: Visit the Social Security website’s FAQs.

U.S. Passport

How to make updates: The Department of State recently improved their process to allow Americans to select and change the gender marker they would like printed on their U.S. passport. Simply– 

• Select or change your gender marker when completing the application process. 
• Apply in-person at a passport acceptance facility or renew by mail. 

What is required: When changing a gender marker, no additional documents are needed. When selecting a gender marker, the gender you select does not need to match the gender on your supporting documentation, such as a birth certificate, previous passport, or state ID. 

What gender markers are available: At this time, you can select M, F, or X as your gender marker.

Pro-tip: Use the Department of State’s Form Filler or download the PDF version of your passport form if you are requesting a passport with an X gender marker. 

For more information: Visit to the US Department of State website.

State IDs

Driver’s License and State IDs

Who is eligible: Any Colorado resident is eligible to change their Colorado state ID. This includes Coloradans who are “not lawfully present,” a legal term related to the type of ID that those without citizenship documentation can receive. 

How to make updates: To correct your gender marker on your Colorado ID, you must– 

• Request the change in-person at your local DMV when applying for or renewing your ID. For a list of local DMV’s, visit here. 
• At your appointment, you must present either a new Colorado birth certificate or a completed Form DR-2083 to correct your gender marker. Standard DMV fees apply.

What is required: 

• Because state DMVs rely on the social security database, you must update your gender marker with the Social Security Administration before updating your state ID. 
• Coloradans younger than 18 need a health care provider and a parent, guardian or legal representative to sign the DR-2083. 
• You must apply or renew in-person at the DMV to change your gender marker. Online renewal and renewal by mail cannot be used to update the gender marker on a Colorado driver license, identification card, or identification document. 
• Colorado law does not require residents to undergo any specific surgery, treatment, clinical care or behavioral healthcare to update their gender marker. 
• Note: the DMV may only amend a gender marker for a person’s DMV credential one time on that person’s request. Additional requests require the person to submit a court order indicating that the change is required.

What gender markers are available: At this time, you can select M, F, or X as your gender marker.

For additional information: Visit the Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles. 

Colorado Birth Certificates

Who is eligible: Anyone born in Colorado is eligible to change their name and sex on a birth certificate. 

How to make updates: Submit the following to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment by scheduling an appointment or mailing your materials to the State Vital Records Office at 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, Colorado 80246. 

• A completed Form to Correct or Change a Colorado Birth Certificate
• Your current ID
• Processing fees according to the Vital Records fee schedule

• If you cannot afford the fee, you can request to file without payment. To do so, follow the instructions outlined here.

• A completed Sex Designation Form (or) certified copy of a court order indicating the Sex/Gender has been changed via surgical procedure.
• If your legal name has been updated, the certified copy of the legal name update order.

Pro-tip: While only the State Vital Records Office can update your birth certificate, you can visit your local vital records office to request a copy of your current birth certificate. Visit here for a list of local vital records offices in Colorado. 

Note: a court order is not required the first time you correct your gender marker but is required for additional updates.

Birth Certificates issued outside of Colorado

To update your birth certificate issued in a state other than Colorado, you must follow the process of the state you were born in. Contact your birth state’s department of vital records for more information, or learn more about the process in each state by visiting the National Center for Transgender Equality’s ID Documents Center.

If you were born in a state that requires a court order to update the gender marker on your birth certificate, Colorado courts are able to provide that court order to allow you to make the necessary modifications. Reach out to the Colorado Name Change Project for information on how to get started with the court process.

Resources

• The Colorado Name Change Project has extensive information and forms on how to update your name and gender marker in Colorado. 
• For more information on gender-neutral IDs, visit the NCTE’s ID Documents Center.  

Note: Gender, meaning how someone sees themself (ex. Woman, Man, Nonbinary) is different from sex, meaning what body parts and chromosomes someone has (ex. Female, Intersex, Male). Despite being different, gender and sex are oftentimes used interchangeably. Throughout this guide, we will refer to “F,” “M,” and “X” as gender markers since that is the language most commonly known. F representing female or woman, M representing male or man, and X representing intersex, nonbinary, or another gender or sex. You may also see these letters referred to as gender designation or sex identification.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is intended to give general information to the public and is for educational purposes only. The information provided does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.