Wisconsin Identity Documents
Wisconsin Name Change Laws
To obtain a legal name change in Wisconsin, an applicant must submit a petition to the court. The applicant must publish a notice of the hearing in a newspaper once a week for three weeks prior to the hearing date, however the publication requirement can be waived for the applicant’s safety. Any person required to register as a sex offender many not chnage their legal name. (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 786.37 & Wis. Stat. Ann. § 985.07)
For instructions on legal name changes for minors under 18 in Wisconsin, see NCTE's Name Changes for Minors in Wisconsin resource.
Wisconsin Drivers License Policy & Procedures
In order to update name on a Wisconsin ID, the applicant must:
- First change name with the Social Security Administration;
- Then submit a passport or court order demonstrating the name change (if applicable).
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation addresses name changes here.
In order to update the gender marker on a Wisconsin ID, the applicant must submit:
- An affidavit or statement from a licensed physician certifying the gender change; or
- A court order for gender change.
Wisconsin Birth Certificate Laws
Wisconsin will issue an amended birth certificate upon receipt of a court order "to change the name and sex of the registrant on the certificate due to a surgical sex-change procedure." The certificate will be marked as amended unless "...the court orders the state registrar to prepare a new certificate" S.A. §§ 69.15 (4). The applicant should submit a birth certificate request form, the certified copy of the court ordered name and/or gender change, a notarized letter from the doctor that performed SRS, and payment of any applicable fees. The Wisconsin Office of Vital Records has, upon request, a form to request a gender change court order and the updated certificate.
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