If you’re interested in having your Georgia driver’s license or state ID changed to better reflect how you identify, the state allows you to modify both your name (Official Georgia Code Section § 19-12-1 through § 19-12-4) and gender marker (Official Georgia Code § 31-10-23(e)). While it’s not as simple as walking into a Department of Driver Services office and making a few changes, Georgia law makes it fairly easy to make sure your state documents reflect your identity.

To change a name on a driver’s license, you will first need to file a petition for a legal name change in the Superior Court of the county where you live, and requires an  affidavit stating that you are not seeking a name change in an attempt to defraud others. You then must publish legal notice of your name change in the county legal organ (usually a newspaper). Once the notice has run for four weeks, a hearing is held where the judge signs an order granting the name change. Once complete, you will need to take a certified copy of the judge’s order to the DDS office to have your license updated.

Atlanta Transgender Driver’s License Gender Marker Change

A separate legal action is required to amend one’s gender marker, but again Georgia law makes the process relatively simple. You will need to file a petition to amend your birth certificate in the Superior Court for the county in which you live, which requires a certified letter from your doctor attesting that you have undergone irreversible sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Some jurisdictions, however, permit a gender marker change where the individual is undergoing hormone therapy. 

With this petition, letter from a physician, and a copy of your name change order, a judge can sign an order amending the gender marker on your birth certificate as early as a month after you file the petition, although it may take a little longer depending on the county in which you reside. A certified copy of the judge’s order amending your birth certificate can be used at the Office of Vital Records, Department of Driver Services facilities, and any other government agency where your gender marker needs to be updated.

• A name change and a gender marker change are two separate actions, and require separate court petitions to be filed. However, some jurisdictions are now accepting them as a combined action.