Apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate

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1. Overview

Apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate if you want your affirmed gender (sometimes called an ‘acquired gender’) to be legally recognised in the UK.

Having a certificate means you can:

  • update your birth or adoption certificate, if it was registered in the UK
  • get married or form a civil partnership in your affirmed gender
  • update your marriage or civil partnership certificate, if it was registered in the UK
  • have your affirmed gender on your death certificate when you die

It will not change your legal status as the father or mother of a child.

You do not need a certificate to:

You can only apply to be recognised as male or female. Non-binary genders are not legally recognised in the UK.

If you’re intersex or have a variation in sexual characteristics

You may not need a Gender Recognition Certificate to correct your birth certificate. Contact the General Register Office to find out what you need to do.

General Register Office
grocasework@gro.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 1837
Textphone: 18001 0300 123 1837
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 4pm
Find out about call charges

What to think about before applying

Benefits and pensions

Your entitlement to some benefits and pensions may change based on your affirmed gender.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, your partner’s entitlement to your pension if you die may also change.

To find out what might change, speak to:

  • the office that manages your benefits, if you get these
  • any private pension providers you have
  • the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Gender Recognition Team, for questions about your State Pension

DWP Gender Recognition Team
npc.grteam@dwp.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 043 1103
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges

Changing your name

You cannot update the name on your certificate after it’s been issued.

If you want a new name on your certificate, you’ll need to change your name before you apply.

If you do change your name afterwards, the certificate will still be valid.

If you’re currently married or in a civil partnership

When you apply for a certificate, if you want to stay married or in a civil partnership then your partner will need to sign a document to agree to that.

You can still apply even if your partner refuses to sign the document or you want to end your marriage or civil partnership. If your application is successful you’ll get an ‘interim certificate’.

You can only use your interim certificate to end your marriage or civil partnership.

You’ll have 6 months to apply for an annulment, divorce or dissolution from when you get your interim certificate.

You can get a full certificate once you’re no longer married or in a civil partnership.

You can also get a divorce or end your civil partnership before you apply.

Fees

It costs £5 to apply. You might be able to get help paying the fee if you get benefits or are on a low income.

If your application is unsuccessful, you cannot get a refund.

You’ll usually need to pay additional costs when preparing your application, depending on what documents you need to provide.

What happens if you apply

The Gender Recognition Panel will look at your application. This panel is made up of people with legal or medical qualifications.

The panel will decide whether the application meets all the legal requirements.

The panel will usually look at your application within 22 weeks of applying. They may ask you for more information before they can make a decision.

If you need help with your application

You can contact the Gender Recognition Panel admin team.

They cannot help you update your driving licence, update your passport or change your name.

Gender Recognition Panel
GRPenquiries@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 4503
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

If you need more help, you can:

If you have comments or questions about the law on gender recognition, contact the Cabinet Office.

Get help in Welsh

Contact the Welsh Language Helpline to apply in Welsh or get support with your application.

Welsh Language Helpline
ymholiadaucymraeg@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0800 212 368
Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm
Friday, 9am to 4:30pm
Find out about call charges

2. Who can apply

You can apply if you meet all of the following requirements:

  • you’re aged 18 or over
  • you’ve been diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the UK
  • you’ve been living in your affirmed gender for at least 2 years
  • you intend to live in this gender for the rest of your life

You can apply even if you have not had any gender affirming surgery or treatments, or you do not plan to have any.

If you’ve got a Gender Recognition Certificate or something similar from an approved country or territory, you only need to meet the following requirements:

  • you’re aged 18 or over
  • you have a document showing your affirmed gender is legally recognised in that country or territory

If you do not have a gender dysphoria diagnosis

You might still be able to apply, but only if you meet all of the following requirements:

  • you currently live in England, Wales or Scotland
  • you were in a marriage or a civil partnership on 10 December 2014 and living in England or Wales, or on 15 December 2014 and living in Scotland
  • you had been living in your affirmed gender for at least 6 years before those dates, and you have evidence of that
  • you have had gender affirmation surgery

If this applies to you, contact the Gender Recognition Panel admin team to find out how to apply. It’s a different process to the one described in the rest of this guidance.

You can still apply through this route even if you do have a gender dysphoria diagnosis, so long as you meet all the requirements. However, you do not need to have had any gender affirmation surgery.

Gender Recognition Panel
GRPenquiries@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 4503
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

3. What documents you need

To find out what documents you need, you can either:

You can usually just provide copies of these documents, but keep the original versions as the panel may ask to see them after you apply.

What you need to do

You’ll need to do the following.

  1. Download and fill in a statutory declaration. Follow the guidance to find out which declaration is right for you and who can act as a witness when you sign your declaration.

  2. Get an original or certified copy of your full birth or adoption certificate. If your birth or adoption was registered in the UK, find out how to order a certificate if you do not have it available.

  3. If you’ve changed your name to reflect your affirmed gender, get copies of all documents that show when you’ve done this. This includes enrolled or unenrolled deed polls and statutory declarations of name changes. These copies do not need to be certified.

  4. If you’ve got a Gender Recognition Certificate or something similar from an approved country or territory, you’ll need the documents listed under ‘If you’re on the overseas route’. Otherwise, you’ll need the documents listed under ‘If you’re on the main route’.

  5. If you’ve ever been married or in a civil partnership before, you’ll need the documents listed under ‘If you’ve ever been married or been in a civil partnership’.

  6. If any of your documents are not in English, follow the steps under ‘If any of your documents are not in English’.

If you’re on the main route

You need both of the following:

  • medical reports from the UK
  • evidence that you’ve lived in your affirmed gender for the last 2 years

Medical reports from the UK

You need 2 reports written by either:

  • 2 different medical doctors registered in the UK
  • a medical doctor and a clinical psychologist, both registered in the UK

Neither of the reports can be written by a nurse practitioner.

The reports both need to include the name, practice address and contact details of the person who wrote the report.

At least one of the two reports needs to include details of any gender affirmation treatment you’ve had or plan to have, including:

  • any surgical treatments
  • any non-surgical treatments, such as hormone therapy
  • if you’ve not had any treatment and do not plan to have any, why that’s the case

The first report needs to confirm your gender dysphoria diagnosis and the clinical history this was based on, including:

  • who made the diagnosis
  • when the diagnosis was made
  • what evidence was used to make the diagnosis

This first report needs to be written by a registered doctor or clinical psychologist who practises in the field of gender dysphoria. You can find one of these by:

If your registered doctor or clinical psychologist is not on the list of specialists, ask them to include a brief summary of their experience of practising in the field of gender dysphoria.

The second report can be written by any registered doctor or clinical psychologist, including your GP, a surgeon or an endocrinologist.

There’s no required content for this second report, and it can include the same information from the first report.

The reports do not need to be specially written for your application, so long as they meet all the requirements. You may already have suitable reports in your medical records.

If you do need new reports written, you’ll probably need to pay for them even if you use NHS medical practitioners.

There is a form that medical practitioners can use to write either of these reports.

Evidence of living in your gender for the last 2 years

You’ll need copies of evidence to show that you’ve been living in your affirmed gender for the last 2 years.

Each piece of evidence should contain at least one of the following that matches up with your affirmed gender:

  • a name
  • a title, like ‘Mr’ or ‘Miss’
  • a gender marker, like ‘male’ or ‘female’

There are no other specific requirements for this evidence, but try to find:

  • evidence from different points over the 2 years, with roughly 1 piece of evidence for every 3 months
  • at least one piece of evidence from the last 2 or 3 months
  • evidence from a variety of different sources

The evidence can come from before you were diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Examples of what you can send in include good quality photocopies or photographs of:

  • your driving licence
  • your passport
  • identity cards, like workplace IDs, student IDs, railcards, health insurance cards, library cards or supermarket loyalty cards
  • letters from solicitors, accountants, doctors, dentists or employers
  • bank statements
  • payslips, P60s and P45s
  • benefit letters
  • tax letters and documents, including council tax
  • credit reports
  • confirmation letters that you’re on the electoral register
  • student loan statements
  • utility bills, such as internet bills
  • rental agreements
  • academic certificates and documents

You might be asked to send in more evidence after you submit your application.

If you’re on the overseas route

If your affirmed gender is already recognised in an approved country or territory, you need a document that proves this.

The document could be:

  • something that’s equal to a Gender Recognition Certificate
  • an updated birth certificate
  • a court order
  • an entry in a legal register

If you’ve ever been married or been in a civil partnership

You’ll need to have good quality photocopies or photographs of all your marriage or civil partnership certificates.

If you’re currently married or in a civil partnership

If you intend to remain married or in a civil partnership, your spouse or civil partner needs to download and fill in a statutory declaration.

Follow the guidance to find out who can act as a witness when they sign their declaration.

If you were married or in a civil partnership in the past

For each marriage or civil partnership, you need a copy of one of the following:

  • a decree absolute or final order to show the marriage or civil partnership has ended
  • a death certificate for your partner if their death ended the marriage or civil partnership - you can order a certificate if their death was registered in the UK

If any of your documents are not in English

You’ll need to have your documents translated. The translator does not need to have any qualifications, so the translation can be done by a friend or a family member.

Get the translator to sign the translated documents and write down their translation qualifications if they have any.

You’ll need to provide both the original documents and the translations.

4. How to apply

Use the online service to apply. You can:

  • provide your personal and contact details
  • pay the £5 application fee using a debit or credit card
  • submit any required documents, apart from your birth or adoption certificate which you need to send by post after you apply

Any documents you submit must be less than 10MB. You can include photocopies or clear photographs.

You can save and return to your application at any time.

Start now

After you submit your application

You’ll need to send an original or certified copy of your full birth or adoption certificate by post. Do that as soon as possible.

Send the certificate to:

Gender Recognition Panel
PO Box 9300
Leicester
LE1 8DJ

Include your name and return address. Your certificate will be sent back when it’s been processed.

You’ll be told if you need to send in any other documents.

The panel will usually look at your application within 22 weeks of applying. They may ask you for more information before they can make a decision.

If your application is unsuccessful, you’ll be told how you can appeal or apply again.

If you cannot use the online service

Contact the Gender Recognition Panel admin team, who will send you an application pack. You can then send in your application by post.

Gender Recognition Panel
GRPenquiries@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 4503
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

If you want to apply or get help in Welsh

Contact the Welsh Language Helpline to apply in Welsh or get support with your application.

Welsh Language Helpline
ymholiadaucymraeg@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0800 212 368
Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm
Friday, 9am to 4:30pm
Find out about call charges

If you lose or damage your certificate

You cannot get a replacement certificate.

Contact the Gender Recognition Panel admin team to get a photocopy or screenshot of your original certificate.