The Standard Track Gender Recognition Application ProcessUK Born, UK Born Expatriates, or those born in a country with no gender recognition system
The Gender Recognition Panel's website is here
The Standard Track forms are to be used by all people whose:
** Includes the British Forces overseas, a British Consul or High Commission, or under the UK's Merchant Shipping or Civil Aviation provisions A trans person may be living inside or outside the UK at the time of the application. All that is relevant is that a. their birth certificate is a UK birth certificate, or/ b. that there is no gender recognition system in their home country or state, or/ c. that they have not made us of their home country's gender recognition process AND d. The person has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, AND e. the person has been living permanently in their preferred gender role for at least 2 years , AND f. the person is unmarried (though married people can apply for an Interim certificate) , AND g. the person is able to provide the appropriate evidence (see more below), the application form and the fee Any documents you have in your new gender in the new country, may stand as good evidence of you having fully lived in your new gender for at least 2 years when applying for a gender recognition certificate. However they are not proof of your legal gender, here in the UK. The reason for this is that prior to 2004 the provision of day-to-day documents like driving licenses and passports was not contained in law. They were provided as discretionary concessions to make lives more comfortable and less likely to be victimised. n.b. Even though the Gender Recognition Act itself has brought about the apparent circumstances where people might have more than one birth certificate, people who are issued with new birth certificates should destroy their old birth certificates completely. However, if you do keep it as a souvenir, be aware your old certificate has no legal standing, and it might always betray your hard won privacy. The Process is very simple, and though following items are required in your application for a Gender Recognition Certificate, they are not usually difficult to obtain. 1. The Standard Track Application Form: (click here) the Standard Track Application form is to be completed fully & truthfully. At the back of the form there is a Statutory Declaration to be completed, and notarised.2. The Statutory Declaration: You are required to complete the statutory declaration confirming that:
The statutory declaration is provided for you on the last page of the application pack. You will need to complete it and then take it into a local solicitor or advocate who has the power to notarise documents. In the UK, notarisation costs £8, though they can charge you for their time. However the process takes less than 5 minutes, so don’t agree to pay much more than £8. The notary can ask you to read out the statement you are making in full, if they do ask, then read it out. But most will just ask to read it. Notes:
3. Your Medical Evidence: There are 2 types of medical evidence required:1. A statement, by a Doctor (usually working in psychiatry or sexual health) or a Psychologist on the Gender Recognition panel's list of experts. · the doctor must be registered with the UK's General Medical Council (GMC), or if a psychologist with the UK's Health Professions Council (HPC). · they must provide a statement that you have been diagnosed as having Gender Dysphoria (at some time – which may be in the past). · The statement MUST include a timeline of the process & procedures undertaken to reach the diagnosis. · If the doctor who diagnosed you is still in practice or if there records are available the diagnostic statement can often be lifted straight out of your medical notes. A small charge might be asked for this information. · If your diagnosis was undertaken overseas, then many of the experts on the gender recognition panel’s list are willing, for a small fee, to look over the diagnostic and family doctor statements, and to verify them for the panel. You need to contact them directly
2. A statement by your regular, or normal family doctor (your GP) who is also registered with the GMC.
The statement should include dates and details of your gender reassignment treatments: · when you started hormone therapy · what current hormone therapy you are taking, and · what (if any) surgery you have undergone.
it should look something like this:
PFC recommends that you prepare a short note explaining basic dates and details e.g. when you started treatment, what current hormonal therapy you are on and what, if any, gender reassignment surgery you have undergone. note; Surgery is not an essential requirement for the Act, but you will find the process a little quicker and easier if you get your GP to indicate you wish to udnergo surgery when you meet the requirements and funding is available Ensure your doctor does not write that you do not intend to have gender reassignment surgeries, even if you have said this to them. Though the Gender Recognition Act 2004, has no requirement that a person has had or is going to undergo gender reassignment surgeries, it does cast doubt in the Gender Recognition Panel's minds, and they may press for further enquiries to be made).
4. Evidence of having lived for 2 Years in Preferred Gender Role: The fourth piece of evidence is simply evidence that for at least two years you have been living in your preferred gender role.If you have been living for a long time in your preferred gender, a strong piece of evidence can be obtained by writing to your tax office and asking them on what date you started living in your preferred gender. The U.K.’s Majesty’s Revenue and Customs turns over these requests in three or four days at no cost
The panel requires only three or four items such as:
Make sure that each item clearly includes dates at least 2 years in the past from the date of your application. |