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Texas transgender resources

Below are resources in Texas for our community, part of this site’s American resources by state. See also major US-based trans websites and national advocacy groups.

Resources

Transgender Education Network of Texas/TENT (transtexas.org)

Campaign for Southern Equality (southernequality.org)

Health

Transgender surgery options in Texas

Central Texas Transgender Health Coalition (txtranshealth.org)

World Professional Association of Transgender Health (wpath.org)

Planned Parenthood (plannedparenthood.org)

Youth

In 2022, the Attorney General and Governor of Texas began taking legal actions that target youth seeking trans healthcare. Learn more about the changing situation below.

ACLU Texas (aclutx.org)

Equality Texas (equalitytexas.org)

Texas Trans Kids (txtranskids.org)

Trans-Cendence International (trans-cendence.org)

Legal

Equality Texas (equalitytexas.org)

National Center for Transgender Equality (transequality.org)

  • ID Documents Center | Texas

Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org)

Williams Institute (williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu)

A note for Texas readers:

You can waste your time, money and energy with an Attorney who doesn’t know what they are doing, OR you can go to straight to someone who routinely handles trans-issues. In the course of getting this taken care of I retained counsel from from three different attorneys, and spent a great deal of money. The first attorney was independent counsel, the second attorney was with a top ten law firm, the third attorney (again independent counsel)was Ms. Frye. The first attorney was successful with my name change, but I did all of the leg work myself. Had he been more knowledgeable about trans-issues, he would have known that this could all be accomplished in one fail swoop. I hired a second attorney from one of the top law firms in Texas to accomplish the gender change. We were shot down three times in the courts in Dallas (the county in which I was born) and were politely asked not to return. We were informed that the entire circuit of Judges knew my case, and none would agree to grant the Order for the gender change. Ms. Frye accomplished the desired results (with one exception*)in an efficient and expedient manner. Yes, the cost was a bit more than I expected, especially having already payed through the nose for attorney and court fees, but as we all know, you get what you pay for.

I would highly recommend that anyone in Texas who needs this vital documentation changed to do it all at once, and do it with Ms. Frye. Don’t make the false assumption that I did years ago by thinking that you have to have completed your SRS before getting the gender on your driver license in Texas changed. Ms. Frye can accomplish the name AND gender change* all at once. Had my first attorney had this information, I would not have had to live in role for years with an “M” on my drivers license. Had my second attorney known how to draft the Petition, I wouldn’t have been shot down in court. You can see where I’m going with this. Even with the constant research I did during my transition I didn’t come across this information. Hopefully, others can learn from my mistakes, and use this information to make their journey easier. 

*While select Texas courts will grant the Order for Petition of name and gender change, none will amend the birth certificate to say “female” due to the outcome of the Christie Lee Littleton case. As of today, that is where we stand. Hopefully someday this decision will be reversed, but until then, your sisters in Texas will have to deal with this humiliation and discrimination.

On the issue of stealth:

The section of your web-site that covers “stealth” and “Choosing a name” should be taken with all seriousness. Innocently enough, in 1999 when I had my name legally changed I decided to keep my last name given at birth. Being an only child from a single parent household, it was a decision I made in order to show respect to my mother. It was done with the purest of intentions, but I know now it was a mistake. I had lived in stealth for almost three years with my new identity, and assumed that the hardest parts of my transition were over. My success was due in part to completely changing careers and going into a field where no one knew me, even by association. I had gone through the difficult “on the job transition” at my previous job before landing a very promising career in the law industry. 

Everything in my life seemed perfect; a loving boyfriend, a great career, a beautiful home. But this year my dreams of remaining stealth were shattered. A mean spirited attorney did a Lexis/Nexis and Google search on my last name, did a cut and paste of all of the data he collected on me into an email, and sent it around to his buddies in the firm. The header read: “I guess this confirms what we’ve suspected all along. What a freak.” The evidence was especially damning, given he included my Petition for Name Change. By the time friends of mine (who up until that point didn’t know I was transsexual) took their complaints of slander discrimination to Administration, the damage had already been done. Imagine my humiliation when I met with the Director of Personnel and the Director of Administration to discuss the situation. FYI – amazingly he wasn’t fired.

My advice to your readers: Use this web-site and the suggestions contained within like you would sage advice from an older sister. You can spend years trying to do things your own way and buck the system, and get nowhere fast. But a more constructive use of your energy would be spent learning from the mistakes of others, using this web-site as it is intended, and paving the way for younger women like yourselves with the stones of wisdom. The choice is yours.

Other resources

Phyllis Randolph Frye 

http://members.aol.com/prfrye/

at transgenderlegal.com m TGAIN, Texas Gender Advocacy and Information Network: rhost@flash.net

Texas LGBT Section of State Bar (SO&GI) via mkatine@wba-law.com or rthompson@velaw.com

Other Houston TG inclusive groups that Phyllis endorses: 
local LGBT political e-mail net via brandon_wolf@email.msn.com 
local LGBT lawyers group (BAHR) at jadcock@brsfirm.com 
local LGBT roller skaters group at april.lauper@mwk.com 
local LGBT friendly Christian worship at mccr@neosoft.com 
local “GRANDFATHER” of LGBT rights movement at rayhill@iah.com

A reader wrote in June 2003:

Also, and this was from my personal experience with my transition, the only place I had a problem getting the name updated on records at was my high school records – not someplace I was going to bother updating things at, but I happened to have a job interview across the street from the Houston School District administration building, so I stopped by and gave it a shot. In 1998 they balked at my request. But, I got occupied with other matters and never really pressed the issue.

Texas state law

The applicable main law for adults is in the Texas Family Code at TITLE 2.B § 45.101.

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.45.htm

SUBTITLE C. CHANGE OF NAME
CHAPTER 45. CHANGE OF NAME

SUBCHAPTER A. CHANGE OF NAME OF CHILD

§ 45.001. Who May File; Venue
A parent, managing conservator, or guardian of a child may file a petition requesting a change of name of the child in the county where the child resides.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
§ 45.002. Requirements of Petition
(a) A petition to change the name of a child must be verified and include:
(1) the present name and place of residence of the child;
(2) the reason a change of name is requested;
(3) the full name requested for the child; and
(4) whether the child is subject to the continuing exclusive jurisdiction of a court under Chapter 155.
(b) If the child is 10 years of age or older, the child’s written consent to the change of name must be attached to the petition.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1390, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
§ 45.003. Citation
(a) The following persons are entitled to citation in a suit under this subchapter:
(1) a parent of the child whose parental rights have not been terminated;
(2) any managing conservator of the child; and
(3) any guardian of the child.
(b) Citation must be issued and served in the same manner as under Chapter 102.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
§ 45.004. Order
(a) The court may order the name of a child changed if the change is in the best interest of the child.
(b) If the child is subject to the continuing jurisdiction of a court under Chapter 155, the court shall send a copy of the order to the central record file as provided in Chapter 108.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
§ 45.005. Liabilities and Rights Unaffected
A change of name does not:
(1) release a child from any liability incurred in the child’s previous name; or
(2) defeat any right the child had in the child’s previous name.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.

SUBCHAPTER B. CHANGE OF NAME OF ADULT

§ 45.101. Who May File; Venue
An adult may file a petition requesting a change of name in the county of the adult’s place of residence.

Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.

§ 45.102. Requirements of Petition
(a) A petition to change the name of an adult must be verified and include:
(1) the present name and place of residence of the petitioner;
(2) the full name requested for the petitioner;
(3) the reason the change in name is requested; and
(4) whether the petitioner has been the subject of a final felony conviction.

(b) The petition must include each of the following or a reasonable explanation why the required information is not included:
(1) the petitioner’s:
(A) full name;
(B) sex;
(C) race;
(D) date of birth;
(E) driver’s license number for any driver’s license issued in the 10 years preceding the date of the petition;
(F) social security number; and
(G) assigned FBI number, state identification number, if known, or any other reference number in a criminal history record system that identifies the petitioner;
(2) any offense above the grade of Class C misdemeanor for which the petitioner has been charged; and
(3) the case number and the court if a warrant was issued or a charging instrument was filed or presented for an offense listed in Subsection (b)(2).

Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.

§ 45.103. Order
(a) The court shall order a change of name under this subchapter for a person other than a person with a final felony conviction if the change is in the interest or to the benefit of the petitioner and in the interest of the public.
(b) A court may order a change of name under this subchapter for a person with a final felony conviction if, in addition to the requirements of Subsection (a), the person has:
(1) received a certificate of discharge by the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or completed a period of probation ordered by a court and not less than two years have passed from the date of the receipt of discharge or completion of probation; or
(2) been pardoned.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.

§ 45.104. Liabilities and Rights Unaffected
A change of name under this subchapter does not release a person from liability incurred in that person’s previous name or defeat any right the person had in the person’s previous name.
Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, § 1, eff. April 20, 1995.

§ 45.105. Change of Name in Divorce Suit
(a) On the final disposition of a suit for divorce, for annulment, or to declare a marriage void, the court shall enter a decree changing the name of a party specially praying for the change to a prior used name unless the court states in the decree a reason for denying the change of name. The court may not deny a change of name solely to keep last names of family members the same.
(b) A person whose name is changed under this section may apply for a change of name certificate from the clerk of the court as provided by Section 45.106.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 7.10(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997.

§ 45.106. Change of Name Certificate
(a) A person whose name is changed under Section 6.706 or 45.105 may apply to the clerk of the court ordering the name change for a change of name certificate.
(b) A certificate under this section is a one-page document that includes:
(1) the name of the person before the change of name was ordered;
(2) the name to which the person’s name was changed by the court;
(3) the date on which the name change was made;
(4) the person’s social security number and driver’s license number, if any;
(5) the name of the court in which the name change was ordered; and
(6) the signature of the clerk of the court that issued the certificate.
(c) An applicant for a certificate under this section shall pay a $10 fee to the clerk of the court for issuance of the certificate.
(d) A certificate under this section constitutes proof of the change of name of the person named in the certificate.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 7.10(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, § 6.06, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.