To change your gender marker in Illinois, you file a self-attestation form with the Secretary of State for a driver’s license or state ID, or with the Department of Public Health for a birth certificate. No court order, doctor’s letter, or proof of surgery is required. Three designations are available on both documents: M, F, and X. The driver’s license update happens in a single facility visit for $5; the birth certificate amendment is handled by mail for $15 and takes about 12 weeks. The two records are independent, so you can update one without the other.
Driver’s License or State ID
Start with the Gender Designation Change Form, numbered DSD A 329.3. Download it from the Secretary of State’s website or pick one up at any driver services facility.1Illinois Secretary of State. Gender Designation Change Form DSD A 329.3 The form asks for your current legal name, your license or ID number, and which designation you want. You sign a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the change reflects your gender identity and is not being made for any fraudulent purpose. That signed statement is the only verification required.
Bring the original form. The Secretary of State does not accept photocopies or faxes, so there is no point mailing anything ahead.1Illinois Secretary of State. Gender Designation Change Form DSD A 329.3
At the facility, hand over the form and your current card. Staff process the change in the system and take a new photo. The fee is $5 for a corrected driver’s license and $10 for a corrected state ID.1Illinois Secretary of State. Gender Designation Change Form DSD A 329.3 If you time the update to your regular renewal, you pay only the standard renewal fee. You walk out with a temporary paper document that works as valid ID, and the permanent card arrives by mail within 15 business days.2Illinois Secretary of State. Driver’s License and State ID Card Information
Illinois Birth Certificate
This process is only for people born in Illinois.3Illinois Department of Public Health. Gender Reassignment If you live in Illinois but were born elsewhere, you have to go through the vital records office in your birth state, and the rules there may be very different.
You will need the Affidavit and Certificate of Correction Request form from the Illinois Department of Public Health. It asks for your name at birth, date of birth, your parents’ names as listed on the original certificate, and the designation you want. Include a clear photocopy of a valid government-issued photo ID.
The form has to be signed in front of a notary public.3Illinois Department of Public Health. Gender Reassignment Banks, currency exchanges, and shipping stores commonly offer notary services. Under 410 ILCS 535/17, you attest that the request is to affirm your gender identity or intersex condition, and that is the extent of what you have to prove.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 410 ILCS 535/17
Mail the notarized form, the ID photocopy, and a check or money order for $15 to the Department’s Division of Vital Records in Springfield. That fee covers the record search and one certified copy of the amended certificate. Extra certified copies are $2 each, and ordering them with your original request saves you from paying the search fee again later.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 410 ILCS 535/22 – Amendment of Certificate
Processing currently takes about 12 weeks from when the Department receives your packet.6Illinois Department of Public Health. Birth, Death, Other Records The amended certificate arrives by standard mail. It will show your updated designation and note that a correction was made and the date of the amendment. No in-person appearance is needed at any step.
If the Person Is a Minor
Minors can update both records on the same terms as adults. For a birth certificate, a parent, co-parent, or legal guardian completes and signs the affidavit on the minor’s behalf, has it notarized, and submits it with the $15 fee.3Illinois Department of Public Health. Gender Reassignment For a driver’s license or state ID, a parent or guardian goes to the facility with the minor and signs the paperwork. No medical documentation is required in either case.
Updating Federal Documents Afterward
Changing Illinois records does not reach into federal systems. Two other documents usually matter.
For Social Security, submit Form SS-5 to your local Social Security Administration office along with a document showing your updated gender. An amended Illinois birth certificate or updated driver’s license works. There is no fee for a replacement card.
Passports are a moving target. As of late 2025, the U.S. State Department restricted passport sex markers to M or F matching biological sex at birth, following a Supreme Court stay on earlier policies that had allowed an X marker. Because the federal rules are actively changing, check current guidance at travel.state.gov before you apply. Whether your updated Illinois documents will support the marker you want depends on the policy in effect when the application is reviewed.
What Illinois Does Not Require
Illinois does not require a court order, a doctor’s letter, a therapist’s note, proof of hormone therapy, or proof of surgery for either the driver’s license or birth certificate change. That applies to adults and minors alike. The whole system runs on self-attestation, which means your own signed statement is the authority. If you have looked at the process in another state and found it onerous, the Illinois version is substantially shorter.