What's in a name? Everything! Names indicate who we are and the process for transgender and non binary people to change our identity documents are challenging, complicated, and let's face it, downright scary. Tranzmission understands the anxiety surrounding this process and rather than just providing a packet of paperwork and wishing our participants good luck, we help to find and fill out the necessary forms, notarize documents, and offer support and physical escort, if necessary.
As a person's name is among their most common identifier, we see the condition of mismatched legal information to be prohibitive of ones access to public life and the quality thereof. When members of our community are asked for ID, and the name on our state issued ID card is that of a person we do not look like, identify as, or live as, complications legal, medical, financial and social may arise. This common situation, mundane to many outside our community, creates a dangerous reality for us.
The Name Change Project offers assistance with legal name changes for nonbinary and transgender individuals who seek to realign their names with their identity. The name change process in North Carolina is Pro Se, or without the need of legal representation, however, it can still be extremely daunting. We offer paperwork, assistance with filing fees if needed, and escorts to and from the ID Bureau and Court House if safety is a concern for the individual who is requesting the legal name change.
Identity aligned state issued ID offers safer access to housing, educational opportunities, employment, medical care, and social activity.
