New Birth Certificate for Sex Designation Change
Section 338-17.7, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), as amended by Act 226 (July 2015) establishes the documentation required when requesting the Department of Health to issue a new birth certificate with a sex designation change.
How to Request a New Birth Certificate with a Sex Designation Change
The requestor or “birth registrant” must be born in the State of Hawaii and have a birth certificate filed with the Hawaii Department of Health.
The requestor must provide a notarized affidavit from a United States licensed physician attesting that:
- The physician has a bona fide physician-patient relationship with the birth registrant;
- The physician has treated and evaluated the birth registrant and has reviewed and evaluated the birth registrant’s medical history;
- The birth registrant has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender and has completed the transition to the new gender; and
- The physician* has seen a current certified copy of the registrant’s birth certificate and the new gender does not align with the sex designation of the birth registrant’s birth certificate.**
*Per Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), Section 338-1, Physician is defined; and HRS, Section 453, Part 1, Doctor of Naturopathy is not acceptable.
**Please provide a current certified copy of your birth certificate to your physician.
Here are the required forms that must be completed in order to establish a new birth certificate for sex designation change:
Cost: A fee of $3 is charged for each amendment of an item on a given certificate.
Once completed, the original notarized completed forms and fees can be returned as follows:
| Mail to: | Deliver in Person to: |
| Department of Health – Office of Health Status Monitoring, Registration/Corrections Section P.O. Box 3378 Honolulu, Hawaii 96801-3378 |
Department of Health – Office of Health Status Monitoring Registration/Corrections Section 1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 105 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 |
Important Notes:
A new certificate of birth established under section 338-17.7, HRS, is substituted for the original certificate of birth. The original certificate and evidence supporting its preparation will be sealed and filed and may only be opened by an order of a court of record or by request of the birth registrant.
If the requestor is seeking a name change to be reflected in the new certificate of birth, the requestor shall submit appropriate documentation evidencing a legal name change was completed prior to the establishment of the new birth certificate. If a legal name change is completed subsequent to the establishment of a new birth certificate, the new birth certificate will have to be amended separately in accordance with name change procedures.