LGBTQ+, Transgender: How to change your passport

To celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility, we’ve put together a step by step guide to help you change the gender marked on your British passport.

We began our journey by sending out a survey to LGBTQ+ and transgender groups to see what hurdles they came up against and what advice they have. 88% of those surveyed said it was definitely worth changing your passport and would recommend it to someone else.

First, let’s answer some questions about changing gender on passport in the UK.

Can you apply for your transgender passport online?

You can find and download your application forms online from HM Passport Office. Applying for your passport online is actually cheaper than going into your local Post Office.

Most of the evidence or proof will have to be sent in the post as hard copies are required as part of your application.

How long does it take to change gender and the name on your passport in the UK?

HM Passport Office states that passport changes and renewals take around 3 weeks. Based on responses from our survey, most applications take between 2 weeks and 6 months* to complete.

There is no finite trick to speeding up this process. However, if you use the Post Office’s Check and Send Service, you can reduce your chances of being rejected since they check your evidence on the day. You can get a passport urgently with 1 week Fast Track service. It will cost £142 for an adult passport and it’ll be £152 if you want a 50 page one.

Generally, the Government advice is to not book a trip abroad until you have your new passport in your hands.

*Why can it take up to 6 months?

We found that some of our survey responses included the time they spent gathering evidence needed for the change of their passport, so it’s worth thinking about the bigger picture when it comes to an overall timescale and how long it’ll take to get your new passport.

How do you change gender on passport?

Jump straight to our step-by-step.

If you have any burning questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below but please understand that we cannot advise on any legal or medical matters. This is a guide to transgender passports, not an official document on UK legislation or medical organisation.

Now, let’s sort through some rumours.

What are the transgender passport requirements and what kind of proof or evidence should you submit to the UK Passport Office to show that you are trans and want to change your gender and name?

• It’s not essential to have a GRC (Gender Recognition Certificate) or have had gender reassignment surgery to change your passport (this is thanks to a legislation change in UK Law in 2016). However, you do need a GRC if you want to change your birth certificate.
• As outlined by one of our survey participants, “a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is not needed to change your name and/or gender on your passport – your GP can write this letter for you if they feel comfortable doing so”.
• What will your gender options be? Gender ‘x’ is not an option on British Passports so if you’re changing the gender on your passport, it has to be binary. Therefore, your choices in the UK are male or female.
• Homemade deed polls are absolutely accepted in your application. You do not need to pay for a solicitor stamp, statutory declaration or governmental deed poll to change your passport.

Don’t just take it from us. Here’s some advice from transgender, transsexual, councillors and family members who going through the same passport application.

If you’re wondering whether travelling abroad is a good option for you, check out the LGBTQ+ Travel Tips guide. We look at best and worst destinations as well as protocol for getting through airports and what to look out for.

We also asked our survey participants what support they would recommend before starting the process.

The response to our question was varied. Some participants said they were supported by friends and family, others read online forums and some said they didn’t need any support: “none… it’s easy!”.

The amount of support you need or want, depends on you as an individual. Here are some initial ideas from our survey participants.

Let’s take a look at how to change gender on passport

Step 1 – Check you have the right evidence. Pick one item from any of the following:

Gender Recognition Certificate.

Basically, it’s the step up from a GP’s letter. A GRC may be something to consider if you ever want proof of your gender. This includes changing your birth certificate or addressing the change with your employer.

You don’t necessarily need this paperwork for your passport since you have others to choose from but it’s useful evidence to change other documents like your drivers licence and can affect your prison, pension and posthumous arrangements. Please note, it comes with a £5 admin fee.
Here’s the government form (T450-T454)

How to change your gender on your birth certificate in the UK?

Here’s how to update your birth certificate , it currently costs £11. Regardless of where you live, you need an approved GRC to complete the Birth Certificate application (GRCs costs £5). If you live in the Republic of Ireland or Scotland, the rules are slightly different. It costs £50 in ROI to change your name and £40 in Scotland plus the reissue fee. So watch out for hidden costs!

What’s the cheapest way of providing evidence to change my passport?

It may look expensive, but don’t panic! See our pricing table which lays out all the costs of changing your passport and should help you find the cheapest option for you.

For most people’s application, here’s the most cost-effective way of providing evidence:

• Get a GP, doctor or consultant’s note as proof to say you intend the change to be permanent (you’re more likely to get this for free if you visit a gender therapist or clinic already)
• Find a pay slip or council letter with your new name on it
• Make a homemade deed poll, written by you and printed at home and countersigned

What’s the most common pieces of evidence submitted as part of your transgender passport application?

Based on the Airport Parking Shop’s Spring 2018 survey, we found that 43% of people submitted a letter from their GP, doctor or therapist, while only 3% of responses said that they submitted a Gender Recognition Certificate.

The most common combination sent to the HM Passport Office was a GP letter, deed poll and payslip. The GP letter is the part which highlights your trans gender change, the deed poll shows your new name and payslip demonstrates that you’re using your new name and pronouns.

Step 2 – Applying for the actual passport using the evidence from your registration

When your paper proof and confirmation letters come back through the post or if you’ve got your GP letter in your hands, you’re all set! You can now apply for your new trans British passport.

Visit the government’s online passport service or go to a local post office and fill out forms with them. The Post Office offers a Check and Send Service to double check your application will go through. Since it’s not a simple passport reissue, it might be worth going into a branch.

Getting a new passport will cost you £75.50 for a standard 32-page, or £85.50 for a jumbo 48-page book online (Post Office prices are between £85-95). You can always leave it until your current passport goes out of date and needs renewing, if you’re comfortable travelling as the ‘old you’, that way you get the most use out of all of your passports.

It is pricey but don’t let it stand in your way.

Step 3 – Phone a friend and get your countersignatures.

UK legislation states that you’ll need some independent people to sign to say that you are who you say you are.

Things to bear in mind:

• They cannot be related to you, this means it can’t be your mum, your aunt or second cousin.
• They need to fall into an “approved professional” category. For a full list of approved professions, see the government website. To give you an idea of “suitable professions”, they can be an optician, teacher, accountant or similar, the list goes on. Here’s all the approved professions, i.e. the people you can ask to be your countersignatures. Alternatively they can be a ‘person of good standing in their community’, so a local volunteer such as a registered GirlGuide, Scout Leader or Church Warden.
• They must have a full UK or Irish passport and have their passport number at hand
• They must live in the UK
• They must have known you for more than two years
• Your countersignatories have to sign the back of your new printed passport photo, so print multiple ones when you have the photo taken. They have them write on the back, “I certify that this is a true likeness of [your title and full name]”
• They cannot be in a personal relationship with you. This includes boyfriends or marital partners
• They cannot live with you, even in a lodger or spare room arrangement.
• They cannot work for HM Passport Office

What are they actually signing for?

Countersignatures are to confirm that all the information you’ve provided is true, as far as they know, which includes your transgender passport photo, name, gender, etc.

Everyone registering for a new passport needs to go through this, so don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Examples of the perfect countersignature:

• Your friend’s mum who is an optician and has known you for 2 years or longer. They have a Irish passport and live in the UK.
• Your old boss who owns a pub (under a licensee of a public house), who you worked for over 2 years and get on with. He’s got a British passport and lives in the UK.
• Your secondary school teacher who has known you since you were 11 (you’re now 18 or older). They have a British Passport and live in the UK.

Step 4 – Send the right forms to the right places

Once you’ve filled out the above forms or collected your own, make sure to send them to the right places. For the most part, this will be to the HM Passport Office.

We recommend opting for the Check and Send Service from the Post Office which costs £16. It means your passport photo and evidence can be double checked by Post Office staff to reduce your chances of being rejected and gets you next day postage.

You can ask for a refund on your Check and Send Service in the unlikely event that your passport is rejected.

Since they’re important documents, it might be worth sending them by secure delivery. This can cost around £3 at your local post office.

What might happen: it’s very rare, but you might be invited to an interview with a Passport Customer Service Centre near you. There are 7 nationwide in big cities: Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport and Peterborough. This is just to provide more evidence and check that you are who you say you are.

Here’s some advice from one of our survey respondents on their experience sending valuable documents in the post.

Step 5 – You’re good to go!

Your confirmation letter and passport should come through the post within the next few weeks.

Congratulations! You’re ready to start a new chapter, and with your new passport. The only limit is your imagination – so get on a plane and show ‘em who’s boss!

How much does it cost to change gender on passport?

Don’t be worried by the table above, we don’t all need to spend around £440+ fixing our passports.
In reality, you can…

• Avoid spending money on GRCs, Birth Certificates or official deed polls by writing your own deed poll at home for free.
• Ask a gender clinic to write you a GP letter for free
• We may recommend the £11 Check and Send Service, but it’s not a requirement.
• You will need a new passport photo, it’s usually around £10 but why not shop around to compare to find the best deal
• The cheapest passport you can get is £75.50. It’s the standard 34-page book through an online application, without fast track service or secure delivery options.

Take a look at the Government breakdown of passport prices.

We would like to thank everyone who responded to our survey and hope we can help readers change their passport and enjoy travelling the world.
In the words of one of our survey participants…

This information was correct as of August 2021 and is provided as a helpful guide not as legal advice. All numerical data and quotes came from an Airport Parking Shop survey between February-March 2018. Our participants were anonymous transitioning individuals or people helping someone else to change their passport.

Please see the government site for more information and official UK legislation and guidance on changing your passport.

We have a PDF version of this guide available for community groups to print out in order to help explain the process to parents, guardians, transitioning people and support workers. If you would like the printable PDF version of this guide, please contact support@airport-parking-shop.co.uk and we’ll be happy to assist you.