Global Transgender Solidarity: Legal Name Changes in Ireland and New York
For many transgender adults, legally changing one’s name is a monumental step toward meaningful participation in society. While transgender people across the world experience this important milestone differently depending on their respective courts’ process, they face similar hurdles and benefits – a comparison that has the power to create global trans solidarity. In both New York State (“New York”) and Ireland, for example, those seeking a name change struggle to show proof of identification and benefit from being able to sign their own affirmations, instead of the time-consuming notary process.[1]
Interestingly enough, New York and Ireland both derive statutory authority for legal name changes for transgender people from Gender Recognition Acts.[2] Both acts aim to improve the legal name change experience for the countries’ transgender populations, and while the processes would be harder if these acts had not passed, the processes remain prohibitive in many respects.
To legally change one’s name in Ireland, applicants must provide proof of their identity.[3] In New York, such proof is not legally required, but court clerks often require it nonetheless.[4] Applicants in Ireland can offer proof of identity in two ways: either by showing “evidence of use or repute” or by executing a deed poll.[5] Most applicants in Ireland go the deed poll route,[6] which requires them to show a certified copy of a current photographic I.D.[7] This requirement might point to Ireland’s process being more onerous than New York’s since the New York adult name change statute[8] technically does not require the applicant to show a photo I.D. In practice however, the burden on applicants in both countries is relatively equal because clerks frequently abuse their discretion by enforcing a non-legal court practice of requiring such an I.D.[9]
Both Ireland and New York increasingly rely on signed affirmations rather than notarized affidavits attesting to the use of a new legal name.[10] The central purpose of Ireland’s deed poll is to allow the applicant to declare that they are giving up their previous name in front of a witness, who then signs an affidavit, rather than to require the applicant to collect numerous forms of identification.[11] Recently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul was motivated by a similar desire to streamline the adult name change process when she removed the notarization of the affidavit requirement and allowed applicants to sign an affirmation instead.[12] In this respect, the Ireland and New York court systems are aligned.
Adult name changes are more than a tedious bureaucratic process; they are opportunities for global transgender solidarity. By encouraging cross-cultural conversations, transgender people around the world can first learn that they are not standing alone at the bottom of a mountain of bureaucratic hurdles and second, advocate for global improvement of the legal name change process.
Grey Berkowitz is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLVII.
[1] See N.Y. Civ Rights Law §§ 60-65 (2022); see also N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 2106 (2022); see also Peter Dunne, The Law Concerning Trans Persons in Ireland, in Trans Rights and Wrongs: A Comparative Study of Legal Reform Concerning Trans Persons 499-500 (Springer International Publishing AG, 2021).
[2] See Gender Recognition Act, Legal Services NYC, https://www.legalservicesnyc.org/what-we-do/practice-areas-and-projects/lgbtq-advocacy/gender-recognition-act#:~:text=It%20streamlines%20the%20name%20change,on%20their%20various%20identity%20documents; see also Dunne, supra note 1.
[3] See id.
[4] See N.Y. Civ Rights Law §§ 60-65 (2022); see also Name Change Basics, NYCourts.gov, https://www.nycourts.gov/COURTHELP/NameChange/basics.shtml (“Bring proof of where you live and your identity along with the court papers and filing fee to the court.”).
[5] See Dunne, supra note 1.
[6] See Dunne. (“Deed polls are the standard instrument by which most Irish people change their legal name.”).
[7] See Checklist for Adult Deed Poll, Courts.ie. https://www.courts.ie/deed-poll.
[8] See N.Y. Civ Rights Law §§ 60-65 (2022).
[9] See Name Change Basics, NYCourts.gov, https://www.nycourts.gov/COURTHELP/NameChange/basics.shtml (“Bring proof of where you live and your identity along with the court papers and filing fee to the court.”).
[10] See N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 2106 (2022); see also Dunne, supra note 1.
[11] See Dunne, supra note 1.
[12] See New York State Removes Requirement for Notarization of Affidavits and Sworn Documents in Civil Cases, Cullen Dykman, (date – nov. 8, 2023) https://www.cullenllp.com/blog/new-york-state-removes-requirement-for-notarization-of-affidavits-and-sworn-documents-in-civil-cases/.
This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.