Gender Recognition certificate

A Gender Recognition Certificate can be used to change and legally recognise your affirmed gender.

Whilst changing your legal gender is a personal decision and is not required by gender identity clinics, employers or other institutions, a Gender Recognition Certificate does allow you to:

– update your birth/adoption certificate if it was registered in the UK;
– get married or form a civil partnership in your affirmed gender;
– update your marriage or civil partnership if it was registered in the UK; and
– have your affirmed gender on your death certificate when you die.

When you apply for a certificate, the Gender Recognition Panel, made up of people with legal or medical qualifications, will review your application. They must be satisfied that you: have or have had gender dysphoria; have lived in your preferred legal gender for two years before you make your application; and intend to continue living in your true gender until your death.

It is important to note that non-binary genders are not legally recognised in the UK, you can only apply to be recognised as male or female. Further, your entitlement to some benefits and pensions, as well as your partner’s entitlement to your pension, may change based on your affirmed gender. For more information on this contact your benefit or pension provider.

If you are asked to prove your gender abroad, for example when applying for a passport or getting married, you can provide a Gender Recognition Certificate as supporting evidence. You may be asked to get the Certificate apostilled by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to prove its authenticity.

The process to notarise and apostille your Gender Recognition Certificate will depend on how it was issued.

The Gender Recognition Certificate will be sent to you in physical form following a successful application. It may be issued in the following ways:

a. Signed with the original wet ink signature of an official from the Gender Recognition Panel
b. Bearing the original wet ink or embossed seal of the Gender Recognition Panel
c. Without a signature from an official of the issuing authority

Notary.co.uk can assist you with our fast and cost-effective services and walk you through every step of the process:

1. Contact us and tell us what you need. We will ask you to complete our online Client Registration Form and explain how we will complete the identification and verification process.

2. If the document was issued in an original physical version and signed or sealed by an official of the issuing authority, it does not strictly need to be notarised. If you are using it abroad, you may get an apostille on the certificate directly from the FCDO.

3. If the document was issued in an original physical version but not signed by an official of the issuing authority, it cannot be apostilled without first being notarised. We will check the document is authentic and then attach a notarial certificate to the original.

4. We will obtain the apostille by submitting the document at the FCDO on either our Premium or Standard service. If you need Embassy legalisation, we will also complete this after the apostille process.

5. When all is complete, we will email a PDF scan of your document. We will then return the document to you by your chosen method, whether by collection, post, or courier.

Notarisation will be carried out by one of our experienced notaries. They will carry out all required checks and issue a notarial certification.

To obtain an apostille, we will submit your Gender Recognition Certificate to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Legalisation Office (FCDO). There are two FCDO Legalisation Office counters – one in London (Premium Service) and one in Milton Keynes (Standard Service). We offer a Premium same-day apostille service for urgent matters and standard 3-5 working day apostille service if you are not in a rush.

If you need your Gender Recognition Certificate notarised or either legalised with an apostille or at an embassy, we’ll be able to support you with our exceptional services.