Specifics for Los Angeles County
Look at this chapter if you're going through this process in L.A. County
LACIV 109
The LACIV 109 form is required for all new civil cases in L.A. County. It's used to determine the correct courthouse location to file the case in. For a name/gender change, you must file in the judicial district where you live. Refer to the District Map to figure out which district you belong to. If you already know which courthouse you're going to file in, you can find the district it belongs to on its website or on the LASC website.
Once you know which district you're filing in, fill out the form as follows:
- Fill in your short title as detailed here
- Under Applicable Reasons for Choosing Courthouse Location, circle the number seven (7)
- On page 4, check the box that says
4305 Petition for Change of Name/Change of Gender - On page 5, under Reason, check box 7
- Fill in your address information
- In step 5, enter the district where you're going to file
- Sign and date the form
Example
Here's what your form should look like once it's finished (Everything I added is in red for emphasis. Use black when you're filling your form out):
LACIV 226
The LACIV 226 form is required for all name changes in L.A. county. It's used to perform a background check. This form is confidential, so it will not be part of the public record.
- Under Sex, put your AGAB.
- Under Race/Ethnicity, put your race (e.g. White, Black, Native American, etc.).
- Under Social Security, put your social security number.
- Under Driver's License or ID, put your Driver's License number or another form of government ID.
- Under Place of Birth, put the name and address of the hospital where you were born. This can be found on your birth certificate if you don't know it.
- If you've had your name legally changed before, put all of your previous names under Other name(s) used.
- On the line labeled Date, write the current date, and then sign on the Signature line.
- Leave everything else blank.
Example
Here's what your form should look like once it's finished (Everything I added is in red for emphasis. Use black when you're filling your form out):
