On-Campus Name/ID/Pronoun Change Resources
Legal Name Change
If you wish to change your legal name with the Registrar's Office, you must first update California and federal identity documents. Follow the instructions spelled out by ID Please below for help navigating the process of changing your legal name/gender.
To change your legal name/gender with the Registrar's Office, follow the instructions listed on the Registrar's website.
Lived Name Change
Even without a legal name change, you can also designate a lived name, which is:
- A name that you can designate to be used on certain University-related records or documents in place of your legal name.
- A name that you wish to be known or identified by in the classroom (and elsewhere on campus).
- Different from your legal name
As long as the use of this lived name is not for the purposes of misrepresentation, UC Berkeley acknowledges that a lived name may be used where possible on certain University records.
Gender Recognition and Lived Name Policy
UC Berkeley is currently implementing the Gender Recognition and Lived Name (GRLN) policy, which ensures that all students, employees, alumni, and affiliates are identified by their accurate gender identity and lived name on university-issued identification documents and in UC’s information systems by providing guidance on the collection and reporting of gender identity, lived name and sexual orientation. This UC-wide policy requires campuses to provide:
- At least three equally recognized gender options in university information systems — woman, man and nonbinary.
- Any individual entering into an academic or professional relationship with the UC may be permitted to indicate a lived name to be used in the UC system in all settings and situations that do not require a person’s legal name.
- An efficient process for current students, faculty and staff, and for UC alumni and affiliates, to retroactively amend their gender designations and lived name on university-issued documents, including eligible academic documents, and in information systems.
Once GRLN is fully implemented, lived names can be utilized in all campus systems, class rosters, campus directory, and identification documents that do not require legal name without needing official documentation to make the change.
To change your lived name:
Change of lived name for all university systems
Name and Gender Change with the Berkeley Registrar
Name and Gender Change Workshops
Name and Gender Change Workshops are provided through a collaboration between Berkeley Law and the East Bay Community Law Center. Workshops are supervised by attorneys at EBCLC and provide legal assistance to help transgender, nonbinary, and gender variant clients apply for court-ordered name and/or gender marker changes and provide guidance for updating this information on state and federal identity documents. Help with fee waivers is provided whenever possible.
This semester, workshops will be held from 5:30-8pm on 1/22, 2/12, and 3/11 via telephone appointments. Email ngcw@ebclc.org or call 510-548-4040, extension 387for more information and to sign up.
Off-Campus Name/ID Change Resources
ID Please:
This comprehensive publication is a guide by the Transgender Law Center for navigating processes of updating California and federal identity documents to reflect accurate gender markers.
National Center For Transgender Equality:
State-by-State Guide and Documents for name change information