gettin ur trans legal documents

heyo

(This only applies to Irish citizens. I’m sorry for not knowing more about this process for migrants but I just know my experience~)

so. u wanna change ur name and gender so u can legally function as the person u rly are. well. being a legal functioning Irish tran requires u to change ur legal name by deed poll and also ur gender w the gender recognition certificate (GRC), and then after that u can get an updated driving licence or passport, which will help u get any other form of ID you need, and change ur bank account name and all that important stuff.

there’s a bunch of dependencies that i wish i knew about when i started so i’m puttin them all here so i can help my friends. also it takes fuckn months.

for all intents and purposes i’m assuming we’re all gay and we can’t drive and that we’re getting Passports baby.

If you do not already have a passport, it’s quite an involved process and u need a bunch of other documentation, but in a trans sense you still need the deed poll and GRC to explain the difference between ur birth cert and ur current name so all this still applies.

Let’s backsolve from the end goal.

right, so assume u have a passport in ur old name, to get a new passport with ur new name u wanna renew that bad boy, not apply for a brand new one.

on the information page for name change and passport renewal it assumes that the applicant isn’t trans, and has just changed their name from common use, and therefore needs to show proof of use for two years. yikes!

• the get of jail free card for this is the Gender Recognition Cert[3]. this costs only the price of printing and posting, + the cost of a solicitor witnessing you sign part 2 of the form (usually roughly €10–15). you can get a GRC without changing your name by deed poll if you’re happy with your birth name, this will still bypass the two year rule and you can get an updated passport with your updated gender marker.
• to get a Gender Recognition Cert with your new name, you need to enrol ur deed poll[2]. this costs €60 which u pay in the Stamp Duty Office in the Four Courts. It’s beside the pedestrian entrance, which is conveniently the opposite side of the Four Courts from the Deed Poll Office
• to enrol ur deed poll first u need to execute ur deed poll [1]. this costs €2.50 for four (4) sheets of legal paper, and then the cost of a solicitor witnessing you sign the deed poll. again usually around €10–15.

NOTE: u can only enrol ur deed poll on Tuesday or Thursdays between 10.30am and 12pm because they’re bastards. you can pick up (six weeks later) between Monday-Friday 10.30am-4.30pm tho so there’s that i guess.

So. To renew a modern trans passport with a new name you need

1. to actually go in to the passport office at 42–47 Mount Street Lower, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin, D02 TN83. You gotta make an appointment on https://www.passportappointments.ie/, their hours are Monday-Friday 9am-4.50pm
2. completed & witnessed passport application with four passport photos, two of which are signed by a garda. (you can get the form in the garda station, or post office, or passport office. bring photo ID when filling it out and getting it witnessed). you can usually do this same day!
3. A Public Services Card [4] if you don’t already have one. This counts as certified proof of name and identity. (best to do this after deed poll and GRC, but before passport application imo)
4. Gender Recognition Certificate (original and copy)
5. Deed poll (original and copy)
6. Birth Certificate
7. your current passport
8. €95 (for standard turnaround time of 15 working days)

you can do it through the post too (and it’s €80 + €9.50 p/p), but i found that the ppl in the passport office were confused as all fuck when i was there, and i was glad to be present to clarify things idk.

i also booked a refundable flight so i could get mine processed faster but lol that’s kinda sneaky and maybe you’re not in a rush but it’s an option! if you can prove you’re travelling within 10 working days they’ll process it faster. you need to bring a copy of your travel itinerary to submit with your application. I fucked up by not having a public services card and had to pay the €40 rush fee anyway.

So you need to first get your Deed Poll, then when that’s enrolled you need to get your Gender Recognition Certificate.

You’re gonna be going to a solicitor (or a Peace Commissioner/ Notary Public/ Commissioner for Oaths) for some witnessing on these two separate occasions, about six weeks apart bc that’s how long it takes to fuckn enrol a deed poll apparently. i recommend my solicitor Ian McSweeney because he’s a nice person and on the river-end of Capel St so very near the Four Courts which is handy. He made me legalised copies of my documents too which continue to be extremely useful.

it’s abt a 5–10 min walk frm the pedestrian entrance to the four courts

i asked him if he was happy for me to recommend him to every tran in Ireland and he said yes of course.

he didn’t charge me bc i think he was flustered by the novelty and transness of it all, but i’d say he might charge abt €20 all in for both visits? you can ring and ask! 01 887 4448 they know the process and what’s involved so could easily quote u a price. i’ve emailed abt it & i’ll update this when i get a response.

Let’s go in chronological order of what you’re gonna do starting right now. Assume you should always bring photo ID and your birth certificate with you throughout this process.

[1] deed poll

the citizens information page abt deed polls has this great typo

1. Obtain legal paper from a legal stationers. There are a few around the four courts, like Orca Print. They charge €2.50 for four pages. You’ll only need two, but it’s good to have four in case u fuck up! [NOTE: Orca offer to execute the deed poll for you for €50. this might suit u if ur rich? it does NOT include the €60 stamp duty u need to pay to enrol the deed poll. if u do this option then skip to step 5]

2. Download the template for a deed poll and also the template for affidavit of attesting witness. AND you wanna get the application form for enrolling a deed poll. (i got these from this ugly as shit page from courts.ie)

3. carefully fill in ur deed poll. it has guidelines and instructions in the file itself. here is my completed deed poll and affidavit too which u can copy. (the courts.ie page says you need a copy of each of these on legal paper but i didn’t have that and i was grand, they gave them back to me after it was enrolled). Practise printing ur deed poll and affidavit on regular paper first. Finally, print your deed poll and affidavit on your legal paper.

4. Go with your witness to a solicitor to sign everything in the presence of them. Bring photo ID. congrats, u have now executed [1] ur deed poll. (Ideally do this on a fuckn tuesday or thursday before 10.30am, so you can go straight to the four courts after, and bring cash for stamp duty)

5. Now ur enrolling [2]. Take your completed and witnessed documents to the Stamp Duty Office which is inside the Four Courts complex, right beside the pedestrian entrance. The entrance is on the quays, to the south-western corner of the Four Courts complex. Stamp duty of €60 must be paid in cash.

6. With your slip for paid stamp duty, go to the High Office of the Four Courts. The High Office is like, the south-eastern corner. So the opposite end of the building complex from the pedestrian entrance & stamp duty office. It’s a nice building to walk through and people are good at directions in there. This office is the 10.30am to 12pm Tuesday to Thursday place, so be careful with times with these fuckerts. you’ll need your photo ID here. it’s just one guy who works this desk, i believe. he says he job has gotten a lot more interesting in the last few years.

7. you have now begun the process of enrolling ur deed poll congrats pls wait 6 weeks now. (sometimes less! usually not less). they will email u when it is ready for pick-up. you can pick up from the same office(six weeks later) between Monday-Friday 10.30am-4.30pm. (March 2019 edit PRO TIP: if u bring a stamped envelope addressed to yourself, they can post it to you! usually faster bc they take ages to email you when it’s ready)

pro tip make copies of ur deed poll w ur solicitor before u enrol it.

[3] gettin the Gender Recognition Certificate

this is more straightfoward and takes less time! (teni have a guide here)

1. Download and fill out the application form. you’ll need ur PPS number for this. (if u don’t have one here’s how 2 get one)
2. Get ur other documents in order. You’ll need your Deed Poll and ur Birth Certificate
3. Go back to ur solicitor (or notary public or commissioner of the oaths or whatever) with ur witness and sign part two in front of them, and have them fill out their lil bit. (pro tip: do this on the day u pick up ur enrolled deed poll and save urself a fuckn trip. so fill out part one of the application form and then on deed poll pickup day, bring ur GRC stuff along w u. two birds.)
4. post the completed GRC application along w ur deed poll and birth cert to Department of Social Protection
   Shannon Lodge
   Carrick-on-Shannon
   Co. Leitrim
   N41 KD81
5. you should receive ur GRC in the post in like two or three days! if it takes longer, the ppl who work in that office are nice ppl (if a lil new to this process) and they answer the phone quickly 071 9672588.

pro tip 2: make copies of ur GRC

there will be some other things included with your GRC in the envelope. You are not required to change your name on your birth cert in order to get a passport, and you don’t need to enrol your gender change for €20 into the public registry of births.

all you need for your passport application is your deed poll, GRC, and a public services card

(This birth cert change is useful for admin stuff in life in future, but not a necessary step before you get your passport. so like, still do it! stick a reminder in ur calendar. the name on the bank account paying the €20 has the be the same as on the GRC, which was the stumbling block for me, so get ur passport, get down to ur bank to change the name on ur account, then do that birth cert thing)

[4] gettin a public services card

this is also quite straightforward, but is definitely necessary before ur passport application. the citizens information page for this is good, but not trans specific obv.

1. locate your nearest Intreo Office or Social Welfare Branch Office.
2. call to set up a SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment) appointment. if u just say ur after getting ur GRC and need a PSC they’ll know what you mean prob. if they’re being weird, the people who issued the GRC can liaise for you! Geraldine 0719672588, Mary 0719672549, or Kathleen 0719672582. it helps if you have the name of your Intreo Office or SWBO handy.
3. You’ll need to go to the Intreo Office or SWBO to verify your identity in person. You should bring Photo ID (current passport), proof of address (the letter that comes w ur GRC is handy bc it also has ur PPS on it), and your phone. Also bring ur GRC, Deed Poll, any other ID. fuckn just bring everything. Bringing your phone with you means the verification process can happen then and there.
4. Once your in person authentication is complete, u can apply for a passport straightaway! the two bodies of government share the same system backend so you don’t need to wait for your PSC to arrive by post.

if u already have a PSC in your old name, you need to just go into ur local intreo office or SWBO w ur deed poll and ur GRC and update ur PSC details.

gettin ur damn passport

1. follow the steps outlined at the top of this post and baby ur getting internationally recognised photo ID ! u did it!