Changing Your Legal Name and/or Legal Gender
Palmer College of Chiropractic maintains your records under your full legal name and gender. The Registrar’s Office is responsible for maintaining an individual’s official legal name and gender for Palmer College of Chiropractic. The following guidelines will assist you in changing your legal name or gender marker on Palmer College records.
The legal processes for changing one’s name or gender marker are unique to each state and sometimes, to each type of identity document. The path for each person to legally change their name and/or gender marker on their documents depends upon the state in which they were born, the state in which they currently reside, and the documents they wish to change. Some states require court orders to update state ID documents, while others utilize an administrative procedure. Learn more about your state’s process by visiting the ID Documents Center on the National Center for Transgender Equality website.
Legal Name Change or Gender Change Process
Strong evidence is required to establish a link between you and the record being changed. Submit a Request for Name Change or Gender marker form to request your information be changed on college records along with the required supporting documentation to the Registrar’s Office in person or by mail.
Legal Name Change Documentation
Along with your completed request form, two pieces of supporting documentation are required to change your name:
- Documentation showing your name as it currently appears on your Palmer College records, which may include one of the following:
- Government Issued Identification with photo preferred, however,
- Birth certificate or social security card is acceptable.
AND
2. One of the following that pertains to your personal circumstance:
- U.S. Social Security Card (Must be signed) (If you are a current student enrolled in the Federal Student Aid Program, document #2 must be an updated U.S. Social Security Card, refer to the name change steps on page 2 of this document.)
- Government Issued Passport (must be signed)
- Official Marriage Certificate: Must bear the filing stamp from the county or parish in which the license was issued. Church-issued marriage certificates are not acceptable documentation for a name change.
- Court Issued Divorce Decree: The decree must be signed by the presiding judge and bear the county filing stamp. (If submitting a copy, you need only include the first page of the decree, the page containing the name restoration order, and the page bearing the judge’s signature.)
- Court Issued Name Change: Original court order signed by the presiding judge and bearing the county filing stamp.
- Citizenship/Naturalization Certificate
- Birth Certificate: must bear the filing stamp from the county or parish in which the certificate was issued.
- Court Issued Adoption Papers
Legal Gender Change Documentation*
Along with your completed request form, one of the following supporting documentation items is required to change your gender:
- Government Issued Identification with photo
- Court Order
- Passport/Visa
*Note: The Palmer College of Chiropractic student information systems only allow female/male legal gender options at this time. The College is working on updates to this system to allow a third non-binary option. If your documentation has a different legal gender option listed than what you are able to select on this form, please contact the Office of the Registrar to discuss how to proceed.
Additional Notes:
For international students, the name maintained on your educational records will be the same as the one that appears on your passport and U.S. Immigration documentation, including the Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant Student Status.
Requests for current students will update the student’s record, to include the academic transcript.
Requests for alumni will update the alumni record only; transcripts continue to reflect the legal name at the time of graduation.
Some professional licensing and certification agencies require that the name on an individual’s diploma be the same as the one on the professional license or certificate. Duplicate or replacement requests for Palmer College must be made online, by submitting a Duplicate Diploma Request. If requesting a new diploma upon submitting a name change, the graduate should go through the appropriate steps to make an official name change with the Registrar’s Office as well as submit a Duplicate Diploma Request.
Note that College policy prohibits name changes to student records (transcript) after graduation.
