#even if youre not trans and just know how the deed poll system works i'll take tips and tricks

[thinkhappythxughts]

finally getting round to sorting my deed poll (legal name change) and oh my god this is going to be an annoying process. To have it changed on my driving license i need the deed poll and a whole new license application form, which needs to cross-reference my passport. The passport name change system is so complicated that I don't even fully understand what documents I need. For the license I also need a payslip, which means I need to change my name with my bank. The bank needs to see the deed poll in person, and the process can be helped by seeing proof of name use, such as a payslip. Which can't be in my chosen name until the bank updates it. My brain hurts and this feels like a hate crime

#me #it's fine i'll figure it out just ugh its annoying #why can i not just walk in to their HQs and go 'hello this is my name now k thx bye' #my payslips are monthly so i'll potentially have to wait for them to process it all before i can start the next step too #im going to have IDs that dont match #and all this just to have incorrect gender markers bc the UK will only put M or F #(even if i was binary trans the process of getting a GRC here takes literal years. upwards of a decade.) #if any uk trans people have tips pls message me #even if youre not trans and just know how the deed poll system works i'll take tips and tricks #trans #trans uk #nonbinary #nonbinary uk

[leosjourney]

Update 4 (Part 3):

2. First Doctors Appointment

On Thursday 12th of August 2021 I had my first blood test relating to my transition. My GP requested it (not even sure why) but it felt awesome to be taking a step in the right direction with everything.

On Tuesday 24th of August 2021 I had to get my girlfriend to pick me up from work mid-shift to take me to the ONLY Drs appointment they had left before I went back to uni. I spoke to my GP about my history, how I feel, why I feel that way etc and he agreed to refer me to the NHS GIC! It's great, but I know it'll be years and years before they ever actually see me. I got a letter when I had gone to uni to confirm that I was indeed on their waiting list 🥳

3. Name Change

On Tuesday 31st August 2021 I went to WH Smiths and spent £10 on parchment paper, and printed off a handful of unenrolled deed polls to get signed. We went to our friend Jesse's house and he signed one of the witness signatures and we had a cuppa, then we met our other friend Leah in Spoons to get the other witness signature. That's right! Your boy officially became Leonardo Matthew Jackson... in a spoons! 🤣 It's basically my place of birth. I also got new (sexy) passport photos taken that day.

4. Changing my Details with the Banks

Next step after name change is traipsing round every branch you bank with and getting your name and details changed. First was HSBC, which were absolutely fine with everything, was a bit of a faff but we got there, he ordered me a new card, and he offered to print me an updated bank statement with my new name that I can use to change my passport with. Next up was Halifax, who were even easier and nicer than HSBC somehow, they were unbelievably chill and also ordered my new card ASAP. Lastly was Nationwide, which I went to on a trip to Birmingham as there's no branches near me at home. The guy who served us was new, but he still managed it. I don't use a card for that account either so it was pretty quick and easy. No issues at all with the banks.

5. Changing my Details with the NHS

This was and still is one of the biggest pain in the arses of my transition so far. I had to chase up my doctor's 3 times to get them to change my details on their system. They said it was done. Then I began asking for a letter from my GP confirming my name change would be likely to be permanent so I could get my new passport. They said they 'passed it on to the practice manager' for some reason, when they could just pass it on to my GP. In the end I rang up and asked, and the rude receptionist went off on me about how my deed poll wasn't legit and how I'd got it off of a random website and you have to do it on the GOV UK site (absolute waffle, she didn't know what she was on about) and honestly it made me feel like shit so I cried and said fuck it I'll just change my name with the NHS when I go back to uni in Leeds because they'll be more clued up on trans policies than this random GP in Cornwall. I got to Leeds and I rang up about it and I was put in contact with a lovely lady who was so helpful about everything, she told me that whoever told me my name had been changed in Cornwall was lying and they just couldn't be arsed to change it. Apparently changing things on the system is a difficult and drawn out process, and my old GP clearly didn't want to do it. Leeds said they would do it for me but after all of the new uni student registrations had gone through. This was back in September. It's November now and I assumed that it'd been done by now, I had a throat infection and needed antibiotics and the prescription I picked up said 'Mx Deadname Jackson'. Safe to say I was not impressed. On the phone to the doctor's some people called me Leo, some my deadname. It was quite confusing. I rang up to book a blood test and the lady said that my name seemed to be wrong on the system and offered to flag it up for me, which she did. I got a call back the next day from the original lady who promised to change my name to tell me she had changed it, but for some reason it had been changed back. Who fucking knows at this point. Anyways, she corrected it, and told me that she couldn't change my gender marker because it'll generate a new NHS number and I'll have no record of my COVID-19 vaccinations on there. It's got me thinking though that surely when anyone has transitioned in the past that all of their medical records and immunisation history wouldn't just be deleted? Surely you can re-input it or transfer it over somehow? It's just insane. I just agreed to leave my gender marker as F for now and see if NHS systems or policies change to make this easier in the future.

#ftm #ftm transman #ftm transition #ftm transgender #trans #name change