Change of name and gender and sex identifier.

Assembly Member Zbur and their coauthors advance a package that streamlines how name changes to align with gender identity are processed in California, foregrounding a rapid, hearing-free path for adults and a conditional streamlined path for minors. The core change is a six-week-or-less timeline in which an adult petition to conform a name to gender identity would be granted without a hearing, provided no timely objection is filed. This replaces the former objection-based mechanism for adult name changes and moves the process toward an expedited, court-issued order after filing.

For minors, the measure preserves a conditional structure tied to parental signatures. If all living parents sign the minor’s petition, the court would grant the change without a hearing within six weeks. If not all living parents sign, the petition and the order would be served on the non-signing parent within four weeks, and a hearing would be possible only if a timely objection showing good cause is filed. Objections based solely on concerns about the minor’s gender identity or birth assignment would not constitute good cause. The approach also keeps the petition-exemption from publication and ties the hearing to timely objections, with the court allowed to examine relevant parties if a hearing occurs.

In addition, the measure introduces a consolidated framework for updating vital records to reflect gender changes, including birth certificates and marriage licenses. It adds provisions that require a judgment granting a change in gender or name to be filed with appropriate state or county authorities, with the new records issued in alignment with the court order and name change, while preserving confidentiality and limiting disclosures. The proposed framework contemplates a single petition pathway that could cover both name changes and the issuance of new birth certificates or licenses, subject to the applicable conditions and procedures described above. Several of these provisions would become operative on July 1, 2026 and would be repealed or sunset at a later date, with explicit transitional rules and service timelines tied to the court orders.

The surrounding policy context centers on aligning court processes with changes in gender identity recognition and updating downstream records accordingly, while preserving defined safeguards around notice and objections. The measure attributes to the authors a goal of reducing court proceedings where timely objections do not arise and clarifying responsibilities for service when a minor’s petition lacks one or more parental signatures. It also contemplates a streamlined path for updating records, including when a birth or marriage record would need to reflect a change in gender and name, and specifies the procedural relationships among petition, order, and record authorities.