On May 5th, 2009, my partner came with me to the county DMV. I brought with me notarized copies of both my surgeon’s letter and my name change. At the desk, one employee looked at my documents to make sure I had all the required documentation. Then, she gave me a paper with a number on it, as well as a form and instructed me to fill it out with my new name, address, and gender.
My number got called before I could even begin filling out the paperwork. The woman at the counter was polite and no-nonsense. I filled out my form while she examined my documents and license. I gave her the completed form and she returned my documents and license. She confirmed my new name and address (thankfully, she never used my old name), gave me back my number and the form (which now had her stamp on it) and told me that my number would be called again in a few minutes, and that when I got my new license, I should double check that everything had been changed correctly before I left.
A couple of minutes later, I was called up to a new desk. A woman asked for my number, my stamped form, and my license. She typed the new information into her computer and told me that my new license would be free. Apparently, in my state, driver’s are allowed one free corrected license. I’m sure it’s typically for address changes, or for name changes due to marriage, but I guess it applies in this instance too. I was told to sit down and my name would be called.
A new picture of me was taken, which surprises me, since I still look like myself, although I was only a few months on testosterone when my last picture was taken. As with all driver’s license pictures since the beginning of time, the camera operator took the picture before I had any idea what was going on. Minutes later, I was leaving the DMV with my new license in hand.