Form

Guidance: statutory declarations for a Gender Recognition Certificate application

Updated 30 January 2024

All applicants need to make a statutory declaration as part of a Gender Recognition Certificate application.

There are different statutory declarations for:

• single applicants
• applicants who are married or in a civil partnership
• spouses or civil partners of applicants who intend to stay in their marriage or civil partnership

These statutory declarations are not the same as a ‘change of name’ statutory declaration or document.

1. Signing your statutory declaration

Someone authorised to administer oaths must witness you sign your statutory declaration after you have filled it in. You will need to read and sign your statutory declaration in front of that person, who will also sign the document.

They will need to add their contact details and provide details of the qualification that allows them to administer the statutory declaration.

Examples of people who can administer an oath are:

• a practising solicitor
• a commissioner for oaths
• a notary public
• a legal executive
• a licensed conveyancer
• an authorised advocate
• an authorised litigator
• a justice of the peace
• a magistrate

In Scotland a notary public or a justice of the peace can administer an oath. Most solicitors in Scotland are also a notary public.

You need to go to a magistrates’ court to have your oath administered by a justice of the peace or magistrate in England and Wales. The fee for a statutory declaration in the magistrates’ court for which no other fee is specified is £27.

Contact your local magistrates’ court to find out when they hear applications for declarations. They can also tell you if they will charge you or waive the fee.

2. If you are single

Use the form for single applicants if any of the following are true:

• you have never been married or in a civil partnership
• any previous marriage or civil partnership has been dissolved or annulled by a court or by an official process overseas
• your spouse or partner has died

How to fill in the form:

1. Enter your full name, including any middle names – this name will appear on your Gender Recognition Certificate.
2. Enter the month and year of your transition, your affirmed gender and how many years you have been living in your affirmed gender. There must be at least 2 years between your transition date and the date you submit your Gender Recognition Certificate application.
3. Tick the box next to where you normally live.
4. Tick the box that says ‘I have never married or entered into a civil partnership’ and cross out sections 6 and 7.
5. If you have previously been married or in a civil partnership, tick the box in section 6 that says how and when it ended. If you have been in more than one marriage or civil partnership, enter the details of the most recent. In section 7, select where your former marriage or civil partnership was registered.

Do not sign the form until you have someone authorised to administer oaths to witness you sign the declaration.

3. If you are married or in a civil partnership

Use the form for applicants who are married or in a civil partnership if any of the following are true:

• you and your spouse or civil partner wish to remain married or in a civil partnership after your gender recognition
• you are married and are not eligible to remain married after your gender recognition because your marriage is registered under the law of Northern Ireland
• you are in a civil partnership but are not eligible to remain in in your civil partnership after your gender recognition because your civil partnership is registered under the law of Scotland
• you are in a Scottish civil partnership and are applying for gender recognition at the same time as your civil partner
• you or your civil partner do not wish to remain in your civil partnership after your gender recognition

How to fill in the form:

1. Enter your full name, including any middle names – this name will appear on your Gender Recognition Certificate.
2. Enter the month and year of your transition, your affirmed gender and how many years you have been living in your affirmed gender. There must be at least 2 years between your transition date and the date you submit your Gender Recognition Certificate application.
3. Tick the box next to where you normally live.
4. Confirm if you are in a marriage or civil partnership.
5. Confirm which country it was registered in.
6. Enter your spouse or civil partner’s full name.
7. Enter the date it was registered and where.
8. Delete either ‘I do’ or ‘do not’ so we know whether you want to remain in the marriage or civil partnership after you receive gender recognition.
9. Delete either ‘has’ or ‘has not’ so we know if your spouse or civil partner has made their own statutory declaration confirming they want to remain in the marriage or civil partnership after you receive your Gender Recognition Certificate.

If your civil partnership was registered in Scotland, you will have to end your civil partnership before you can receive a full Gender Recognition Certificate, unless you and your civil partner are applying at the same time.

Do not sign the form until you have someone authorised to administer oaths to witness you sign the declaration.

4. If you are the spouse or civil partner of an applicant

There is a separate form for the spouse or civil partner of someone applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate. This is to confirm they want to remain in the marriage or civil partnership if the application is successful.

If you are in a Scottish civil partnership and are both applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate at the same time, you don’t need to make this declaration. Instead, you should both fill in the statutory declaration for applicants who are married or in a civil partnership.

How to fill in the form:

1. Enter your full name with any middle names and your address. You can also add your email address.
2. Tick whether you are in a marriage or civil partnership and enter your spouse or civil partner’s full name.
3. Enter the date that your marriage or civil partnership was registered, and add the place and country.
4. Tick to say where your marriage or civil partnership was registered.

Do not sign the form until you have someone authorised to administer oaths to witness you sign the declaration.