1. Decide if you want a gender marker

In Ontario, you can choose to apply for a birth certificate with or without a gender marker.

It's easier to remove the gender marker from your birth certificate than it is to change it. You need to submit fewer documents. But doing this does not change or remove the gender marker on your birth registration.

Your birth registration must have a gender marker.

A birth registration is a Government of Ontario record of a baby's birth.

A birth certificate is an official document that you can apply for and use to prove your identity. It has some information from the birth registration.

If your birth certificate does not have a gender marker, you cannot use it to update your gender marker on other identity documents.

Situation in other countries

If you plan to use your birth certificate abroad, you may want to do some research first. Find out if that country accepts birth certificates with no gender marker.

Process to remove your gender marker

The Government of Ontario’s website has instructions on how to apply to remove the gender marker on your birth certificate.

You fill out Form 007-11076e: Request for Birth Certificate and have a guarantor sign it. A guarantor is a person who can confirm your identity and the information in your . Your guarantor must be a Canadian citizen who has known you for at least 2 years. And they must work in a profession listed on this form.

The cost is $25 for your first birth certificate. If you already have a birth certificate, it costs $35 to get a new one.

Online or by mail

You can apply online or by mail if you're not changing your gender marker on your birth registration at the same time. To apply online, complete the Request for Certificate Services with Payment as an online form and attach your completed Form 007-11076e: Request for Birth Certificate to that request. Then pay the fee and submit your application.

To apply by mail, send Form 007-11076e: Request for Birth Certificate and your payment to:

ServiceOntario          
Office of the Registrar General
189 Red River Road, P.O. Box 4600          
Thunder Bay, Ontario
P7B 6L8

Also change gender marker on birth registration

If you want, you can apply to do both of the following at the same time:

remove the gender marker on your birth certificate, and
change the gender marker on your birth registration to M, F, or X.

To also change the gender marker on your birth registration, see Steps 2 to 5. You include more forms and documents and mail your application to a different address listed in Step 5.