Unfortunately, some of our Do-It-Yourself Tools (form filling tools) are having intermittent issues because of a technical problem with one of our partner organizations. If you try to create forms using one of these tools, you may get an error that prevents you from saving your answers or downloading your forms. The tools housed on MLH-Forms(link is external) are still working properly.

All of the other content on Michigan Legal Help is still available. If you have any trouble finding what you need and you are not sure if it is included in this outage, you can use LiveHelp to chat with us. For blank court forms, use this link to the Michigan Courts forms(link is external) page. Thank you for your patience. Our partner organization is doing everything they can to restore access to these tools.

Have you faced eviction or debt collection in Michigan and got a default judgment? (This means you missed court and the judge decided the case without you.)

Were you evicted by the sheriff and never went to court?

Have you had money taken from your paycheck, bank account, or tax refund for an unpaid debt?

We want to hear about your experience to try to make the process more fair. Get a $20 gift card for a 30-minute interview. Your personal details will stay private in our reports.

Click the link below to fill out the interest form.

Interest form (link is external)

I Want to Change the Gender Marker on My ID or Birth Certificate

Changing the Gender Marker on Your Michigan ID or Driver’s License

To change the gender marker on your Michigan ID or driver’s license, complete the Michigan Secretary of State Sex Designation Form(link is external). This form does not require any medical treatment or surgical history to change your gender marker. When you sign the form, you are swearing the reason you want to change the gender marker is so that your ID can accurately reflect your identity. 

Once you complete the form, go to your local SOS office(link is external) to submit it and pay the correction fee. You must do this in person. Be sure to bring your current ID or license with you. The fee is $9 to correct a driver's license and $10 for a state ID. Your new ID photo will be taken when you submit your form.

The SOS should send you your new ID or license within two or three weeks, but it could take up to 30 days. If you haven’t received it in over 30 days, contact the Department of State Information Center(link is external) or visit your local SOS office.

Changing the Gender Marker on Your Michigan Birth Certificate

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is the agency that processes applications to change birth certificates. To change the gender marker on your Michigan birth certificate, complete the Application to Correct or Change a Michigan Birth Record(link is external) and the State of Michigan Sex Designation Form(link is external). These forms do not require any medical treatment or surgical history to change your gender marker. Include a photocopy of a form of photo identification such as a passport, driver’s license, or state identification card. The full list of documents that MDHHS accepts can be found on page two of the Application to Correct or Change a Michigan Birth Record(link is external).

You will need to pay a $50 fee by check or money order payable to the “State of Michigan.” Mail the documents and payment to the address listed at the top of the form.

It will take about six weeks for MDHHS to process the application. There is an option for faster processing that costs an extra $25. It shortens the processing time to between two and three weeks.

When MDHHS finishes processing your application, they will send you one copy of the new certificate. You can ask for more copies as part of your application. Each extra copy costs $16.