Memorandum of Support
S.2431 Sen Hoylman-Sigal/ A.3925 AM Lavine:
Privacy in Name Changes
The New York City Anti-Violence Project (“AVP”) supports S.2431 Sen. Hoylman Sigal/ A.3925 AM Lavine which will extend the categorical privacy that applies to all other name changes in New York (e.g., marriage, divorce, and adoption) to judicial name change proceedings under Article 6 of the Civil Rights Law. AVP supports this bill because everyone, but especially lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (“LGBTQ+”) survivors of violence, deserves to change their name without risking their safety or privacy.
Right now, when a person files for a judicial name change unrelated to a family court action, their current and prior names are easily searchable because the information submitted to the court (e.g., the petition containing potentially sensitive reasons for seeking a name change, birth certificate, medical records, birth date, driver’s licenses, and addresses) all become a matter of public record. Categorical privacy in judicial name change proceedings is a matter of safety, dignity, and equity. This is especially true for LGBTQ+ individuals, survivors of violence, and those who exist at the intersection of both identities. New York State has long recognized the importance of privacy in the name change process and has long granted automatic privacy protection for name changes stemming from marriage, divorce, and adoption. However, individuals who must pursue a judicial name change under Article 6 remain subject to public exposure unless they
individually petition the court for confidentiality. Name changes are regularly handled by individuals proceeding without attorneys, and this separate process is not one that is easily navigated. This disparity places some of New York’s most vulnerable residents at increased risk of harm.
For survivors of intimate partner violence, the ability to change one’s name privately can be a critical component of safety planning and long-term protection. However, as technology outpaces court processes, the private information and documents used in court-ordered name change proceedings are being scraped and re-published online. Having such private information publicly available poses safety and privacy risks for all petitioners seeking a name change; but these harms are particularly acute for LGBTQ+ survivors of violence. Public name change records can be weaponized by abusers to track, harass, or retaliate against individuals attempting to rebuild their lives and recalibrate their personal safety. The current discretionary process to seal or anonymize a name change proceeding is not only inconsistent across judges, but also unfairly places the burden on survivors to disclose deeply personal and often retraumatizing information in open court in order to justify the need for privacy.
LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly those whose gender expression or identity has been a focus of targeted abuse, harassment, or state-sanctioned discrimination, also face heightened risks when forced to pursue a name change through a public process. A legal name change is often a necessary step in aligning identification documents with a person’s gender identity, and it can be essential to accessing employment, housing, healthcare, and public services without stigma or other barriers. When name change proceedings and the documents contained therein are made public, it can forcibly out individuals as transgender thereby exposing them to potential violence, discrimination, or familial rejection. For LGBTQ+ survivors of violence whose identities have often been manipulated, threatened, or invalidated by their abusers as a means of exerting power and control, the lack of categorical privacy in this legal process further undermines both their autonomy and personal safety.
S.2431 Sen. Hoylman-Sigal/ A.3925 AM Lavine will eliminate such safety risks by creating a privacy category for name changes akin to family court proceedings, where only parties or those who have good reason to access the name change can see the court filing and can have access to the underlying documents containing private and sensitive information. Categorical privacy would bring much-needed parity to the name change process in New York by ensuring that individuals seeking to affirm their identity or protect their safety are not forced to risk further harm in order to do so. By treating judicial name change proceedings under Article 6 with the same baseline privacy as other name changes, this legislation would affirm New York’s commitment to safeguarding LGBTQ+ survivors of violence with consistency, compassion, and justice.
About the New York City Anti-Violence Project
AVP is a New York City-based nonprofit, non-partisan organization devoted to serving LGBTQ+ survivors of violence through organizing, education, counseling, direct legal representation, and advocacy. AVP was founded in 1980 by community activists in Chelsea, after the police and city had no response to a series of brutal attacks against gay men. AVP is now the largest anti-LGBTQ+ violence nonprofit in the nation: for over forty years, it has operated a 24-hour hotline for LGBTQ+ survivors of violence. AVP reaches over 14,000 people across New York City annually through comprehensive programming in all five boroughs. AVP is specifically committed to working with and for those LGBTQ+ groups most impacted by violence, including transgender and gender nonconforming people of color, undocumented immigrants, low-income survivors, and sex workers, among other underserved groups. AVP offers free legal services, counseling services, and advocacy to
LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected survivors of violence.
For more information:
Paulina A. Cohen, Esq. / 212.714.1184 x 33 / pcohen@avp.org
Updated: 5/19/2025