Trans healthcare in NYC: gender-affirming care providers
Most adult hormone care in New York works on informed consent through primary care. Callen-Lorde, NYC Health + Hospitals Pride Health Centers, Housing Works and Community Healthcare Network all provide gender-affirming care regardless of ability to pay, and Mount Sinai and Northwell run dedicated transgender programs. These are the providers we could confirm are taking patients.
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Hormones through primary care
Hormone care inside ordinary primary care, plus chest and pelvic health, sexual health, PrEP, harm reduction counseling and care coordinators who will help with insurance and housing. Decades of experience and a waiting room where nobody blinks.
356 West 18th St, Manhattan; 40 Flatbush Ave Ext, Brooklyn; 3144 3rd Ave, Bronx · 212-271-7200 · Website
NYC Health + Hospitals Pride Health Centers
Public-hospital hormones and surgery
Hormone therapy and surgical referrals at Bellevue, Metropolitan, Gouverneur, Judson, Elmhurst, Woodhull, Jacobi and Lincoln, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. Elmhurst and Metropolitan perform gender-affirming surgeries for adults 18 and over, from top surgery at Metropolitan to facial procedures and hysterectomy at both.
Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery
Comprehensive surgical program
Medical, behavioral and surgical care in one program, with endocrinology, plastics, urology and gynaecology on the team and voice therapy available through the health system. Its FAQ walks you through asking your insurer about coverage.
Housing Works Community Healthcare
Gender-affirming care with harm reduction
Gender-affirming care sits alongside primary care, mental health and substance use support at six health centers, including East Harlem, the East Village, Downtown Brooklyn and East New York.
Community Healthcare Network: Transgender Family Program
Bilingual workshops and care
A federally qualified health center with a dedicated trans program: weekly workshops in English and Spanish, HIV prevention and care, and referrals into CHN's primary care.
Gerald J. Friedman Transgender Program (Northwell Health)
Hospital-network trans program
Primary care, hormone assessment and maintenance, behavioral health, social work and gender-affirming surgeries through the Lenox Hill Hospital network. Listed in the Comptroller's 2026 LGBTQIA+ Directory; check there for current contact details.
Paying for it
Legal Aid publishes a plain-language guide to Medicaid coverage of transition-related care on its LGBTQ+ rights page. Clinics above have enrollers who can sign you up for coverage on the spot.
Hormones and PrEP
NYC Health and Callen-Lorde both state that PrEP does not interfere with gender-affirming hormones. More on Sexual Health.
Find more
The Health Department's Transgender Health page links to the NYC Health Map of LGBTQ-knowledgeable providers and its Pride and Care guide.
How to change your name and gender marker in New York
This is general information, not legal advice. The good news: New York State and City documents are untouched by federal policy and are among the easiest in the country to update.
1. Get a court-ordered name change
You petition the court; in the five boroughs the New York courts offer a free online DIY program that generates the forms, including a fee-waiver application. There is no newspaper publication requirement any more. Records are sealed while the case is pending, and you can ask the judge to seal them permanently if a public record would put your safety at risk, including because you are trans. Order several certified copies. A4TE: New York identity documents
2. Update your New York driver license or state ID
Go to a DMV office with form MV-44 and your certified name-change order. For gender, you simply select M, F or X. No court order, letter or medical documentation is needed. DMV steps explained
3. Get or update your IDNYC
The city's free municipal ID offers four choices: M, F, X or no gender designation at all, with no supporting documents for the marker. Handy while other paperwork catches up. IDNYC
4. Amend a New York City birth certificate
If you were born in the five boroughs, the city Health Department will change the marker to male, female or X on your own notarized attestation, with no medical documentation. You send the application, ID copies and, if changing your name, the court order; the fee is $55, which includes one new certificate. Questions go to tgnyc@health.nyc.gov. Born elsewhere in New York State? The state uses a similar affidavit process through Albany, and one amended copy is free. Forms and mailing address
5. Passport and Social Security: read this first
You can still change the name on a US passport with your court order. You cannot currently change the sex marker, and A4TE reports the Social Security Administration no longer updates sex designations either. See the next section before you send your passport anywhere. A4TE: Know Your Rights, Passports
US passport gender marker policy (October 2026)
Existing passports remain valid
Advocates for Trans Equality says passports already issued with an X or an updated marker stay valid for travel until they expire, and that it has not seen revocations. Keep yours safe and think hard before renewing early.
Applications are sworn
The passport form asks for sex assigned at birth and is signed under penalty of perjury. A4TE cautions against trying to obtain a passport on corrected documents without disclosing that, and suggests getting legal advice first if your situation is complicated, including for intersex applicants.
Booking flights
Book tickets in the name and sex shown on the ID you will actually hand over. That may mean one marker for domestic flights on your New York license and another on an international trip.
Mismatched documents are normal
There is no single "legal sex" in the US, just different rules for different documents. If you must show two that disagree, carrying your name-change order or a provider letter can smooth things over.
Free legal help for trans New Yorkers
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
By-and-for trans legal services
Named for the Stonewall veteran, SRLP gives free legal services to low-income trans, intersex and gender non-conforming people and people of color through three projects: Survival and Self-Determination, Immigrant Justice and Prisoner Justice. Email legal@srlp.org to start.
NYLAG LGBTQ Law Unit
Name changes and discrimination cases
Free help with name and gender-marker changes, discrimination at work or in housing, immigration and family matters, and a regularly updated set of know-your-rights resources for trans New Yorkers.
Legal Aid Society LGBTQ+ Law and Policy Unit
Medicaid and custody expertise
Publishes guides on name and gender-marker changes, Medicaid coverage for transition-related care and the rights of trans people in custody, and represents low-income clients. Call the main line and ask for the unit.
Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE)
The ID documents reference
The organization formed when NCTE and TLDEF merged. Its ID Documents Center is the clearest state-by-state guide there is. Note that its free Name Change Project, which used to match New York City and Long Island residents with pro bono lawyers, stopped accepting applications on March 11, 2026.
The Center keeps a referral guide that includes free legal name-change assistance, and the LGBT Bar Association of New York runs a free walk-in clinic on Tuesday evenings. Both are on our Essentials page, along with the Anti-Violence Project for survivors of violence.
Trans-led organizations and community groups
The part no clinic can prescribe. Most of these are free, and several feed you.
The Center: TGNC groups
Weekly peer groups
The Center's trans programming grew out of its Gender Identity Project, founded in 1989. Current hybrid groups: Harmonies for trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming people (Tuesdays at 6 pm), Stories for trans women and transfeminine people, and Voices for trans men and transmasculine people (both Mondays at 6:30 pm). It also hosts the city's big Trans Day of Remembrance and Trans Day of Visibility gatherings.
Destination Tomorrow
Trans-led Bronx center
The Bronx LGBTQ+ center, led by Sean Ebony Coleman, and the force behind the city's first transitional housing program for transgender New Yorkers. Walk in weekdays from 10 am to 6 pm; last client at 5.
Translatina Network
Trans Latina-led services
Founded by Cristina Herrera and running for more than a decade: case management, peer support groups, employment and leadership coaching, food and clothing, health and legal services for trans and gender non-conforming people across the five boroughs. Call to join the weekly groups.
G.L.I.T.S.
Black trans-led housing
Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society is a Black trans-led advocacy and direct services organization founded by Ceyenne Doroshow. In 2020 it raised more than $1 million and bought what it describes as the first Black trans-owned housing complex run by community, for community.
NEW Pride Agenda
Advocacy plus a free pantry and closet
A statewide advocacy group that also runs an Empowerment Center centering trans and gender non-conforming New Yorkers, with a food pantry, clothing closet and community programming, all free. Address per the Comptroller's 2026 directory.
Princess Janae Place
Housing navigation by trans people
Founded by trans people for trans people, helping unhoused trans New Yorkers move from homelessness toward stable housing and independent living.
SAGETrans
Community for trans elders
Support groups, case assistance, socials and outings for trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming adults aged 50 and over, run through SAGE's city centers.
Make the Road New York: Trans Immigrant Project
Trans immigrant organizing
Organizing and services for trans, gender non-conforming, intersex and queer people of color: free legal representation, healthcare enrollment, English classes and food assistance. Listed in the Comptroller's 2026 directory.
For nights out, see Nightlife, Bushwick and Jackson Heights; for teams and gyms, Sports. Trans history in this city runs deep, from Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson to Lorena Borjas in Queens. Start with History.
Support for trans youth and families
Care for minors has been under heavy federal pressure. Services below were confirmed on each provider's own site in October 2026, but call before you count on anything.
Callen-Lorde HOTT
Confidential adolescent care
Health Outreach to Teens offers confidential primary care, counseling on gender identity, psychiatry and care coordination for ages 13 to 24, free or low cost, and is accepting new adolescent patients at all three sites. Walk in at Chelsea on weekdays or call.
Ackerman Institute Gender & Family Project
Whole-family support
Family therapy and parent coaching, referrals for affirming evaluations, and community groups for caregivers, grandparents and siblings, plus play groups for gender-creative children and tweens aged 5 to 14.
PFLAG NYC: TransFamilies Project
Parent-to-parent support
The founding chapter of PFLAG runs free online support groups, including the TransFamilies Project for parents of trans and gender-expansive kids and a Trans Empowerment Circle. The calendar on the homepage shows what is meeting this week.
The Door
Free youth health center
Free for ages 12 to 24, with transgender health and gender-affirming services inside its health center, plus counseling, lawyers and meals in the same building.
The Center: Gender X
Weekly trans youth group
A Thursday group (5:30 to 7 pm) for trans, gender-questioning and gender non-conforming youth aged 13 to 22: crafts, guest speakers and room to talk. An intake is required for all youth programs.
In a crisis, The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678) and 988 then press 3 are both answering; Trans Lifeline's peer line is 877-565-8860 on weekday afternoons and evenings. Hetrick-Martin Institute serves queer and trans youth aged 13 to 24; see Essentials.
Trans rights and safety in NYC
The NYC Human Rights Law has covered gender identity and expression since 2002, and the city's enforcement guidance is unusually specific.
| Situation | Your protection |
|---|---|
| Names and pronouns | Employers, landlords and businesses must use your name, pronouns and title, whatever your ID says. They cannot demand medical history or proof of procedures first. |
| Restrooms and locker rooms | You must be allowed to use single-gender facilities and programs most closely aligned with your gender. |
| Healthcare | NYC Health states plainly that it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression in public accommodations, including healthcare settings. |
| Penalties | The Commission on Human Rights can impose civil penalties of up to $125,000, and up to $250,000 for wilful, wanton or malicious violations. |
| Deadlines | Generally one year to file with the Commission (three for gender-based harassment), or three years to go to court. |
Read the full legal enforcement guidance, and report discrimination online, by calling 311 and saying "human rights", or on 212-416-0197. The state Division of Human Rights (844-697-3471) covers the rest of New York.
If you are harassed or attacked, the Anti-Violence Project will support you whether or not you want police involved: 212-714-1141, Monday to Thursday 10 am to 6 pm and Friday 10 am to 2 pm, in English and Spanish. In immediate danger, call 911.
Trans employment programs
Dedicated trans job programs are thinner on the ground than they should be, and we cut several we could not confirm. What we could verify: Translatina Network offers employment, leadership training and coaching (646-882-2000). GMHC's Workforce Development program provides vocational training, internships, job placement and retention support for its clients. The Center's referral guide lists job-readiness resources, and for under-25s the Ali Forney Center and The Door build job training into their services.
At work, the Human Rights Law covers hiring, dress codes, benefits and day-to-day treatment. If an employer will not use your name or bars you from the right restroom, that is a complaint the Commission takes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get an X gender marker on a US passport in 2026?
No, the State Department is not issuing X markers: since January 2025 the State Department has not issued X markers or changed sex markers, and the Supreme Court allowed that policy to be enforced on November 6, 2025 while Orr v. Trump continues. Passports already issued with an X or updated marker remain valid until they expire, according to Advocates for Trans Equality.
Can I get an X marker on a New York driver license?
Yes, New York driver licenses offer an X marker: at the DMV you select M, F or X on the application, with no court order or medical documentation. State IDs are not affected by the federal passport policy.
How do I change my gender marker on an NYC birth certificate?
If you were born in the five boroughs, the city Health Department will change the marker to male, female or X based on your own notarized attestation, with no medical documentation. The fee is $55 including one new certificate, and questions go to tgnyc@health.nyc.gov.
Do I have to publish my name change in a newspaper in New York?
No, New York no longer has a publication requirement. Name-change records are sealed while the case is pending, and you can ask the court to seal them permanently if a public record would jeopardize your safety.
Where can I get hormones in NYC without insurance?
NYC Health + Hospitals Pride Health Centers provide hormone therapy regardless of ability to pay or immigration status, and Callen-Lorde, Housing Works and Community Healthcare Network are community health centers with staff who help patients enroll in coverage. Call ahead for an intake appointment.
Is gender-affirming care for minors still available in NYC?
Some gender-affirming care for minors is still available in NYC. NYU Langone ended its Transgender Youth Health Program in February 2026, but NYC Health + Hospitals still lists puberty blockers at three hospitals, Mount Sinai still lists its youth gender center, and Callen-Lorde's HOTT program is accepting adolescent patients. Confirm with the clinic directly, because this is changing fast.
Can a business in NYC stop me using the restroom that matches my gender?
No, a business in NYC cannot stop you: city enforcement guidance under the NYC Human Rights Law requires that people be allowed to use single-gender facilities most closely aligned with their gender. You can report violations to the Commission on Human Rights via 311 or 212-416-0197.
Is A4TE's free Name Change Project still open in New York?
No, A4TE's Name Change Project is not open at the moment. Advocates for Trans Equality announced on March 11, 2026 that the project is no longer accepting applications. NYLAG, Legal Aid and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project still help with name and gender-marker changes.
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