Olivia, a 16-year-old trans girl from Seville, has taken two and a half years to obtain the rectification of her ID through the Central Civil Registry, despite the fact that the Trans Law sets a maximum period of four months.
The young Olivia, born in Brussels but residing in Seville, has lived through a true bureaucratic odyssey for her National Identity Document to reflect her true gender identity. The Trans Law, approved in 2023, establishes a maximum period of four months from the initial appearance to resolve the registration rectification, but in her case, the process has stretched to two and a half years.
An administrative ordeal that began in 2024
Olivia, now 16, started the procedures in April 2024, when she already had the necessary judicial authorization for the rectification of the registered sex. Since she was born abroad, Spanish regulations require that the change be processed through the Central Civil Registry, based in Madrid, instead of doing it at the Seville office. This, according to her family, has been one of the causes of the delay.
“We were in a hurry for it to be completed during the ESO stage, and now more so as she starts Bachillerato and we see that the record will come with the old name,” laments Carolina, the minor's mother, who prefers to use a pseudonym. Official documentation, such as academic records, evaluation reports, or the issuance of certificates, reflects the data from the current ID, so the delay has direct consequences on her school life.
The struggle for identity in daily life
During these two and a half years, Olivia has had to deal with uncomfortable and painful situations. At school, her family has had to fight for her identity to be respected, and the young girl has missed out on experiences like field trips where she had to present her old ID or trips she did not attend “because she is no longer the person registered on the document,” explains her mother. The dead name —the name and sex she was born with— still appears on her wallet.
“I can't wait to get my ID and live a normal life,” says Olivia, who has seen time pass slowly while her claims fell on deaf ears.
The situation reached such a point that the girl's father moved to Madrid this summer to demand an answer in person. It was then that he was informed that the resolution had been positively resolved in June, although the family had not received any official communication. “All of this has created a lot of discomfort and we do not understand what it has been due to,” she laments.
The Ministry of Justice denies widespread delays
In response to the complaints, sources from the Ministry of Justice have assured that “there is no record of widespread delays” in the processing of the procedures for rectifying the registered sex. Furthermore, with the definitive implementation of the new Civil Registry model, the office in charge is also competent to carry out the corresponding registration, without the need to send the documentation to the one where the birth is registered, which contributes “to expedite its processing.”
However, Olivia's family has not perceived that agility. Now, after learning of the positive resolution, they have requested the birth certificate with the young girl's new name and gender, counting the days with excitement. “I stayed with the people who loved me,” reflects Olivia, who hopes to start a new phase without obstacles to show her true identity.
The Trans Law, approved in February 2023, allows for gender self-determination from the age of 16 without the need for medical reports or witnesses, and establishes a maximum period of four months to resolve the rectification. In Olivia's case, the process has stretched to 30 months, a delay that the family attributes to the “collapse” of the central administration.
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