Record Changes: Name, Sex, Gender
Students, staff or faculty who are interested in discussing record changes related to gender within both university and legal records should contact Gender & Sexuality Services staff at lgbt@uni.edu or by visiting Gender & Sexuality Services on the upper level of Maucker Union to schedule an appointment. Alumni interested in changing their names in UNI records will need to work directly with the Alumni Association or Registrar's Office.
Legal Name Change
UNI honors all legal name changes for students and employees. The student legal name change form can be found here and should be submitted to the Office of the Registrar in Gilchrist 115 once filled out and signed. Employees should go to Human Resources at Gilchrist 027 with a photo ID and legal document containing the new name. Once a legal name change is processed, students and employees should go to the Department of Residence in Redeker Center 010 to get an updated ID. Please note these steps are the same for those changing name due to marriage and that our office does not facilitate legal name changes.
We encourage individuals who are interested a legal name change to utilize the Iowa Guide to Changing Legal Identity Documents.
UNI has several Notary Publics in the Office of Business Operations, Public Safety, and other offices located in Gilchrist Hall available to notarize Name Change Petitions and Amended Birth Certificate forms. Gender & Sexuality Services staff will support individuals through these process.
If you utilize UNI Mobile Print and change your CatID, you may need reset the CatID associated with your print account. Contact ITS for assistance.*
*Melissa Gevaert (Out & Ally Network member; Library Assistant IV at Rod Library) can also assist with Mobile Print.
Preferred Name Change
We offer the opportunity for students and employees to provide a preferred name in addition to their legal name for use in the UNI Directory, either by contacting the Office of the Registrar or through self-service on MyUNIverse. To update your preferred name on MyUNIverse, please take these steps:
1. Log into MyUNIverse
2. Navigate to the "Update My Personal Information" page
3. Provide your preferred name and the date for the change to take place
Please note that name changes can take time to process across all of our information systems. Please note that if someone else has previously saved your contact, the name change may not take place when e-mailing them. However, the display name does update for future e-mail contacts. Please contact Gender & Sexuality Services staff for questions or concerns, especially if your name change is not appearing after a week.
Gmail Display Name
Anyone with a UNI email can also update their Google Account name through self-service by using this guide. Please note that if someone else has previously saved your contact, the name change may not take place when emailing them. However, the display name does update for future email contacts.
Most of the Google applications will automatically update if you update your Google Account name, except for Google Calendar. To update your name on Google Calendar, please take these steps:
Sign into Google and access your Google Calendar.
Under "My Calendars" on the left hand side, select your calendar, then "Options for [Name]".
In "Calendar settings," you can update your name to be reflected on your Google calendar.
Please note that this change may take up to two days to fully correct and that there is a limit on changing this name three times within a 90 day period.
Zoom Display Name Change
Log into your Zoom account: https://zoom.us/signin (if you are signed into your UNI email, you can opt to sign-in with Google).
Click on "Profile" on the left hand side.
Click on "Edit" to the right of where your name appears.
Change your name. You may also be interested in adding your pronouns into your last name.
Be sure to log into Zoom for this display name to take effect for each session.
Legal Sex Change
We encourage individuals who are interested change in their sex designation to utilize the Iowa Guide to Changing Legal Identity Documents. Gender & Sexuality Services staff will support individuals through these process. If you are a student who was not born in Iowa and/or are not currently an Iowa resident, please contact our staff to assist in navigating your path forward. At UNI, legal sex change markers are facilitated through the Office of the Registrar. Due to federal requirements for universities and legal sex marker options in Iowa, legal sex must be recorded as male or female.
Gender Marker Change
As part of our work to understand and support the gender diversity in our student population, our applications and student records now include gender in addition to legal sex. While self-identifying your gender is not required on campus and the default response is "Prefer Not To Answer," we encourage students who feel comfortable to record their gender either in the application process or in MyUNIverse. Information about the terminology we use on campus can be found here.
- Log into MyUNIverse
- Navigate to the "Update My Personal Information" page
- Provide your gender
For More Information
Contact lgbt@uni.edu with any questions regarding names, legal sex and gender at UNI. If you are seeking a name change unrelated to LGBTQ+ identity, please contact the Registrar's Office.
Please note that Gender & Sexuality Services is not a legal or social service agency and cannot provide legal, medical or social services or referrals. We will do our best to direct you to information and resources appropriate to your needs.