Reddit mentions of Elegant Epistles, Being a Copious Collection of Familiar and Amusing Letters, Selected for the Improvement of Young Persons, and for General Entertain

> 1) Change legal name.

It doesn't really matter where you print it out from, they all do the same job. The most popular ones tend to be https://freedeedpoll.org.uk/ or https://freedeedpoll.org/, but you could even just type up the text yourself if you wanted, it really doesn't matter.

You do not need to have it enrolled in the courts. The .gov website isn't very good for name change information at all. Enrolled deed polls are much more expensive, more hassle, mean that the details of the name change are forever searchable as it's published in the Gazette, and have no more benefit to the ordinary person. Stick to a free DIY deed poll, or a paid printing service if you haven't the ability to print it yourself.

Print it off onto nice heavyweight and/or parchment paper if you can. Its not a requirement, but it helps it look more "official" and some places expect to see it. It doesn't have to be anything really fancy, just a bit nicer than dirt cheap flimsy paper. You can get a little pack from Amazon/eBay/Rymans etc.

Make 5-10 copies and get them all signed and witnessed at the same time (so they're identical) so that you've got a couple of originals that you can use. This lets you carry on updating places if you have to send some away, or if one gets lost.

You don't have to do anything before you create the deed poll, just start using your new name from when you date it. All this really means is that you shouldn't open any new accounts in your old name after you've changed your name.

It might also be helpful for you to have a read through the UKTransInfo Name Change Guide. Apologies for the archive.org link which tends to make things a bit slow, they're having some issues with their domain at the moment.

> 2) Change name on Facebook (coming out to the people I'm not out to yet).

You should just be able to change your name on Facebook when you're ready, regardless of paperwork. Occasionally people do have issues if their name isn't their legal one, but this tends to only come after reports that you're using a fake name.

How you go about handling your Facebook account is up to you. Some people simply update their Facebook account with their new details, others make a new account and slowly add people onto it as they come out. It's entirely up to you, and there are pros and cons of each. If you do the latter option then do be aware that Facebook might start suggesting you as a friend to people you've not told yet due to their algorithm noticing that you appear part of the same friend circles as your old profile.

> 3) Not sure whether changing legal gender is part of 1 or separate? If it's separate, then what happens in the period when my name has been legally changed but gender hasn't?

Gender can only legally be changed by acquiring a Gender Recognition Certificate. To get a GRC you must have been living in your preferred gender for at least 2 years, have documentation to support this (keep a variety of bills/statements/etc with the date and your new name), and a diagnosis.

In day-to-day life having a GRC doesn't make much difference. You can still update almost everywhere to show the correct gender without holding a GRC (and in fact should, to get the evidence for the GRC!) The times a GRC is necessary are:

• HMRC - although they cannot update your gender they will still change your name and title, and can restrict your records so only a select few can see your gender details. To do this you need to contact Special Section D.
  
• Birth certificate - a key use of the GRC is to obtain a new birth certificate
  
• Marriage - a new birth certificate is required to marry in the correct gender
  
• Additional legal protections
  
  > 4) Update details on official documents– the ones I can think of are bank records, railcard, and passport.
  
  This will be a mix of online, paper forms, and in person. The best place to start is to have a search online for the company and name change as they generally have some information there about how to do these things as it's really quite common, although usually due to marriage. For the ones you mention:
  
  
• Bank - often need to go into the branch, although some have postal addresses too. Banks can be funny and often try to make up arbitrary and completely unnecessary rules. If you run into issues the best thing to do is either to try a different branch of the same bank, go back a different day and talk to someone new, or wait until you've updated some weighty documentation like a driving licence or passport to prove that they're being unnecessarily awkward.
  
• Railcard - there's information on some railcard website and not others. If you brought it in person then you'll probably need to go to a staffed station (although they may just suggest continuing to use it until it runs out) or if you brought it online email railcardhelp@railcards-online.co.uk Expect to pay £10.
  
• Passport - I'm just going to be idle and link you to something I wrote elsewhere. Apologies for it written with a FTM perspective, just switch the genders/titles around to suit, the information is still the same.
  
  > 5) Continuation of NHS stuff– namely, I guess I'd be wanting a switch from temporary hormone prescription to permanent one, laser hair removal (I think this comes on NHS?), and SRS. But I really have no idea how the system works.
  
  If you get a bridging prescription then you'll stay on this until you start seeing the GIC and they take over responsibility for your care.
  
  Facial hair removal and SRS will also be handled by the GIC. At the moment there's unfortunately not much you can do except wait for this, unless you have the means to pay for it yourself.
  
  You might find the NHS England Gender Dysphoria Protocol helpful to have a read through if you haven't already as it discusses what you're entitled to on the NHS via a GIC and the requirements.