Guides
Transition, step by step
Legal and medical procedures explained clearly, in Romanian and English, kept current by people who have been through them.
Read the guidesResources for and about trans people in Romania
Information about trans and transgender people in Romania is scattered and often wrong or out of date. Here we gather it in one place, check it and make it accessible: legal transition and changing your documents, medical transition, community and LGBTQ+ resources, for the community and for the public.
Frequently asked
The things most people ask first.
Short answers about trans people, transition and what you will find here. For the detail, each guide goes further.
A trans person is someone whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. It is not an illness and it is not a choice; it is a fundamental part of who we are.
Use the name and pronouns the person gives you. If you do not know them, just ask, without making a thing of it. If you get it wrong, correct yourself briefly and move on.
There is no test, and nobody else can hand you a verdict.
What usually helps is looking at concrete things instead of labels. When you have imagined living differently than you live now, how did that feel? Is there a name, a pronoun, a piece of clothing, a photo your mind keeps returning to? If someone guaranteed you could live as a woman or as a man with no consequences at all, would you change anything?
The question itself is already information. It is not proof, but cis people do not tend to spend years wondering whether they are cis.
At present, changing your name, sex marker and CNP is obtained through the courts. The legal transition guide describes the procedure step by step, and the templates help you put the file together.
Listen, and believe them. The fact that they told you means they worked out that they could. First reactions get remembered for years.
Use their name and their gender, including when they are not in the room. Being consistent behind their back counts for more than being polite to their face.
Ask concretely how you can help, rather than assuming. Some people want company on an administrative errand, others want nothing between you to change at all.
Organisations such as ACCEPT, Transcore and MozaiQ offer support groups, counselling and information.
Beyond them there are online groups where people share their experience, such as which doctor they saw, what worked and what did not.
"Trans" and "transgender" mean the same thing: a person whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. "Transsexual" is an older term, used mostly in medical or legal contexts; some people claim it, others avoid it. When in doubt, "trans" is the safe choice.
Legal transition (legal gender recognition) means changing your documents: your name, the sex marker on your birth certificate and your CNP, recognised by a court judgment. The guide on this site walks through the process step by step, with templates for the file.
Guides and templates
What you can read and use now
The guides are in Romanian and English. The templates are Romanian only, because Romanian is the language they have to be filed in.
-
Guide · RO/ENLegal transitionChanging your name, sex marker and CNP through the courts.
-
Coming soonCommunityOrganisations, support groups and safe spaces in Romania.
-
Tool · ROGenerate a draftCeleste asks you about your situation and builds a draft of the statement of claim, which you check before filing it.
Support us
Keep the site running
The guide and Celeste are free and stay that way. The servers, the infrastructure and the work behind them aren't. If this site helped you and you can spare it, a coffee counts.
1 / 3
· swipe the cards
A coffee
For the people who write the guides
Every page is researched, checked and translated by people. A coffee is a concrete thank you for the hours behind it.
Support us on Buy Me a Coffee
Online, free
Celeste
Hi! I'm Celeste. Have a question?
Celeste answers using only the text of the guides on this site, and shows you where the answer came from.
- Explains the steps and shows you where they are written down
- Answers in Romanian or English, whenever you ask
- Does not assess your case and does not replace a lawyer or a doctor
Celeste is an automated assistant (AI). Informational tool, not a substitute for legal or medical advice.
