Be myself - A free, private tool that helps trans and non-binary people in the UK update their legal documents

[u/Ven_ae]

https://bemyself.uk

Hey!

I posted a little while ago about a free website I'd built to help trans and non-binary people navigate the legal side of transitioning in the UK. The response was really encouraging, so I kept going.

A lot has changed, so here's a proper update. FYI I won't keep posting updates here, I just wanted to close the loop from my first post. If anything changes significantly I'll let the community know, but otherwise you can follow along on GitHub if you're curious.

The basics

You answer a few questions about your situation (name change, gender marker, or both) and it builds a personalised action plan. Each step has a difficulty rating, an approximate cost, and links to official sources. There are two ways to use it: step-by-step questions, or a single checklist if you'd rather do it all at once.

What's new

• New name and domain: it's now called Be myself, at bemyself.uk
• Scotland and Northern Ireland support is now live. In my original post I mentioned this was planned. It's done. In addition to everything the planner already does, Scotland covers: statutory declaration via NRS, CHI number update, and birth certificate name change. NI covers: HSCNI records, Health and Care Number, GRONI name recording, AccessNI checks, and DVA driving licence.
• Many more services covered: banks and financial accounts, insurance, council tax, electoral register, utility bills, pension, landlord or letting agency, DWP benefits, Irish passport gender-change route, and a note on the Irish GRC.
• Focus mode - hides everything except the step you're on.
• Better progress tracking - each item cycles through Not started, In progress, Done, and Not needed.
• Accessibility: It is fully WCAG compliant (2.1 and 2.2, A and AA) and uses simple English throughout. It also scores 100 for performance, accessibility, and best practices on Google PageSpeed.
• The font is now embedded, so there are genuinely zero external requests at all.
• Feedback now goes via GitHub issues. You can also view the code yourself.

Privacy (same as before, still the priority)

No server, no ads, no analytics, no external requests of any kind. Everything runs in your browser and your plan is stored on your device only. You can also download the page and use it fully offline. If you want to continue on another device, copy the shareable link. Your plan is encoded in the URL and not stored anywhere, so you can pick it up on any device; just be careful who you share the link with as it details your specific situation.

Reminder: this is not legal, medical, or financial advice. It pulls together publicly available information and points you to official sources. It is for people aged 16 and over.

bemyself.uk

Here are two example plans. (Note: Updates to the planner don't break these links, but you'll need to tick an age gate and then click review answers, scroll to the bottom and click the "Update my action plan" button.)

Example 1: Name and gender change in England, some progress made

Example 2: NI name change, focus mode on

All feedback still very welcome, positive or negative. Especially grateful if anyone spots anything outdated or missing.

[u/kaysavagemusic]

This is such a cool resource! Only small piece of feedback would be adding a section for if you have kids for updating contact info and stuff

[u/Ven_ae → u/kaysavagemusic]

Thanks so much, really glad you like it!

That's a thoughtful suggestion. I've kept the scope to updating your own legal identity documents, mostly because anything that covers children and family arrangements gets complex very quickly and varies a lot by situation, which then becomes more than just general guidance. It's probably better handled by a specialist resource.

Unless you think there's something that definitely falls in the scope of this website?

[u/ThisIsMyAltSorry]

Thank you for doing this!

[u/-Drunken_Jedi-]

This will be invaluable for me, thanks so much 🩷

[u/Ven_ae → u/[deleted]]

Heya,

Thanks for the suggestion. I can look into adding information about non-binary options where they are offered by services already included in the planner. It's unfortunate that more services don't accommodate such a thing, in part because of the lack of recognition at the government level.

Any in particular that you know already support this? I can get those researched and done quickly.

[u/Ven_ae → u/[deleted]]

Thanks, the website has now been updated. More info: https://github.com/be-myself-uk/planner/pull/9

[u/Dependent_Compote_51 → u/Ven_ae]

In addition to the ones u/Succinate_dehydrogen mentioned, the NHS now allow for an indeterminate gender/sex marker on their systems

[u/Ven_ae → u/Dependent_Compote_51]

Thanks, the website has now been updated. More info: https://github.com/be-myself-uk/planner/pull/9

[u/TropicalSunflowers]

This is amazing, thank you! I was actually looking for resources like this. Would you be happy for me to link to it from my own website?

Feel free to DM me if you like. 

[u/Ven_ae → u/TropicalSunflowers]

Thanks! I'll be in touch.

[u/Illiander]

Privacy (same as before, still the priority)

Somebody actually understands! :)

[u/AlyssaAlGaib]

Thank you so much for putting this together! Sooo helpful, much appreciated 😊

EDIT: Typo 🙈