Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF)

The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, known as TLDEF, is a national U.S. nonprofit founded in 2003 and based in New York. It works to end discrimination against transgender people through impact litigation, public policy work, and public education, taking on issues such as employment discrimination and access to healthcare. TLDEF is best known for its Name Change Project, which pairs low-income transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people with volunteer attorneys from major law firms to obtain a legal name change at no cost. Updated identity documents help many trans people navigate work, travel, and daily life more safely. The project has helped roughly 1,500 people change their names.