The Office of the Registrar requires specific documentation before a certain biographical information update can be processed. Students who wish to update their legal name, social security number, legal sex, and/or date of birth must provide the following:
A complete and submitted Biographical Information Update form
Photo Identification
The Biographical Information Update form also covers a name-in-use request if you wish to go by a first name that is different from your legal first name.
For students wishing to change or designate their ethnicity, gender identification, or pronouns, you will find steps below showing how you may change that information online yourself.
Step 1: Complete a Biographical Information Update form.
Step 2: You will be routed to a landing page, click “Initiate Request”.
Step 3: You can choose to review and sign your form. This will launch a DocuSign form which you need to complete the required fields and sign electronically.
Step 4: Attach your photo identification and official documentation.
If you are a former student and you no longer have access to your ONID account, you will need to contact the Office of the Registrar directly to request a biographical information update.
If you are or have ever been employed by the University (student employee, faculty or staff), changes must be made with Human Resources.
Students may opt to go by a name-in-use that is different from their legal first name.
For more information on restrictions to changing your name, please see the Name-in-Use policy.
Example: A person’s name is Nathan Daniel Jones, but that person is known professionally and academically as Daniel Jones.
Example: A person’s legal first name is Catherine, but that person is known professionally and academically as Cathy.
Example: A person’s legal first name is Zheng, but that person is known professionally and academically as Sam.
Example: A person’s legal first name is Christine, but that person is known professionally and academically as Jackson.
As a current student, you can select your pronouns, ethnicity, and gender identity in your MyProfile Dashboard as follows:
Important Note: Personal Pronouns are becoming increasingly more visible in OSU Systems but there will be some systems where they do not display. Gender Identification is currently only used for reporting purposes and to offer additional resources and is not displayed to most system users.
You can also select your pronouns to display in Canvas. Please see this how-to guide from Academic Technology.
To designate or change your ethnicity,
If you need to have your ONID username updated, please see this guidance from the IS Service Desk.
To obtain a new ID card, you will need to visit or contact the ID center. You may incur a new card fee.
Your name-in-use will appear in most all OSU systems. Legal documents, such as a tax form or a transcript, require your legal name to appear. ** We are not able to guarantee every system will display your name-in-use name, as not all systems link to the main student information system. If you encounter issues, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
If you need to submit your request by mail, you may mail your notarized copies of your documents and current government-issued photo ID to the Office of the Registrar. You will need to contact the Office of the Registrar directly to request a biographical information update form.