The paper aims to analyse the discourse about the alteration of trans people’s civil registry and how this discourse creates an intelligibility framework about them. The object of analysis was the dominant legal dogmatic and the jurisprudence of the State of São Paulo. Both dogmatic and jurisprudence have demonstrated a jurists’ common sense that supports the change of name and sex in the civil registry of transsexual people, not travestis. Based on Butler, Foucault and Warat, it was possible to perceive there is no full recognition of trans people, therefore there still exists a legal control about the possibilities on changing the civil registry grounded on the subject’s autonomy and dignity.