Texas bars transgender people from changing sex on driver’s licenses

Texas is barring transgender people from changing the sex on their driver’s licenses or state-issued IDs to reflect their gender identity.
According to a report by NPR affiliate KUT, Texans can no longer change the sex on their licenses unless it is to fix a clerical error. Sheri Gipson, chief of the driver license division for the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed the new policy when reached by phone Wednesday, the Austin news outlet said.
Previously, a person could change the sex on their ID with a court order or amended birth certificate.
The department did not immediately respond to a phone call and email from The Dallas Morning News seeking confirmation.
Get the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.
Or with:
By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Texas follows a handful of other states, including Kansas and Florida, that have issued similar policies. In both states, critics argued the policy violates people’s civil rights.
An email sent to employees in the driver license division this week instructed them to forward copies of documentation for sex change requests to a special email address with the subject line “Sex Change Court Order,” KUT reported.
Brad Pritchett, interim CEO of gay rights organization Equality Texas, said there is no “clear reason why this information would be useful to the DPS.” He criticized the new policy for denying transgender people the right to have a state ID that reflects who they are.
“Just like people who change their names after marriage want their correct name on their license, trans Texans want their driver’s license to reflect their gender,” he said in a written statement. “We use our IDs to navigate all areas of life, driving, voting, employment. Having an ID that reflects who you are is a basic form of dignity that many take for granted.”
In recent years, transgender rights emerged as the latest culture war in Texas and across the U.S. Last year, Texas banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, one of more than 20 states that adopted similar laws. It also prohibited transgender athletes from competing on college sports teams that do not align with their birth sex.
Dozens of school districts across the state, including some in North Texas, have designated which bathrooms transgender students could use, allowed teachers to use students’ biological rather than preferred pronouns and placed restrictions on how teachers could talk about gender and sexuality.