Not a Speed Bump, But a Road Block: Texas Department of Public Safety Bars Texans from Updating Sex Designation on Driver’s Licenses

On August 20, 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) issued a new policy to barring any amendments to the sex designation on Texas-issued driver’s licenses, unless a change is necessary to fix a clerical error.

For many transgender or gender non-conforming (GNC) people, their legal transition includes seeking a court-ordered legal name change. Once a court-ordered change of name is obtained, individuals typically update their state-issued IDs, such as driver’s licenses, non-driver photo ID, voter registration, etc. to reflect the new name. They may also seek to change the gender marker on their IDs.

Some states require a court order to change the gender designation on a state-issued ID or birth certificate. Such an order may contain language mandating that relevant state agencies  update the individual’s sex designation or gender marker to match the court order. For example, Texas currently requires these orders to update Texas-issued birth certificates.[1] And previously, Texas required these orders to update a state-issued ID or Texas driver’s license.[2]

DPS’s new policy calls into question the validity of orders to change gender markers, requiring that staff disregard them when renewing or updating an individual’s Texas-issued driver’s license or non-driver photo ID. The policy was announced to Texas staff by email, reading in part:

Effective immediately, August 20, 2024, the Department will not accept court orders or amended birth certificates issued that change the sex when it differs from documentation already on file. The validity of such documents is currently under review by Office of the Director to ensure that all state and federal guidelines are being met. For current DL/ID holders, the sex established at the time of original application and listed in the driver record will not be changed unless there was a clerical error…If a single court order contains both a name change and a sex change, we cannot accept the order.

With one email, DPS is wreaking havoc on the established system for Texans to update their state IDs.

DPS will no longer permit individuals to update their gender marker on state IDs, unless to fix a clerical error. Staff must disregard any court orders or updated documentation when renewing IDs, abiding only by the information already in their system. And, for individuals who received a court order for both a legal name and sex change, the entire order will be ignored.

This last detail is critical – up until last week, a court-ordered sex change was required to update Texas-issued documentation. Now, it appears that if an individual has abided by these requirements, petitioned a court for their name change and sex change, and received one court order for their legal transition, the entire order is useless.

This email also requested staff to send copies of documentation requesting an update to a special email address, with the subject line, “Sex Change Court Order.” [3]

Making terrible matters even worse, the Texas Attorney General issued an unsigned statement late on August 20, 2024, reading in part:

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has recently raised concerns regarding the validity of court orders being issued which purport to order state agencies — including DPS — to change the sex of individuals in government records, including driver licenses and birth certificates... Neither DPS nor other government agencies are parties to the proceedings that result in the issuance of these court orders, and the lack of legislative authority and evidentiary standards for the Courts to issue these orders has resulted in the need for a comprehensive legal review by DPS and the OAG. Therefore, as of Aug. 20, 2024, DPS has stopped accepting these court orders as a basis to change sex identification in department records – including driver licenses.

These decisions are abhorrent and objectionable by every measure. Everyone – regardless of gender identity – uses  state-issued IDs in their everyday life. We use them to drive, vote, work, travel, or just participate in society. Access to accurate IDs is an important way to both support transgender Americans in their transition and identity, and to protect them. Having matching IDs, in name and gender, is integral for transgender and GNC individuals to avoid confusion, disruption, harassment, or violence. To create a complete roadblock to updating IDs and call into question an individual’s ability to legally transition is a sinister attack on the transgender and GNC community, one that is becoming common across the United States.

Texas is not alone in its oppression of its transgender and GNC residents. Currently, Florida, Kansas, and Tennessee also bar amendments to gender markers on state-issued IDs; Montana, Oklahoma, and North Dakota prohibit these amendments on birth certificates. Ken Paxton, Texas’s Attorney General, has been outspoken for his opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.[4] This prejudice and hatred is growing in conservative states, harming their populations and wreaking havoc for transgender residents, who wait in fear for the next legal attack.

Currently, Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents are protected when it comes to updating their state-issued IDs and birth certificates. In 2018, New Jersey removed its requirement for “sex-reassignment surgery,” now permitting residents to update their IDs and birth certificates by self-attestation.[5] In Pennsylvania, transgender adults can update their birth certificates with a letter from a physician certifying their gender identity – no surgery, medical procedures, or treatment required.

But, for now, transgender and GNC Americans are left traversing endless terrifying and confusing legal processes to transition. As long as transgender rights remain a patchwork mess in the United States, the LGBTQ+ community will need continued legal and social support to make sure that transgender Americans, regardless of where they live, can transition safely.

[1] See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 192.011.

[2] This information has been removed from DPS’s website, following the August 20, 2024 email.

[3] Accessible at KUT News, New policy blocks transgender Texans from changing sex on driver's licenses (August 21, 2024).

[4] For example, see KUT News, Seattle Children’s Hospital won’t have to provide trans patient records to Texas under new settlement (April 23, 2024); Attorney General of Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Major Win Blocking Biden Administration’s Attempt to Force ​“Transgender” Policies Into Schools, Securing Nationwide Relief Against Unlawful Agency Actions (June 11, 2024).

[5] Accessible at NJ Health, Changing Gender Identity.