U.S. States begin offering non-binary Driver’s Licenses

 

Several U.S. states are allowing their non-binary residents, who don’t identify as male or female, to obtain identity documents that accurately reflect their gender identity. 

Over the past year and a half, several states have adopted policies that allow their residents to obtain a Driver’s License or State ID that identifies them as non-binary. Jurisdictions that have or will soon have these policies in place include Oregon, Washington D.C., California, Maine, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Colorado. 

 

On June 15, 2017, Oregon became the first state in the country to adopt a policy that allows its residents to obtain a Driver’s License or State ID with an “X” gender marker, which stands for either non-binary or unspecified. 

 

The policy was approved by Oregon’s state Transportation Commission and went into effect in early July 2017. 

 

 

 

While Oregon was the first U.S. jurisdiction to approve a policy allowing its residents to obtain non-binary State IDs, Washington D.C. was the first to begin issuing them. 

 

Washington D.C. issued its first non-binary Driver’s Licenses June 27, 2017, after its Mayor announced the policy the previous week. 

 

 

 

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law on Oct. 15, 2017 that will allow people applying for a Driver’s License or ID to be identified as male, female, or non-binary. 

 

That part of the law will be implemented Jan. 1, 2019.

 

 

 

The office of Maine’s Secretary of State released a press release June 11, 2018, which states that in July 2019, the state will allow residents to obtain Driver’s Licenses and IDs with an “X” gender marker. 

 

In the meantime, stickers for State IDs will be available that read, “Gender has been changed to X — Non-binary.” 

 

 

 

Minnesota began using a new driver’s license software in early October that allows residents to select an “X” gender marker. 

 

 

 

Arkansas issued gender-neutral state IDs to at least two people in October. 

 

The Director of Communications for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration told “Into,” a news website that covers LGBT issues, that the IDs were issued pursuant to a policy that was implemented by a former state official in December 2010. 

 

That policy allows people to change the gender on their driver’s license, “as requested, no questions asked, no documentation required.” 

 

Into reported that the 2010 policy change was adopted without a formal announcement. 

 

 

 

In November, the Denver Post reported that the Colorado Department of Revenue, which oversees the Division of Motor Vehicles, had decided to allow residents to use an “X” gender marker on their Driver’s Licenses beginning Nov. 30. 

 

The Department’s Executive Director told the newspaper that the policy change was adopted in part because Colorado residents have filed lawsuits, against other government agencies, to change their sex or gender markers on official documents.

In one of those cases, Colorado resident Dana Zzyym sued the U.S. State Department to receive a passport with an “X” gender marker. 

 

In September, a federal judge ruled the State Department’s gender marker policy, which only allows for a male or female gender marker, violated the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs how federal agencies adopt rules and regulations. 

 

The judge ordered the State Department to issue Dana a passport with an X gender marker. 

 

The U.S. State Department has appealed the judge’s ruling. 

 

 

 

 

Given the pace of these changes, it's likely that more states will soon adopt similar policies that will allow their non-binary residents to obtain State IDs that accurately reflect their gender identity.