Texas Now Makes It Harder to Change Sex on Driver’s License

An email from the Texas Department of Public Safety says a court order won't be enough for a person to have their gender changed on their Texas Driver's License.

An article by KXAN out of Austin, Texas shared a story Wednesday afternoon that court orders won't make it possible for a person to change their gender from what is already on file in Texas.

The report reads:

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'For people seeking to change the gender on their Texas driver’s license or identification card, the Texas Department of Public Safety will no longer accept court orders or amended birth certificates that change a person’s sex if it differs from the documentation the department already has on file, according to an internal email obtained by KXAN.'

This email KXAN procured also gave notice to the staff in the Texas Department of Public Safety's driver's license division that the new directive would go into effect immediately, meaning August 20.

As recently as April 27, 2024, Texas DPS had a section on their website outlining what documentation a person needed to have to change their gender on their driver's license.

The section had read, according to KXAN:

'“If you want to change your gender, you must bring an original certified court order or an amended birth certificate verifying the change. Documents must be original or certified copy,' DPS’s website used to say, according to archived pages in Wayback Machine.'"

That section is no longer on their website.

The internal email, which was sent by the head of the DL division, claims the Office of the Director of DPS was in the process of reviewing  'amended birth certificates' and the 'validity of court orders' to make sure they comply with state and federal guidelines.

Furthermore, the new policy put forth in the email explained that the sex established in their 'original application' will remain as is unless a 'clerical error' is discovered.