State of Ohio Bans Gender Marker Changes
With little to no warning, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles stopped allowing people to change the gender markers on their driver’s licenses and state IDs to reflect their correct gender identity. Residents will now be required to have the markers on their IDs match a birth certificate or passport. Previously, state residents could change the gender marker on their license or ID by submitting form 2369 to the BMV. That process has been immediately stopped leaving Trans residents stunned and stuck. Ohio joins a growing list of states where changes to gender markers on IDs are either banned or much more difficult to make. People seeking to change their gender marker on an Ohio license or ID are reportedly required to first update the marker on their birth certificate. The change is also reported to be required by language in the state budget passed in June.
Florida: Implemented via an agency directive blocking sex classification updates on state IDs.
Texas: Strictly prohibits gender marker updates on state-issued identification.
Tennessee: Bans updates under state laws defining sex as immutable.
Indiana: Prohibits altering the gender marker on state driver's licenses.
Kansas: Passed a unique law (SB 244) that completely bans changes and went a step further by retroactively revoking over 1,000 previously updated licenses.
Mississippi: Enacted SB 2322, requiring all state-issued licenses and renewals to match the sex assigned at birth.
States with De Facto Driver's License Bans
Much like Ohio's new restriction, some states create a de facto ban by requiring an amended birth certificate to change a driver's license, while simultaneously blocking updates to birth certificates:
Idaho: Requires an amended birth certificate to change a license, but state policy blocks amending birth certificates.
Wyoming: Enacted a policy tying driver's license changes to birth certificates while severely restricting birth certificate modifications.
States Tightly Restricting Birth Certificates
If you were born in a state that completely bans amending birth certificates, you cannot use a birth certificate to update your ID in states like Ohio. Total birth certificate amendment bans exist in Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Idaho, and Iowa
Although this has already gone into effect, a lawsuit is highly anticipated. Legal advocacy organizations are already evaluating their options, and civil rights groups have historically sued Ohio—and won—over similar document restrictions. Because the policy took effect so quickly, a formal lawsuit targeting this specific BMV restriction has not been officially filed yet. However, statements from advocacy groups and the state's legal history point to an imminent court battle arguing constitutional violations surrounding equal protection, right to privacy and first amendment.