Sponsors (2)
Lets each State choose whether to include a gender field on REAL ID IDs and requires self-selection and an unspecified/other option without extra documentation.
The bill makes it easier for transgender and nonbinary people to obtain IDs that reflect their identity and lets states avoid collecting gender data, but it creates interstate variation that can complicate verification, privacy protections, and agency systems.
Transgender and nonbinary people can obtain driver's licenses/IDs that reflect their gender without a doctor's note and states may offer an 'unspecified/other' option, reducing misclassification and barriers to accurate identity documents.
States can choose not to collect a gender/sex field on IDs, reducing the routine collection of sensitive personal data and lowering some privacy risks from centralized data holdings.
Removing the federal medical-documentation requirement simplifies procedures and reduces administrative burden for state motor-vehicle agencies and applicants (fewer documents to process and verify).
If states retain a gender/sex field, transgender and nonbinary people (and other groups such as immigrants) remain exposed to privacy and safety risks if those data are breached or misused.
Variation across states (some keeping the field, others omitting it or using 'unspecified') could cause confusion and verification problems when IDs are used across state lines or for federal purposes, affecting travelers and relying agencies.
Agencies and entities that rely on sex/gender markers will face added complexity and potential costs to update systems, forms, and workflows to accommodate an 'unspecified/other' option or the absence of the field.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend the REAL ID Act of 2005 to allow States to determine whether to require licenses and other identification to list a gender or sex, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 2, 2025 by Eleanor Holmes Norton · Last progress June 2, 2025
Allows each State to decide whether to include a gender/sex field on REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards. If a State includes a gender field, the bill requires that individuals be allowed to select their own designation without extra documentation and that an unspecified/other option be offered alongside male and female. Also updates a technical cross-reference in another federal law to reflect the renumbering change. The change removes a prior federal requirement that restricted how gender is recorded on REAL ID documents and gives states flexibility and a nondocumentation standard for designation choices.