Sponsors (2)
The bill increases flexibility and reduces medical gatekeeping for changing gender markers on state IDs by shifting authority to states and allowing self-designation, but it creates the risk of inconsistent data across jurisdictions and raises potential security, verification, and private-sector costs.
Transgender and nonbinary people (including immigrants and people with disabilities) can change or omit the gender/sex marker on driver's licenses without a doctor's note, reducing medical gatekeeping and barriers to accurate identification.
States may offer an 'unspecified' or 'other' gender option on IDs, improving recognition and reducing misgendering for nonbinary and gender‑nonconforming people.
The bill returns decision-making to states about whether to include a sex/gender field and removes documentation requirements, simplifying DMV administration and giving state and local governments more flexibility and lower paperwork burden.
Allowing self-designation of gender without medical documentation could raise security or fraud concerns for law enforcement and federal agencies that use gender as an identity attribute.
Federal systems and agencies that rely on a standardized gender field will face inconsistent data across states, complicating identity verification, records-sharing, and cross-jurisdictional processes.
Removing a uniform federal requirement could increase costs or delays for private businesses and travelers that rely on automated ID checks, as firms adapt to differing state formats and fields.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows States to decide whether to include a gender/sex field on IDs and, if included, requires self-designation and an "unspecified/other" option without extra documentation.
Introduced June 2, 2025 by Eleanor Holmes Norton · Last progress June 2, 2025
Permits each State to decide whether to include a gender/sex field on driver’s licenses and identification cards and, if a State includes the field, requires the State to allow the cardholder to self-designate their sex/gender (male, female, or an "unspecified/other" option) without needing extra documentation such as a doctor's note. Also updates a technical cross-reference in existing law to reflect renumbering.