Texas Enacts Policy Preventing Trans People From Changing the Sex On Their Driver’s License

Texas has established a policy that bars trans people from changing the sex listed on their driver’s license.

The new rule will prevent people from changing their sex unless there is a clerical order. This policy would overrule court-mandated orders or amended birth certificates.

The Texas Department of Safety (DPS) previously allowed citizens to change the sex listed on their license if they provided an amended birth certificate or certified court order, along with clerical errors.

On August 20, the DPS stopped allowing court orders as a means to change the sex listed on a driver’s license. Announced on the following Wednesday, the change was advanced by the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton due to concerns about the “validity” of these court orders. The DPS is under the belief that the processes in place that result in court orders need legal review.

There have been previous efforts to prevent this, which Paxton was also involved with. One of which was legislation that would bar trans people from changing the sex listed unless there was a clerical error. In 2023, this bill was killed as the House Public Health Committee refused to give it a hearing.

So why do Paxton and the DPS still want to make this change in 2024?

While Paxton has not directly linked this change to targeting trans people, the attorney general has been known for his homophobic beliefs. In 2022, he called LGBTQ+ folks “predators,” and in April of this year, he notably sued the Biden Administration in an effort to block an anti-discrimination policy.

Back in 2022, The Washington Post reported that Paxton requested that the DPS compile a list of the total number of driver’s license sex changes. The DPS denied Paxton the information, feeling there was no way to differentiate clerical errors from other reasons.

Paxton’s push to prevent people from changing the sex on their driver’s license will mostly affect trans people and contradicts previous precedents. Court orders have been honored as a valid means to change the listed sex on government-issued documents for years. If a trans person transitions, they should be able to make that change in writing, too.

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