Court orders can’t be used to change gender on Texas licenses, DPS email says

AUSTIN (KXAN) – 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.

The email notified staff in DPS’ driver’s license division the new policy would be “effective immediately” on Aug. 20.

A person’s sex on their license or ID will “reflect the sex listed on the primary document presented upon original application that is already on file,” according to the email.

The Office of the Director of DPS is reviewing the validity of court orders and amended birth certificates to “ensure that all state and federal guidelines are being met,” according to the message sent by the head of the Driver’s License Division.

KXAN has reached out to DPS for comment on this development, and we will update this report when that becomes available.

A source told KXAN the policy came as a directive from the Texas governor’s office. KXAN reached out Wednesday afternoon to Gov. Greg Abbott’s office for comment and has yet to receive a response.

For individuals with a current driver’s license or identification card, the sex established in their original application and in their existing driver’s record won’t be changed unless there was a clerical error, according to the new policy explained in the email.

The new policy will not stop a person from getting or renewing a driver’s license or ID that corresponds with the documentation already on file, but “this decision will be left up to the customer,” according to the email.

DPS employees are also instructed to scan and report sex change documentation — though it cannot be used to change a driver’s license or ID under the new guidance — to a specific DPS email address.

Reaction from LGBTQ+ advocates

Brad Pritchett, the interim CEO of Equality Texas, said he and other LGBTQ+ advocates are “disappointed” with this policy change because it seems like it will most affect transgender Texans trying to officially change their gender markers.

“It also doesn’t seem to have been a change that was necessary — haven’t seen any reasoning for why suddenly you’re going to pull the rug out from under people who are in the process of going through this, so it’s also just a little bit of confusion,” Pritchett said Wednesday. “I think what folks are feeling right now is, why was this change necessary, and what caused it to be done so quickly without any notice of the public?”

Ash Hall, an LGBTQ+ policy and advocacy strategist for the ACLU of Texas, wrote in a statement Wednesday this decision will harm transgender Texans.

“State agencies can’t ignore court orders nor is DPS allowed to collect or share people’s personal information for political aims,” Hall wrote. “This relentless targeting of transgender Texans is yet another alarming attack on our privacy, safety, and dignity. Trans people deserve to live free from persecution in Texas and everywhere else.”

It appears DPS has made changes to the guidance on its website for getting a gender change on an ID card or driver’s license. As recently as April 27, DPS had a section on its page advising what documentation was needed for a gender change.

“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 information has since been removed and no longer exists on the current webpage .

Mo Montoya from Austin said he recently filed a petition to get a court order so that he could follow the steps of submitting that to DPS and then working to change the sex listed on his driver’s license. However, the agency’s Tuesday shift in policy leaves him in a legal limbo of not knowing whether that’s possible anymore.

“It’s really scary,” Montoya said. “I think for me, it makes me wonder how safe I am here and how I don’t know how much longer I can, like, even emotionally afford to live in Texas.”

Landon Richie, the policy coordinator for the Transgender Education Network of Texas, said this move tracks with trends seen in other Republican-led states, like Florida.

“These attacks, they’re not new. We know this, and they won’t shake us. We’re not going to be pushed out of our homes in our states, no matter how hard our state leadership tries,” Richie said. “We’re still seeing what’s going on, working with national organizations who are also tracking things like this happening in other states, and seeing how they’re responding as well, or have been responding and what sort of support that people are able to access through that.”

Criteria for court orders

While the criteria for a name and sex marker change can vary by jurisdiction, Travis County courts require an applicant submit two forms, a recommendation and diagnosis letter from a mental health professional, a fingerprints card and a $300 filing fee. Applicants must appear in court and submit to questioning by a judge.

Texas law does not require proof of surgery in order to get a sex marker changed.

If the petition is granted, applicants must also pay for additional certified copies of the court order, which are necessary to change a passport, social security and other documents.

“This order shall act as the official order for schools, universities, agencies, and departments within this court’s jurisdiction to correct and amend the gender and sex identifiers on any and all licenses, certificates, or other official documents under the agency’s control and issuance,” the court order reads. “This includes, but is not limited to, the Texas Department of Public Safety.”

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