Gender-neutral driver’s licenses, IDs cards in Nevada
Nevada has joined a growing number of states allowing residents to choose gender “X” on their state-issued driver’s license or identification card in addition to “M” for male and “F” for female, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles announced this week.
The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles implemented the option this week as the final step in a years-long effort to modernize policies toward transgender residents and those who don’t identify with either sex, the department said in a news release.
“The DMV is committed to being inclusive and realizes some people don’t want to be forced to identify as either male or female,” Director Julie Butler said in a statement. “We would like to thank the Nevada community groups who brought these issues to our attention and worked with us to bring about the changes.”
Last year, the department changed its regulations to allow applicants to self-certify the gender on their ID with no further documentation required. The DMV has now completed the computer programming required to enable the “X” designation to be printed on the license and transmitted to outside agencies such as law enforcement and courts.
The DMV has worked to bring its practices in line with other agencies, including the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, which changed its rules in 2016 to allow people to change the gender on their birth certificate. The Nevada Legislature added gender identity as a protected category in employment discrimination in 2011.
Nevada becomes the tenth U.S. jurisdiction to offer a gender-neutral designation on IDs, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. Arkansas, California, the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Oregon, like Nevada, allow self-certification. Colorado, Indiana, Maine and Vermont require documentation. Maryland is set to begin offering Gender X this fall.
A gender change to a license or ID must be completed in person at a Department of Motor Vehicles office, the DMV said.
