Recognition (USA)
 |
The contents of this page are outdated. You can help the Nonbinary Wiki by finding up-to-date information and completing it! Note to editors: remember to always support the information you proved with external references! |
It is estimated that there are over 450,000 nonbinary individuals in the United States of America[1], although totally accurate numbers are difficult to ascertain.[2] This article gives information on recognition of nonbinary gender identities in law, government, services, and businesses in the USA. This also deals with policies about transgender people in general, and related policies about intersex people. Recognition here means whether an organization acknowledges that such people exist and have valid identities, and the organization does this by routinely giving them a place where they aren't forced into being wrongly categorized as a gender that doesn't match their gender identity. In the case of recognition of nonbinary people, this means the system doesn't force them to wrongly say they are one of the binary genders (female or male).
How to use
When adding to the tables, please note all sections are in alphabetical order, as are the entries within them. Here is an explanation of the columns and the color code in most of the tables on this page.
Color code for each cell in the below tables:
- green (#9f9) means it doesn't ask for this information at all. This is ideal because it doesn't need to be changed, won't make a mismatch with other paperwork, and is no trouble.
- blue (#9ff) means it offers a write-in field. This is good because it acknowledges the existence of nonbinary people, but it can make a mismatch with other paperwork.
- yellow (#ffb) means it asks but answering it is optional. For a title, this means it lets you leave it blank. For a gender, this means it lets you leave it blank, or select an option called "none", "prefer not to state", or "unspecified". This doesn't acknowledge the existence of nonbinary people and can make mismatches with other paperwork, but it's better than otherwise.
- purple (#f9d) means it has a mandatory selection but gives some gender-neutral options, which may even acknowledge the existence of people who are nonbinary or intersex. For a title, this means the available options include not only Dr but Mx. For gender, it acknowledges that there could be other genders than female or male, giving options such as "other" or "intersex". This acknowledges the existence of nonbinary people, which is good, but requires you to be either out or closeted, and can create mismatches with other paperwork, which is trouble.
- red (#f99) is mandatory selection, without gender-neutral options. For a title, the only remotely gender-neutral titles it offers are things such as "Dr". For a gender, it only allows only female or male. This is the worst because it is nonbinary erasure. Activists need to let the organization know it can be more inclusive.
- white background means we don't have information about this yet, or some other situation (describe)
Columns in the table:
- Title is for title selection. Does the organization's paperwork require you to give a title such as Dr., does it let you leave it blank, or does it let you write in gender neutral titles such as Mx?
- Gender is for explicit gender (or "sex") selection. Does the organization's paperwork require you to say what gender you are, or doesn't ask? If it does, are you limited only to female and male options, or does it offer more options, or can you write in something else?
Ideally, please include a link to evidence, such as a screenshot or scan of the paperwork, with personal details blacked out, or cite a source.
Businesses
This section is for kinds of businesses other than listed elsewhere on this page. Please add to this section.
Planet Fitness in Richmond, CA is willing to let individuals "choose" which of the two binary locker rooms they would like to use.
As of 2019, United Airlines passengers "now have the ability to identify themselves as M(male), F(female), U(undisclosed) or X(unspecified), corresponding with what is indicated on their passports or identification."[3]
Charities
Charitable organizations. Please add to this section.
Education
Finance
Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions.
| Organization | Title | Gender | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BECU (credit union) | Doesn't print title on debit or credit card. | ||
| BMO Harris (bank) | "True Name" initiative enables customers to have their chosen name on the their cards[4][5] | ||
| Capitol One (bank) | Doesn't print title on debit or credit card.[6] | ||
| Chase (bank) | Doesn't print title on debit or credit card.[6] | ||
| Mastercard | "True Name" initiative enables customers to have their chosen name on their cards[4] | ||
| SunTrust (bank) | Doesn't print title on debit or credit card.[6] | ||
| Wells Fargo (bank) | Doesn't print title on debit or credit card.[6] |
Employment
See also our page on Employment.
In general, employment discrimination laws regarding gender identity and LGBT identity vary by state. See Wikipedia: Transgender rights in the United States - Employment.
Private employment agencies
Public employment agencies (the Department of Labor, the "unemployment agency") would be not in this section, but the section for state government and the federal government.
| Organization | Title | Gender | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RobertHalf OfficeTeam (office temping agency) | Doesn't ask | Doesn't ask |
Government
Federal and state governments
Official documents of identity
| |
The contents of this page are outdated. You can help the Nonbinary Wiki by finding up-to-date information and completing it! Note to editors: remember to always support the information you proved with external references! |
In the USA, official documentation such as driver's licenses, passports, and birth certificates usually show either M or F. Currently, even changing one's gender marker from M to F or vice versa can be difficult. Some states require proof of surgery (meaning a letter from the surgeon, or from a doctor who has examined the person) to change the gender marker on the identification, some states don't, and some states don't allow the gender marker to be changed at all.
Activism for nonbinary and intersex people-- and transgender people of all kinds-- should ask for these forms of identification to allow another gender marker, such as X, and to be able to change one's gender marker more easily, without proof of surgery or other paperwork. Or better yet, activism should ask for these forms of identification to stop recording sex or gender entirely, because there are better ways to identify people now. That would make life and paperwork safer and easier for transgender people of all kinds.
In the tables below, this section uses a slightly different color code and column labels than the rest of this page, though still loosely based on traffic lights:
- blue (#9ff) means it's routinely friendly to transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people. In the column labeled "gender" (or "sex," if that is the term used on that document), this would mean it doesn't ask for gender information at all, or gives an option not to give the information, or gives an option other than M or F. In the column labeled "change," it lets you change your gender marker without proof of surgery.
- yellow (#ffb) means it has only rarely or with great difficulty been friendly to transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people. In the column labeled "gender," there have been rare cases where someone managed to get a gender marker other than M or F. In the column labeled "change," changing one's gender markers requires proof of surgery.
- red (#f99) means it's not friendly at all to transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people. In "gender," this means it requires everyone to choose M or F. In "change," this means it doesn't let anyone change their gender markers.
- white background means we don't have information about this yet, or some other situation (describe)
Birth certificate
In the USA, most states issue birth certificates with an M or F only, with the limitations described above. Birth certificates call their gender markers "sex" rather than "gender," and the legal definition they use for this is defined by the past or current condition of the genitals, as determined by an examination from a doctor. With this term, defined in this way, it will be difficult to get officials to recognize gender identity with no relation to genitals, or nonbinary gender identity in people who aren't intersex, or even in people who are.
| State | Sex | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Alaska | M or F only[8] | ||
| Arizona | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Arkansas | M, F, or X[9] | No documentation needed | |
| California | The first state to allow a third option, "nonbinary," on birth certificates, starting when SB 179, or the Gender Recognition Act, was signed into law on October 15, 2017.[10] | Allows change without a hearing upon request.[11][12] | |
| Colorado | M or F only, with one exception where a birth certificate was changed to say "Intersex"[13] | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Connecticut | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation, no proof of surgery required.[7] | |
| Delaware | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| District of Columbia | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation, requiring only a letter from a doctor, not surgery.[7] | |
| Florida | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Georgia | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Hawaii | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Idaho | M or F only | Doesn't allow anyone to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Illinois | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Indiana | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation upon request, without requiring a letter from a doctor or surgery.[7] | |
| Iowa | M or F only | Requires a doctor's proof of "surgery or other treatment [so that] a sex change has occurred" to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Kansas | M or F only | Doesn't allow anyone to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Kentucky | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Louisiana | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Maine | M, F, or X[14] | Requires an "individual notarized affirmation that the change is made to align the record with their gender identity." Name on birth certificate can only be changed at the same time as the gender marker change.[15] | "At the time of birth, parents may opt to have a nonbinary designation on the [baby's] birth certificate."[15] |
| Maryland | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Massachusetts | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Michigan | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Minnesota | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation upon request, without requiring a letter from a doctor or surgery.[7] | |
| Mississippi | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation upon request, without requiring a letter from a doctor or surgery.[7] | |
| Missouri | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Montana | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Nebraska | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Nevada | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation upon request, without requiring a letter from a doctor or surgery.[7] | |
| New Hampshire | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation upon request, without requiring a letter from a doctor or surgery.[7] | |
| New Jersey | M, F, or undesignated/nonbinary. The latter became available on February 1, 2019, making this the 6th state to offer nonbinary birth certificates.[16] | In 2019, proof of medical transition or surgery is no longer required to change your birth certificate in this state. [16][7] | |
| New Mexico | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| New York | "X" available on birth certificates since 2019. | Allows people to change sex designation, requiring only a letter from a doctor, not surgery.[7] | |
| North Carolina | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| North Dakota | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Ohio | M or F only, with only one case to the exception: an adult intersex person won a lawsuit to change their birth certificate to say "hermaphrodite."[17] As of November 2021, a nonbinary option had been offered briefly but is is in legal dispute.[18] | Doesn't allow anyone to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Oklahoma | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Oregon | M or F, with one exception where a birth certificate was changed to say "Nonbinary"[19] | Allows people to change sex designation. Applicant must have undergone surgical, hormonal, or other treatment appropriate for that individual for the purpose of gender transition and that sexual reassignment has been completed. Surgery not required. Doctor letter may be required by a specific judge, though this is uncommon. [19] | |
| Pennsylvania | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Rhode Island | M or F only | Requires proof of surgery to change sex designation.[7] | |
| South Carolina | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Tennessee | M or F only | Doesn't allow anyone to change sex designation. Furthermore, "this is the only state that has a statute specifically forbidding the correction of sex designations on birth certificates for transgender people."[7] | |
| Texas | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Utah | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Vermont | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation, requiring only a letter from a doctor saying they've had a transition, not strictly surgery.[7] | |
| Virginia | M or F or X since July 1, 2020.[20] | Allows people to change sex designation, requiring only a letter from a Gender Designation Change Request signed by a physician, psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, clinical social worker, psychologist, or professional counselor, certifying the applicant's gender identity. [21] | |
| Washington | M, F, or X, since January 27, 2018, per rule WAC 246-490-075.[22] | Allows people to change sex designation on birth certificate. Since January 27, 2018, per rule WAC 246-490-075 requires only "the appropriate Sex Designation Change request form. A court order or a letter from your physician will not be accepted."[22] | |
| Wisconsin | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation.[7] | |
| Wyoming | M or F only | Allows people to change sex designation.[7] |
Driver's license
In the USA, driver's licenses in most states can show an M or F only, with the limitations described above that apply to all official documents. As with birth certificates, the gender marker on driver's licenses is called "sex" instead of "gender." All U.S. states allow the gender marker to be changed on a driver's license,[23] although the requirements for doing so vary by state. Often, the requirements for changing one's driver's license are less stringent than those for changing the marker on the birth certificate. This can create conflicts between documents, because sometimes a person is allowed to change their marker on one document, but not the other.
| State | Sex | Change process | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | M, F, or "nonbinary," which became available on driver's licenses in October 15, 2017.[10] | ||
| Colorado | Starting November 30 2018, drivers licences and ID cards can have an M, F, or X marker.[24] | Must have a DR2083 Change of Sex Designation form with a signature from their medical or behavioral healthcare provider. No specific surgery or other treatment is required.[24] | |
| Hawaii | "Starting July 1, 2020, Hawaii will update the gender marker on a Hawai’i ID to male, female, or X upon self-attestation by the applicant of their gender, no medical documentation required."[25] | ||
| Indiana | "M", "F", or "X" available since 2019.[26] | Must visit the Bureau of Motor Vehicles with supporting documentation.[27] | |
| Maine | X marker available since June 2018.[28] | Fill out the Gender Designation Form. Standard renewal and duplicate license fees apply. | |
| Massachusetts | M, F, or X options since November 2019 [29] | ||
| Michigan | M, F |