Gender recognition in identity documents in the United States

This article gives information on recognition of nonbinary gender identities in official documents of identity in the United States of America. 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). This page specializes in official documents of identity issued by the government, including birth certificates, driver's license, and passports. For forms of I.D. not issued by the government, and official recognition by non-governmental organizations, see the main article at gender recognition in the United States.



In the USA, official documentation such as driver's licenses, passports, and birth certificates all show an M or an F only. Only one person in the USA has managed to get a different gender marker than M or F, who was an adult intersex person who asked for theirs to say "hermaphrodite." Currently, even changing one's gender marker from M to F or vice versa is difficult. Some states require proof of surgery (meaning a letter from the surgeon, or from a doctor who has examined the person) in order 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. Lambda Legal is one organization working toward an ideal of having sex markers removed from identification, but in lieu of that, is also fighting to add nonbinary options to identification. One concern about having governmental ID that marks people as nonbinary is that this would amount to a national registry of nonbinary people, which historically has been an unsafe situation for minorities. This is another reason why total removal of gender from ID requirements would be preferable.

How to use this resource
In the tables below, this section uses a color code 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. (Blue is used instead of green, here, for colorblind accessibility.)
 * 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, birth certificates show 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.

Driver's license
In the USA, driver's licenses 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, 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.

Passports
In the USA, passports show an M or F only, with the limitations described above that apply to all official documents. The State Department determines what identifying biographical information is placed on passports. In 2010, they began to allow permanent gender marker changes to be made with a letter from a doctor saying that "the applicant has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender," and no longer requires proof of surgery.

Zzyym v. Kerry case
As of 2015 and 2016, some people are currently fighting to change the sex options shown on US passports, such as in the Zzyym v. Kerry case:

"'Dana Zzyym, an intersex and non-binary person ... sued the State Department [in 2015] after they were denied a passport. While filling out the forms to apply for a passport, Zzyym saw that the only available options were 'male' or 'female.' Instead of choosing one, they wrote 'intersex,' which is not currently an available option for U.S. passports. After they were denied, LGBTQ advocacy organization Lambda Legal filed suit on their behalf against the U.S. State Department, seeking a gender-neutral option for U.S.-issued passports, according to Paul Castillo, who is currently representing Zzyym. Some groups, including Lambda Legal, believe that identification should leave off sex altogether. [...] Castillo said a ruling in the Zzyym case may come within the next 1-2 months [from August 2016], which could affect existing standards for U.S.-issued passports.'"

Several other countries offer passports with the nonbinary marker, X, so it would be reasonable for US passports to offer this as well, for compatibility with travelers. Lambda Legal says, "Several countries currently issue passports with gender markers other than 'F' (female) or 'M' (male), including Australia, India, Malta, Nepal, and New Zealand. Most countries that offer a third gender marker on their passport use the non-specific 'X' gender marker because it is recognized by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a United Nations agency that sets forth international travel document standards."

Military ID
Military retiree ID cards provide an option for photo ID for some transgender people, as they don't display gender on them. However, these cards are only available to those who served in the military, and not accessible to all transgender people.

Social Security card
Social Security cards are one of the few government-issued IDs that do not list gender on them. However, the Social Security Administration keeps a record of gender. Current policy holds that surgery is not required to change that gender record. Instead, the Administration will accept as proof of a new gender any of: a full-validity U.S. passport, a state birth certificate showing the new gender, a court order ordering legal recognition of the new gender, or a doctor's letter saying that the person "has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender."

City identification cards
A city (or municipal) identification card is a form of identification card issued by a municipality, such as a city, rather than a state or federal government. Some require gender to be marked as M or F, whereas others don't mark gender at all. A list of city/municipal ID cards that don't mark gender at all:


 * The New York City ID (IDNYC) was introduced in 2015, and is a free municipal ID card issued by the City Of New York for all its residents age 14 and older. It is one form of photo ID that has an option to show no gender marker at all, although it also has options to show M or F.
 * City ID cards issued by San Francisco, California (SF City ID Card) do not mark gender at all, in order to make it easier for transgender people to get ID cards.
 * Please add to this list, with evidence.