Gender-neutral markers are now here for Pennsylvania driver’s licenses and photo ID cards! This is an important step toward inclusion and the greater safety of non-binary and gender expansive Pennsylvanians.
PYC is proud to have helped successfully advance this effort over several years. We first proposed gender-neutral gender markers to the Governor’s LGBTQ Workgroup in 2017, and advocated for its adoption through meeting with PennDOT and other members of the Governor’s administration. We thank the National Center for Transgender Equality for their support behind the scenes with technical information. We sincerely appreciate PennDOT’s policy shop and administrators in the agency for their leadership!
The ‘X’ marker is currently available for individuals when they visit a PennDOT Driver and Photo Center. They must ask the PennDOT staff member assisting them for the marker, and the staff member will then call PennDOT’s central office to proceed with the manual override. The process is handled just as changing a gender marker from M to F or F to M. In the coming months, PennDOT will have the official form in place for a seamless application to change a gender marker to ‘X’.
Please contact the Pennsylvania Youth Congress by email here if you experience any hiccups or challenges in this process. We are connected with PennDOT’s central team and want to ensure wherever non-binary and gender expansive Pennsylvanians are, they are treated with dignity and respect by our state government.
Generally, Pennsylvanians wishing to change the gender marker on their driver’s licenses must fill out PennDOT form DL-32 and pay a one-time fee of $30.50. The one-page form must be signed by either a physician, certified registered nurse practitioner, therapist/counselor, or social worker stating they affirm the individual’s need to change their gender marker. This has only been available to change M to F or M to F. When the formal rollout is complete for the gender-neutral marker, this will be the form used to change an individual’s gender marker designation to ‘X’. Until then, the above process is additionally needed to obtain the ‘X’ marker.
Since 2010, PennDOT has not required individuals wanting to change the gender marker on their driver’s license to undergo gender confirmation surgeries.
The driver’s licences and photo IDs with an ‘X’ gender marker are valid on REAL IDs.
To complete a name change on a driver’s license, an individual must complete PennDOT’s form DL-80 and submit along with a court order certifying the name change.
We are expecting the formal roll out of the ‘X’ gender marker to take place in the next six months. Please check back at our website and PYC’s social media for information when it becomes available!
We long for the day a gender marker is not needed on a driver’s license, but while they are required, they should be accessible to everyone. An ‘X’ provides those outside the binary sex designation the opportunity to be noted as such.
The National Center for Transgender Equality maintains a robust, updated listing of how to update various documents with an individual’s name and gender markers here.
UPDATE 8/8/2019 – We reached out to PennDOT for additional clarification on the process to update a driver’s license or photo ID card with an ‘X’ marker. Please be advised of the following:
“We have implemented an interim process in which individuals can visit any Driver License Center during Driver License Center operating hours. They will need to obtain a “ticket” for driver license services and once served inform the counter staff they wish to update their gender on their product to reflect a gender designation of “X”. Our staff will complete the appropriate form/s and escalate as required. Staff will be given the guidance to complete the process. Appropriate product replacement fees will apply for a duplicate driver’s license or photo ID product. All PennDOT Driver License Centers accept checks, money orders, and debit/credit cards.“