Nonbinary now gender option for Pa. ID cards

State is 17th to allow gender-neutral choice

Pennsylvania residents are now able to self-certify a nonbinary gender designation option on their driver’s licenses and photo identification cards in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation records system.

PennDOT announced Thursday that customers who identify as nonbinary will be able to officially have that designation registered in the PennDOT database, something the department hasn’t been able to do until now.

There are now three gender designation options for licenses and photo ID cards: “M” for male, “F” for female and“X” for nonbinary.

PennDOT has had the ability to add the “X” to physical ID and license cards for about two years, said Kurt Myers, deputy secretary for driver and vehicle services, during a conference call, but it couldn’t be added to the records due to system limitations.

“The change of specifically what’s occurring here is that we could put it on a license, but we couldn’t update the records,” Mr. Myers said. “Through system changes, we were able to implement that. To date, in our database, we have 10.4 million licenses and ID cards issued in the state, and, to date, we have issued 273 cards with the ‘X’ designation.”

Customers can change their gender designation by filling out form DL-32 and submitting it in person to a PennDOT license center.

“It became clear that only offering drivers ID with male and female was not meeting the needs of our customers. We have always been focused on providing inclusive services,” PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramians said during the conference call.

There is no requirement for a medical or social service provider to sign off on the change, and there is no charge for the nonbinary designation. Previously, a physician was required to sign off on such a change. Now, customers can self-certify their identities as they see themselves.

“It was important for PennDOT to make the process for changing gender designation as simple as possible,” Ms. Gramian said.

“This is a really important step that PennDOT is taking to better serve Pennsylvanians across the area,” said Rafael Álvarez Febo, executive director for the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, in the conference call.

“We as a community are really starting to express ourselves and say we don’t have binaries, that gender is a spectrum and allowing people to self-certify is important.”

Pennsylvania is the 17th state to offer a nonbinary gender designation.