Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announces
non-binary option for driver’s licenses and state identification cards
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson today announced that, effective Nov. 10, Michigan residents will be able to select a non-binary option – marked with an “X” – as the sex on their driver’s licenses and state identification cards.
“I am proud to support Michiganders across the state who for many years have called on the Department of State to provide a non-binary sex marker on their ID that matches their lived reality,” said Benson. “We have been working toward this goal since 2019, when we first removed the barriers for residents to change their sex marker in order to help protect their safety and accurately reflect their identity.”
In 2019, Benson reinstituted a previously long-standing department policy that enabled residents to change their sex marker without providing documentation from a medical practitioner or obtaining a court order. At the time, the department’s technology was not capable of providing a third, non-binary option, but the department worked toward overhauling the core technology behind its driver’s licenses and IDs, which it finished in March of 2021. The new system expanded the number of online transactions available to residents and also made the non-binary option feasible with additional programming, which is now nearly complete.
Residents who wish to change their sex-marker to “X” will be able to do so by visiting any Secretary of State office, starting on Nov. 10, 2021. They are encouraged to schedule a visit for a license or ID correction by visiting Michigan.gov/SOS or calling 888-SOS-MICH.
Benson made the announcement shortly after the United States Department of State announced that it is working to enable Americans across the country to select a non-binary sex marker on their U.S. passports. Currently, 20 other states and the District of Columbia already allow their residents to do so on their state licenses and IDs.
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