Full Breakdown
Ohio BMV Ends Direct Gender-Marker Changes on Driver’s Licenses
8/20/2026, 4:35:11 AM
Ohio BMV Ends Direct Gender-Marker Changes on IDs
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has stopped accepting the long-standing “declaration of gender change” form that allowed transgender Ohioans to alter the gender marker on driver’s licenses and state identification cards. Under the new rule, individuals must first obtain an updated birth certificate reflecting the desired gender before the BMV will record that sex on a license or ID. The change is tied to language in the state budget approved by Governor Mike DeWine in June, which defines “sex” as a biological characteristic fixed at birth and states that the two recognized sexes are “not changeable.”
Policy Background and Legal Basis
Ohio previously permitted gender-marker updates through a form signed by a medical or mental-health provider, a process in use since 2009. The federal context includes a Trump-administration rule that bars passport gender-marker alignment with gender identity, a policy the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed to remain pending legal challenges.
Official Response from the BMV
The BMV emphasized that the updated requirement reflects the budget’s definition of sex and that the agency will continue processing licenses in accordance with the revised rule.
Advocacy Reaction
Equality Ohio, the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, described the shift as “an extra step” that disproportionately burdens transgender residents. Executive Director Dwayne Steward warned that the timing—just before an upcoming election—raises concerns about voter-suppression motives, although the organization clarified that an outdated gender marker does not affect voting eligibility. Equality Ohio’s legal team has offered to assist individuals navigating the new birth-certificate requirement.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The BMV will record the sex that is stated on an individual’s birth certificate or passport as the sex that will be reflected on the Ohio driver license or ID card,” — Lindsey Bohrer, ohio BMV spokesman
- “Changing a policy this consequential overnight, without warning or transparency, is not an accident — it is a choice,” — Dwayne Steward, equality ohio executive
- “You are now required to have your birth certificate updated and present that before you can update your driver's license, which is new information—and also will make it much more difficult for especially transgender people to change the information on their license to match their identity,” — Equality Ohio Executive Director
- “It does not change how our legal team is going to support our community,” — Dwayne Steward, equality ohio executive
