Michigan Will Add Non-Binary Option On Driver's Licenses, ID's

Detroit MI

03 November, 2021

10:53 AM

Description

MICHIGAN — Michigan will soon add a non-binary gender option on driver's licenses and state identification cards, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said. The option will be marked with an "X" and go in effect on Nov. 10, the news release said. "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," Benson said. "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." The addition was made possible when Benson reinstated a department policy in 2019 enabling residents to change their sex marker without providing documentation from a medical practitioner or obtaining a court order, the news release said. Benson's announcement comes shortly after the U.S. state department said it's working on including a non-binary sex marker on Americans' U.S. passports. As of Wednesday, 20 other states and the District of Columbia already allow their residents to do so on their state licenses and IDs. Residents who want to change their sex-marker to "X" can at any Secretary of State office, starting on Nov. 10, 2021.