The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles last week made it easier for people to change the gender listed on their driver’s licenses and identification cards.
If a person’s gender expression is different than their sex at birth, the state previously required a doctor’s approval before altering an ID card. That step is no longer required.
Jane Heenan, the clinical director for Gender Justice Nevada, said the old policy added further costs and stress for trans and gender-nonconforming people, citing a case where a person couldn’t find a physician to sign off on the form and had to spend money on multiple doctor visits.
“Driver licenses no longer require any kind of external permission or affirmation from medical professionals of any kind,” Heenan said. “It reduces the complexities of this process, which are already very complex for people seeking to make these changes. Lifting that burden is significant.”
An updated driver’s license costs $9.25 and a new ID card is $8.25. It takes 14 to 30 days to receive the new cards, according to the DMV.
The DMV has worked to bring its practices in line with other licensing and records agencies, including the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, which changed its rules in 2016 to allow people to change the gender on their birth certificate using a self-declaration process.
“Requiring medical certification of gender identity is an outdated practice,” DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said.
The DMV is also working toward adding an option on ID cards for those who don’t identify as male or female.
“We are planning to add a nonbinary gender marker,” Malone said. “However, this requires computer system programming and extensive testing with law enforcement and other stakeholders to ensure they receive the proper information.”
There is no date set for when the new option will be available.
Las Vegas Sun reporter Mick Akers contributed to this report.