What Florida’s driver’s license policy change means for transgender people

A Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles drivers license service center is shown Oct. 8, 2019, in Hialeah, Fla. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said in a memo that it reversed a policy that allowed residents to change whether a “M” or “F” appears in the gender field on their driver’s license as long as they had a medical provider’s letter.

The memo from Robert Kynoch, the agency’s deputy executive director, detailed a policy change prohibiting Floridians from replacing their driver’s licenses to change what appears on the license next to the word"sex." The move comes ahead of two bills in the state Legislature that, if passed, would force a similar policy.The agency’s action prevents transgender people from changing the"M" or"F" on an existing license.

Molly Best, a department spokesperson, did not answer our questions about the source of the definition. The memo also said"misrepresenting one’s gender, understood as sex, on a driver license constitutes fraud" and"subjects an offender to criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of his or her driver license."

"If you can’t update the gender marker on your ID, you are essentially outed as transgender at every turn," said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. This can happen during interactions with potential landlords, employers, cashiers, bartenders, restaurant servers and more.

Email interview with Molly Best, Director of Communications at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Jan. 30, 2024

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