NEWS / Kansas invalidates birth certificates and driver licenses of over 1,000 transgender individuals

The State of Kansas has invalidated the birth certificates and driver licenses of over 1,000 individuals who had previously changed their gender marker on those documents. The action was taken in accordance with a new law that required transgender individuals to change the gender marker to the sex they had been assigned at birth.

Individuals affected by the law were required to pay for their new vital records and identity documents. Furthermore, the law requires all people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in buildings owned or leased by the Kansas State government matching the sex they had been assigned at birth.

With the inauguration of President Donald Trump for a second term in January 2025, a number of legislative measures have been passed at both the federal and state level making it impossible or very difficult to change the gender marker on vital records such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, as well as State IDs, driver licenses, and passports. President Trump’s directive in particular specified that only two sexes-male and female-will be recognized at the federal level and excluded transgender athletes from female sports.

Kansas has been one of the states where the issue caused considerable legal battles between different branches of government. In 2023, the state’s Republican Attorney General, Kris Kobach, initiated litigation to prohibit Kansas natives and residents from changing the gender marker on their birth certificates and state IDs / driver licenses, respectively. During this litigation, the state’s Office of Vital Statistics (in charge of issuing birth, marriage, and death certificates) and Department of Revenue (in charge of issuing State IDs and driver licenses) stopped allowing applicants to change the gender marker on their documents.

In 2025, Kansas courts allowed transgender residents to make gender marker changes to their vital records and identity documents. The Kansas House and Senate, both of which have a Republican majority, then passed a bill requiring state vital records and identity documents to display the sex marker assigned to a given individual at birth. That bill was vetoed by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, but the Legislature was able to overcome the veto and make the bill state law.

Some activists have criticized the law, noting that it could put transgender individuals in danger when they interact with law enforcement, apply for a job, or try to obtain a public benefit.

“The mismatch between how they present themselves in the world and their driver's license puts them at risk of discrimination or violence, and so that's why many trans people choose to change the sex markers on our licenses so that we can live as ourselves in society and keep ourselves safe,” Harper Seldin, a senior attorney with the LGBTQ and HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was quoted by Reuters as stating.

If you need to apostille or authenticate a birth certificate, state ID, or driver license for use abroad, feel free to contact us via e-mail at info@apostille.us or by phone at (212) 233-7061. You can also place an order on our website.