NEWS / Texas Attorney General argues against allowing individuals to change sex marker on birth certificates and driver’s licenses

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a legal opinion arguing that state agencies should not follow court orders enabling individuals to change the sex marker on their birth certificate or driver’s licenses. The opinion technically does not change administrative policy and is considered advisory, meaning that it could be cited by courts as well as executive and legislative authorities in the future.

Paxton noted that state agencies should go back to fix any sex marker amendments made on birth certificates and state IDs.

The Attorney General’s opinion has come under criticism from some pro-LGBT advocates.

“The trans community in Texas is scared,” interim CEO of Equality Texas, an LGBT advocacy nonprofit was quoted by The Houston Chronicle as stating. “Updating a driver’s license takes years of effort and legal expenses. The people going through the process to update their documents are trying to honor the law by having an ID that matches the way they live and move through the world.”

Prior to August 2024, Texas state agencies allowed individuals to change the sex marker on their birth certificates and state IDs if they had a court order allowing them to do so.