Transgender Kansans who have changed the gender markers on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates woke up on Thursday morning to find that those documents will be legally invalid.
A new law, which also bars transgender people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity and presentation, took effect on Thursday.
While other states have enacted policies banning gender marker changes, Kansas’ law is believed to be uniquely far-reaching because it also annuls previous changes that were legally carried out.
Matthew Neumann, a transgender man in Larned who runs an LGBTQ+ mutual aid organization, said he’s concerned about getting pulled over on the way to get a new license.
“I have to drive to the neighboring town,” he said. “Hopefully my driver’s license is still valid at that time.”
Kansas Department of Revenue spokesperson Zach Denney said in an email that the agency has sent letters to about 300 individuals who have completed gender marker changes, with more on the way.
“Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials,” read a copy of the letter provided by KDOR.
“This means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credential will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential,” the letter said.
KDOR said there will be an $8 fee for those who need a new license, because the law did not set aside any funding to help cover administrative costs.
KDOR is one of the Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s cabinet agencies. Kelly vetoed the bill, but Republican supermajorities in the state House and Senate overrode her veto and put the policy into law.
Neumann said he has not received a letter yet, and that the Kansas Department of Revenue site lists his license as still valid. But he’s bracing for the change.
“The trans community is getting a target on its back that wasn’t there until this kind of legislation started,” he said.
The law also invalidates gender changes on birth certificates. Jill Bronaugh, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, said the agency has identified over 1,800 birth certificates that have had the “sex” field changed.
KDHE will review each instance manually, Bronaugh said — a process staff estimate will take several months — to determine which documents should be “invalidated and amended.”
Bronaugh said the agency’s Office of Vital Statistics will not notify residents if their birth certificate is amended due to the law.
“Individuals must make a request to OVS to receive an amended birth certificate, and they would be required to pay $20 per certificate,” she said.
Before the weekend, lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union say they plan to file a lawsuit challenging the law in state court. The ACLU will also ask the court to halt the law’s implementation during the lawsuit.
ACLU attorney Harper Seldin said he was not aware of any other state law revoking gender marker changes that had already been approved.
“It invalidated them overnight with no grace period for folks to understand what that meant or to even comply by going into KDOR and exchanging their license,” he said.
“It also takes away the people’s right to determine who knows that they’re trans, and outs them whenever they interact with law enforcement or apply for a job or apply for housing,” he added.
Gender marker changes were the subject of a yearslong legal battle involving Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and the state department of revenue.
Kobach has argued that medical and law enforcement professionals rely on IDs that list a person’s sex assigned at birth.
A court decision in October allowed KDOR to continue processing gender marker change requests for the first time since 2023. Now the department must again halt the practice.
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at [email protected].
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
