drivers license

Requests to change gender designation on drivers licenses and identicards must be made in writing to the Assistant Director for Driver Services. Request must include:

• A letter from the applicant explaining the change being requested.
• A letter from the applicant's physician verifying that the applicant is in the process of, or has completed, a gender change. The doctor must sign the letter personally.
  If the gender change has not been completed, the physician's letter must verify that changing the gender designation is necessary for the applicant's treatment.
• A photocopy of the applicant's current driver's license or identicard. Make sure your photograph is legible.
  

Please mail your letter and documentation to the following address:
Department of Licensing
ATTN: Assistant Director's Office
PO Box 9020
Olympia, WA 98507-9020

Upon approval of a request to change gender designation, the Assistant Director will send an authorization letter. You may present the letter of authorization to any Licensing Services Office to have the Department's records updated and a replacement license or identicard issued.

The Transgender Community is concerned about new requirements for changing gender markers on Washington State driver’s licenses. In late September representatives from the Transgender Community met with representatives from the Governor’s Office and the Department of Licensing for a discussion of these concerns. Though much remains to be done, community representatives were able to verify current procedures and lay out clear steps to attempt to improve the situation going forward.

At the September meeting we reviewed the current policy (see below) and stated our reasons for opposing the medical-doctor-only requirement for evaluation and proof of Transgender status. We discussed the current state of gender identity research and experience and noted that many individuals do not include physical surgery as part of their transition.

We also discussed the complications of a proposal to base transition status on amended birth certificates. For example, five states in the country do not permit any gender amendments to birth certificates.

The meeting was productive and resulted in four identified steps: First, the Transgender representatives will provide the Department of Licensing with additional information and resources. Second, all representatives agreed to meet again and continue discussing the content of any new policy for changing driver’s licenses. Third, the policy currently in place will remain in place during these discussions. And fourth, the current policy for changing gender markers will be posted on governmental websites.

The Governor’s Office representative clearly understood our concerns and is helping us navigate the complexities of the process, complexities made more demanding by changes in federal approaches to personal identification.

The current Policy for changing gender markers:

Gender Designation Change Statement of Policy

Requests to change gender designation on driver’s licenses and identicards must be made in writing to the Assistant Director for Driver Services.

Department of Licensing
ATTN: Assistant Director's Office
PO Box 9020
Olympia, WA 98507-9020

Requests must include:

1. A letter from the applicant explaining the change being requested.
2. A letter from the applicant’s physician verifying that the applicant is in the process of, or has completed, a gender change. If the gender change has not been completed, the physician’s letter must verify that changing the gender designation is necessary for the applicant’s treatment.
3. A photocopy of the applicant’s current driver’s license or identicard.

Upon approval of a request to change gender designation, the Assistant Director will send an authorization letter to the applicant. The applicant may present the letter of authorization to any Licensing Services Office to have the Department’s records updated and a replacement license or identicard issued.

NOTE: This policy does not apply in cases where obvious errors have been made by the Department when recording the gender designation on the license or identicard.

NOTE: Records regarding gender designation are subject to public disclosure.