TEXAS — Transgender Texans are no longer permitted to change the sex on their birth certificates. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services rolled out the new policy last Friday. Previously, Texans could change the sex listed on their birth certificate with a court order. 

What You Need To Know

  • The state health department last Friday rolled out a new policy that prohibits transgender Texans from changing the sex on their birth certificates

  • Previously, the sex listed on their birth certificate could be changed with a court order

  • This comes just weeks after transgender Texans were informed they may no longer change the sex on their driver’s license to correspond to their gender identity

  • Attorney General Ken Paxton sought data on how many people had changed the gender information on their driver’s license

Now, birth certificates can only be changed for children if a hospital made an error. 

DSHS released the following statement on Tuesday: 

“Recent public reports have highlighted concerns about the validity of court orders purporting to amend sex for purposes of state-issued documents. DSHS is seeking assistance from the Office of Attorney General to determine the applicability of these concerns to amendments to vital records. DSHS is no longer altering applicants’ sex on birth certificates based on these court orders.” 

This comes just weeks after transgender Texans were informed they may no longer change the sex on their driver’s license to correspond to their gender identity.

Spectrum News 1 partner the Texas Tribune noted that previously, people were able to change the sex on their driver’s licenses if there was a clerical error or if they presented an amended birth certificate or an original certified court order. 

According to a December 2022 report from The Associated Press, the office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought data on how many people had changed the gender information on their driver’s license. 

The Washington Post reported that public records obtained by the newspaper do not indicate why Paxton’s office made the request to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The head of the driver’s license division told colleagues in June 2022 to compile the “total number of changes from male to female and female to male for the last 24 months.”

A DPS spokesperson told the Post that no data was ultimately handed over because it could not be accurately produced.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has followed other Republican governors in signing legislation that bans transgender youth from participating in public school sports teams that do not align with their sex assigned at birth.