Wyoming quietly becomes ninth US state to ban gender marker changes on ID
Trans people will not be able to change their gender on their ID (LysenkoAlexander/Getty Images)
Wyoming has quietly become the ninth US state to effectively ban gender marker changes on driver’s licences, doing so without any public announcement.
The policy change, first reported by Transitics via Substack on 9 April, weeks after it took effect, requires residents to present an amended birth certificate to update their gender marker.
But because the state has already blocked those amendments, the rule creates a de facto ban on accurate identification for many trans people.
The move is part of a broader wave of restrictions across the US, with multiple Republican-led states tightening rules around identity documents in recent months.
In Wyoming’s case, the change follows earlier legal and administrative shifts, including the rollback of a long-standing policy that allowed gender marker updates on birth certificates via court order in November 2025.
With no media coverage or public comment during the rule-making process, the policy was implemented largely unnoticed.
Advocates say the impact could be significant. Without IDs that reflect their identity, transgender residents may face barriers in everyday situations – from voting and travel to employment and housing – while also risking being outed in routine interactions.
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