Kansas invalidates driver's licenses with trans gender markers

Under a new law that went into effect on Thursday, trans-identified Kansans will be required to hold driver’s licenses that match their birth sex. Those who still hold driver’s licenses with mismatching gender markers have been invalidated and must be surrendered. 

In letters from the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) Division of Vehicles sent to trans-identified Kansas ahead of the law coming into effect, they were warned, "Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials. That means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credentials will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential."  

The letters added, "pursuant to this new law, if the gender/sex indication on the face of your current credential does not match your sex assigned at birth, you are directed to surrender your current credential to the Kansas Division of Vehicles. Upon surrendering the credential, you will be issued a new credential reflecting the gender identification consistent with statutory requirements." 

KDOR spokesperson Zach Denney told The Capital-Journal on Wednesday, "The Department is working as quickly as possible to notify individuals whose credentials will be affected under SB 244, ensuring they have sufficient time to update their credentials and avoid any disruption. Letters are being sent to those impacted, and they should begin receiving them soon."

He said that the letters are expected to be sent to around 1,500 people, but added "that number could be lower as we continue to look through and refine our records."

SB 244 was voted into law earlier in February by the Kansas House and Senate after being vetoed by Governor Laura Kelly. It requires that birth certificates, in addition to driver’s licenses, show a person’s birth sex. It also requires that people in government-owned buildings use restrooms and other multi-occupancy private spaces, such as changing rooms, that align with their birth sex.

California state Senator Scott Wiener, who is in the running to replace Nancy Pelosi in the US House, wrote in response to the law, "As part of their genocidal campaign to eliminate trans people — Presidential declaration they don’t exist, banning them from restrooms, criminalizing their health care, making it very hard to travel abroad — they’re now forcing trans people to surrender their driver’s licenses."