Kansas Revokes IDs for 1,000+ Transgender Residents Under New State Law

More than 1,000 transgender Kansas residents have had their driver's licenses and birth certificates invalidated under a new state law that took effect Thursday. The legislation requires gender markers to reflect birth-assigned sex and prohibits future changes to official documents.

More than 1,000 transgender residents in Kansas have had their official identification documents invalidated under new state legislation that became effective Thursday.

The Kansas state government has voided driver’s licenses and birth certificates for transgender individuals who had previously updated their gender markers on these official documents. Under the new requirements, residents must have their gender identification reflect the sex designated at birth, and future modifications to gender markers on official documents are now prohibited.

Those impacted by the change are required to cover the costs of obtaining replacement driver’s licenses.

The legislation also mandates that transgender individuals must use restroom facilities and changing areas in government-owned or government-leased buildings that correspond to their birth-assigned sex.

This development comes as transgender Americans face mounting legal restrictions across multiple states and at the federal level. Since returning to the presidency, Republican Donald Trump has implemented several executive orders that limit transgender rights.

Trump’s directives include establishing that the federal government will only acknowledge male and female as the two recognized sexes, while another order aims to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports competitions.

Harper Seldin, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ and HIV Project, warned that the Kansas legislation creates serious safety concerns for transgender individuals.

“The mismatch between how they present themselves in the world and their driver’s license puts them at risk of discrimination or violence, and so that’s why many trans people choose to change the sex markers on our licenses so that we can live as ourselves in society and keep ourselves safe,” Seldin explained.

Seldin added that the law “puts transgender people in danger any time they interact with law enforcement or apply for a job or for housing or public benefits.”

Kansas had previously allowed residents to modify gender markers on licenses and birth certificates until 2023, when such changes were suspended during legal proceedings initiated by Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach. Courts restored the ability to make these modifications last year, prompting state legislators to draft the current bill. The measure became law after the Kansas legislature successfully overturned a veto by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly.

The ACLU plans to challenge the legislation in court, with Seldin indicating the organization expects to file a lawsuit by Friday’s end.