In those states that do allow X gender markers on driver's licenses, a growing number of people have changed their gender designation in recent years.

More than two-thirds of nonbinary and transgender people live in poverty, so cost is another hurdle when seeking replacement licenses. That's on top of growing ownership costs, including

car insurance

and

car loans

Nearly Half of Nonbinary Population Can’t Get X on their License

In the U.S., 23 states and Washington D.C. allow nonbinary people (individuals that don’t identify only as male or female) to use an X marker on their driver’s license to reflect their gender. New data analysis from Jerry found that this means more than half a million nonbinary Americans live in a state that does not allow X markers on driver's licenses.

This means almost half of the U.S. nonbinary population must live with an incorrect gender designation on their license, and must fight harder to get their gender legally recognized in a range of settings from health care to education.

In our analysis, we looked at the

Williams Institute’s

regional breakdown of the nonbinary population to determine how many nonbinary people live in each region.

U.S. States (and D.C.)	% of Nonbinary Population	States that Allow X Markers	% of Overall Population
Northeast (ME, NY, NJ, VT, MA, RI, CT, NH, PA)	25.3%	9/9	17.1%
Midwest (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI)	16.3%	2/12	20.8%
South (AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, DC)	27.3%	4/17	38.3%
West (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, VT, WA, WY)	31.2%	8/13	23.9%

All states in the Northeast offer the option of an X marker, reflecting more liberal social policies in that part of the country. And more than half of Western states do. But fewer than a quarter of states in the more culturally conservative South offer the option, and only 17% of Midwestern states do so.

Data Shows More Drivers Getting X Markers Despite Hurdles

Data from Maryland and Oregon indicate that growing numbers of drivers are getting X gender markers on their licenses. Most states did not have public data showing the number of active driver's licenses by gender. However, in 2019, the

Baltimore Sun

reported that over 100 Maryland residents had gotten an X on their driver’s license even though the option had only been available for a month. Data from Oregon showed that the number of driver's licenses with X markers increased every year. Oregon made X markers available in July 2017—and 701 people had one by the end of the year. That number jumped to 1,782 (a 154% increase) by the end of 2018 and to 2,828 (a 59% increase) a year later.

Cost is Another Hurdle for Most Nonbinary and Transgender People

While there is clearly an upward trend in X markers, many nonbinary drivers aren’t making the change in states where it is allowed. What is stopping them? We found that nonbinary drivers face significant financial hurdles in changing their gender marker even if their state allows it. Replacing a driver’s license costs $18 in New Mexico and $20 in Virginia—where the minimum wage is $7.25. One

Williams Institute study

found that 68% of nonbinary people nationwide don’t make enough to get by. In other words, 816,000 nonbinary individuals are living in relative poverty.

Transgender citizens face a similar financial hurdle when seeking to change the gender designation on their licenses. Those changes could be from male to female or vice versa, for binary trans individuals (people who identify as male or female, despite being assigned the opposite gender at birth), or to an X for the many trans people who identify as nonbinary.

Another study

found that 64% of all transgender citizens in the U.S. can’t make ends meet. For both nonbinary and transgender drivers, a new license with a gender marker that reflects their identity may be financially out of reach.

Gender Marker Requirements Vary from State to State

Clear policies mean nonbinary drivers can be legally recognized, enabling them to more easily live their lives in comfort and safety. This is integral to the well-being of nonbinary individuals — without a gender marker representing them, nonbinary drivers may be frequently misidentified and misgendered.

In most states where it is allowed, the process of changing a gender designation is simple: fill out a form. Utah, however, has burdensome requirements. Residents there can change the gender marker on their driver’s license to X only if they have an X marker on their birth certificate or passport. But a judge must grant permission to designate a person’s gender as nonbinary on their birth certificate. As a result, only two birth certificates had been updated to include an X in Utah as of 2019, according to a

report from NBC

Driver’s license changes are also difficult for trans men and women. Of states that allow changes from M to F or vice versa, many require doctor’s notes, or even surgery, to complete it.

Conclusion

The country’s nonbinary and transgender drivers still struggle for legal recognition. And while many states have begun to allow drivers to change gender designation, more than two-thirds of nonbinary and individuals live in poverty. That means many of them may not be able to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain validating identification.

Written By

Ben Guess · Expert Insurance Writer

Ben has a BA in Journalism + Design from The New School, as well as three years' experience in content writing and data journalism. They are deeply interested in how the car industry intersects with issues of inequity in the world, as well as in making auto insurance more accessible through writing. When they're away from the keyboard, they enjoy baking, embroidering, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends. They are based in Boston, Massachusetts.

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