Michigan changes ID policy

Effective March 10, the Michigan Secretary of State has altered the policy on transgender people changing the gender on our driver's license.

Under the new policy, a passport denoting current gender is enough proof to change the gender on the license. The old policy required proof that the applicant had undergone sex reassignment surgery.

To change gender on a passport, all that is required is a note from a doctor stating a patient has made significant progress in his or her transition.

This is an important step forward by the Secretary of State's office, and we hope it will result in many more transgender persons in Michigan being able to obtain accurate driver's licenses and state IDs.

That said, we still don't believe the new policy is as good as the policies practiced by dozens of other states, and we are continuing to advocate for improvements.

--Jay Kaplan

The [previous] policy "created significant problems for Michigan's transgender community," the ACLU said, and led to the organization filing a lawsuit.

Secretary of State spokesman Fred Woodhams confirmed the policy update and said it also allows court orders to be submitted to change gender on a drivers license. He said he could not comment on the pending litigation.

The policy is still burdensome in that it requires applying for a passport or going to court. But it is a step forward.

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Steven D's picture

A baby step but better than nothing.

Thanks Robyn

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

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Tyrion's_Red_Coat's picture

Except passports are hella expensive.

Still a penalty for being trans, so yeah ... not nearly enough.

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When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar; you are only telling the world that you fear what he might say.

Yohannon's picture

So, the previous policy required insanely expensive... and possibly dangerous (or faulty) surgery.

Now it requires a passport... let's see...

Fees are payable to the U.S. Department of State are as follows: New, replacement or renewal of a passport book: $110 if age 16 and older; $80 if under the age of 16. New, replacement or renewal of a passport card: $30 if age 16 and older; $15 if under the age of 16.

Maybe the photo is more? In any case:

In-depth psychological counseling should precede and follow any gender reassignment surgical procedure. Sex change surgery is expensive. The cost for male to female reassignment is $7,000 to $24,000. The cost for female to male reassignment can exceed $50,000.

Ironically trying to go anywhere outside the US to find a better deal would need to get... uh... a passport. Not to mention travel costs.

So yes, I agree that the bar shouldn't be high, but how low does it need to go before it's low enough? We are talking about a change of legal status, and even dying has a cost associated with it (for example, a death certificate in CA costs $21 bucks).

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Just another refugee from the Daily Chaos. Wink

involved with changing status on any government document -- if you get married you have to show a copy of your marriage license to change your name, and if you lost it somehow you have to pay a fee to get a new one. Ditto if you're changing back to your maiden name after divorce or widowhood and need to show a copy of the divorce decree or death certificate (we ordered 15 copies of my father-in-law's death certificate and barely had enough for everyone who wanted the original to change his accounts over to mom-in-law). The one problem with the MI policy is not everyone has a passport, so more should be done -- perhaps the same documentation used to change status on a passport (doctor's note) should be acceptable for changing the driver's license.

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perhaps the same documentation used to change status on a passport (doctor's note) should be acceptable for changing the driver's license.

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