Ohio Ends Gender Marker Form

Ohio has quietly ended a 17-year process that allowed transgender residents to change the gender marker on a driver’s license or state identification card with certification from a medical or mental-health professional. The change means the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles will no longer accept its Declaration of Gender Change form, commonly known as Form 2369. Instead, an applicant must present an amended birth certificate or passport before the BMV will update the marker on an Ohio-issued ID. The previous process had been available since 2009. The BMV told The Statehouse News Bureau that the form is no longer compatible with a provision lawmakers placed in Ohio’s two-year operating budget. That provision, now contained in Section 9.05 of the Ohio Revised Code, establishes a state policy recognizing two sexes—male and female—and declares that those classifications are not changeable. Supporters Point to Biological Sex The BMV has not characterized its decision as a new rule. Instead, the agency says it is bringing its procedures into compliance with the law approved by the General Assembly and signed as part of House Bill 96. Republican lawmakers supporting the budget provision have argued that state documents and policies should be based on biological sex rather than gender identity. During debate over the budget’s LGBTQ-related provisions, Republican Rep. Gary Click told the Associated Press that lawmakers were responding to their constituents. He compared recognition of two sexes to stating other facts that he considers self-evident. “What’s next?” Click asked. “In the next budget, do we have to say water is wet and the Earth is round?” Republican Rep. Justin Pizzulli also highlighted the provision when discussing his support for the budget, describing it as a policy establishing statewide recognition of two genders. For supporters, the BMV’s action is a straightforward application of that policy to state-issued identification. Advocates Call Change Targeted Equality Ohio says the change creates a significant new obstacle for transgender residents, particularly those who cannot easily obtain an amended birth certificate. Executive Director Dwayne Steward said his organization learned about the discontinued form Tuesday. “It is definitely one extra step, and it does feel targeted for sure,” Steward told the Statehouse News Bureau. Equality Ohio says it is aware of only eight Ohio counties currently processing birth-certificate gender-marker changes. That can make the replacement process dependent on where an applicant lives or where the person’s birth record is maintained. The organization is directing affected residents to its legal clinic before beginning the process. The ACLU of Ohio’s identification guidance also documents years of legal disputes over changing gender markers on Ohio birth certificates. A federal court ruled in 2020 that Ohio could not categorically prevent transgender residents from correcting those records. Subsequent state-court decisions, however, have left important questions unresolved. In 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court could not reach a majority decision in a case involving a requested birth-certificate correction. The divided outcome left the lower court’s denial in place without producing a controlling statewide answer, according to the Supreme Court of Ohio’s case summary. Voting Eligibility Does Not Change Although the policy shift comes ahead of an election, Equality Ohio emphasized that an outdated gender marker does not prevent an otherwise eligible person from voting. Ohio voters may still want to verify that their registration information and accepted identification are ready before Election Day. The gender-marker change affects the process for altering an ID; it does not itself cancel a license, state identification card or voter registration. Legal name changes are also unaffected by the discontinued declaration form. For now, transgender Ohioans seeking an updated marker must first obtain a qualifying amended birth certificate or passport and then present that document to the BMV. Residents with questions about their individual circumstances may want to contact a qualified attorney or an established legal-aid organization before filing paperwork.

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