Kansas strips trans residents of state driving licences and birth certificates

A newly enacted Kansas law has effectively stripped more than a thousand trans residents of their state driving licences and birth certificates when those documents showed a gender marker different from the sex assigned at birth. 

The measure, Senate Bill 244, went into force on Thursday after the Republican-controlled state legislature overrode a veto by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. It requires all official state identification, including driver’s licences and birth certificates, to reflect the sex listed at birth and prohibits future changes to gender markers on such documents. 

Trans Kansans whose licences had been updated to reflect their gender identity woke to find those licences legally invalid. Residents received letters from the Kansas Division of Vehicles instructing them that, as of the law’s enactment, their existing documentation no longer meets legal requirements and must be reissued in accordance with the new statute. 

The immediate invalidation of licences and certificates has sparked confusion and concern. Kansas officials did not include a grace period for compliance; those who wish to continue driving must apply for new identification that matches their birth-assigned sex, and pay the associated fee, which state sources say is capped at around $8. 

Supporters of the law argue it provides consistency in public records and protects privacy and safety in sex-segregated spaces such as restrooms and changing facilities. However, civil liberties advocates warn that the policy will place trans people at risk and could complicate everyday activities that rely on valid photo identification. 

Campaigners also raise concerns that, because Kansas has strict voter ID requirements, invalidated licences could jeopardise some residents’ ability to vote. Legal challenges to the law are expected in the coming days. 

The development marks one of the most far-reaching efforts in the United States to roll back legal recognition of trans identities at the state level, following similar restrictions in other Republican-controlled states, though few have retroactively voided existing identification documents.