State Department updates passport guidelines

The State Department today announced updates related to passport guidelines. Back in June, the Task Force reported on the State Department’s new policy that permitted a transgender person to update a passport with the proper gender marker.  The Task Force, working with our New Beginning Initiative (NBI) partners the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Council for Global Equality, and others advocated for the State Department to make modifications to the passport policy in order to ensure that all transgender people who need to update their passports’ gender to reflect who they are, would be able to do so.

At the time the new policy was issued this past summer, there were concerns raised by the Task Force and others that requirements for certification from an attending physician were too burdensome and presented barriers to successfully implementing the new policy.  Today’s announcement by the State Department addresses those concerns.

The changes allow for 1) a more expansive (and thus less burdensome to the applicant) list of physicians who have treated or evaluated an individual to certify a person’s gender transition for the purpose of a passport gender change and 2) improved procedures for individuals with intersex conditions so they can more readily receive a passport with their correct gender.

Read the new guidelines are here: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/143160.pdf