The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles no longer accepts a form allowing transgender Ohioans to change the gender listed on their driver's license or state ID.
A BMV spokesperson said the agency will change gender markers only with an updated birth certificate or passport. Officials determined the previous document, known as Form 2369, does not comply with an updated state law
declaring that Ohio recognizes two sexes.Lawmakers inserted that language into the state budget signed by Gov. Mike DeWine last year.
The advocacy group Equality Ohio criticized the BMV, arguing it made the change without public notice or a transition period. A spokesperson declined to say when the policy took effect.
"Changing a policy this consequential overnight, without warning
or transparency, is not an accident − it is a choice," said Dwayne Steward, the group's executive director. "It is a deliberate attempt at voter suppression and an intentional decision to make life harder for transgender Ohioans while hoping no one notices until it is too late."
Transgender Ohioans can change the gender marker on their birth certificates in at least eight counties, according to Equality Ohio. The group said legal name changes at the BMV aren't affected by the new policy.
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio BMV scraps gender change form for transgender Ohioans
