Florida bans gender switches on driver's licenses, state IDs

The state of Florida has barred residents from changing their gender on a state-issued ID or driver's license.

In a memo from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to county officials that Politico obtained, the Department listed the circumstances in which it could replace a license. Changing one's gender did not feature among them.

"The Department can issue a replacement license only when a license or permit is lost or stolen, or when there is a subsequent change in the licensee’s name, address, or restrictions," it read. Under state law, those seeking ID cards must list their biological sex.

"Permitting an individual to alter his or her license to reflect an internal sense of gender role or identity, which is neither immutable nor objectively verifiable, undermines the purpose of an identification record and can frustrate the state's ability to enforce its laws," insisted DHSMV Deputy Executive Director Robert Kynoch, who authored the memo, CBS News reported.  "[M]isrepresenting one's gender, understood as sex, on a driver license constitutes fraud... and subjects an offender to criminal and civil penalties, including cancellation, suspension, or revocation of his or her driver's license."

Florida has in recent years approved a litany of policies affecting the LGBTQ residents of the Sunshine State. Notable among them was a Parental Rights in Education law that limited the discussion of certain gender and sexual topics in schools. The state has also moved to restrict drag performances to adults audiences and to bar transgender treatments for minors.

Its efforts have faced considerable legal scrutiny and prompted LGBTQ groups to impose travel warnings against visiting the state.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.