The Social Security Administration (SSA) said that it would now let individuals to update their Social Security number record’s sex marker without submitting proof of their sex identity. The modification was made official on Wednesday and became effective right away.
As stated in the press release by acting SSA commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi, “The Social Security Administration’s Equity Action Plan includes a commitment to reduce administrative burdens and ensure people who identify as gender diverse or transgender have options in the Social Security Number card application process.”
Before the announcement, changing one’s sex marker required more than just self-attestation. The SSA said that applicants have to provide proof of a gender identity change in the form of another form of identification, such as a U.S. passport or altered state-issued birth certificate, a court order, or a gender transition medical certification.
Applicants “still still need to provide a current document to establish their identification, but they will no longer need to submit medical or legal evidence of their sex designation,” according to the SSA’s revised policy. Additionally, the desired modification does not have to match the sex on the proof of identification paper.
The SSA advised that if a person’s sex marker changes, they must file for a new SSN card.
Although the SSA only permits the sex designation to be altered to “male” or “female” at the moment, the organization is “exploring potential future policy and technology improvements to facilitate a “X” sex designation for the SSN card application process.”
The State Department stated in March that American individuals requesting passports will have the option of choosing a “X” sex designation, allowing non-binary, transgender, intersex, and persons of gender diversity to choose a sex choice that is neither male nor female.
At the time of the announcement earlier this year, Douglass Benning, senior deputy assistant secretary for consular affairs at the State Department, stated, “We’re creating a precedent as the first US federal government department to provide the ‘X’ gender marking on an identification certificate.
The lifting of restrictions for sex marking modifications on official government documents comes at a time when transgender and gender non-conforming Americans are dealing with tense political and social climates. In order to foster equality for LGBTQ+ persons around the nation during Pride Month, President Biden issued an executive order, especially mentioning “discriminatory legislative assaults” against the marginalized population.
According to the Washington Post, a record 155 laws intended to discriminate against transgender Americans have been presented to state legislatures in 2022. The nation’s first federal trial involving a statewide restriction on gender-affirming care for trans minors is now taking place in Arkansas about a legislation that forbids hormone therapy, puberty inhibitors, and gender-affirming surgery for anybody under the age of 18.