Starting Thursday, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles will no longer provide customers with the option to change their gender on their Indiana credential by using a court-ordered gender change or physician statement.
The change comes after an administrative rules process that included two public hearings.
The BMV posted the new policy over the weekend.
IYG, a group that supports LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, said in a news release that the move comes despite both hearings producing hours of testimony in opposition.
“Yet over the weekend, the BMV quietly posted a notice on a single page of its website informing ‘customers’ that gender markers can no longer be updated, even with court orders or previously accepted medical documentation. This change takes effect Thursday, February 12, giving impacted individuals only days to act—an almost impossible timeline,” the group said.
It added that “denying people the ability to update the gender marker on their identification is not only discriminatory; it is dangerous. In an increasingly hostile climate, mismatched identification can expose individuals to harassment, threats, and violence. It can also create serious barriers to employment, housing, and access to essential services.”
A BMV spokesman said it was notified on Jan. 13 that the rule was received for publishing, giving the agency 30 days to complete any changes needed to assure the rule change could go into effect property. A notice about the rule change was posted on the BMV’s website on Feb. 3.
“The BMV considered all of the public comments submitted on this matter and made the most appropriate decision in order to execute Governor Braun’s Executive Order 25-36 properly,” said Greg Dunn, executive director of communications for the BMV.
Chris Paulsen, CEO of IYG, said Hoosiers spoke clearly against the policy and the BMV ignored them.
“Quietly implementing a rule that puts transgender Hoosiers at risk—while offering no transparency or meaningful notice—is not governance. It’s cruelty. Our young people deserve a state that protects their safety and dignity, not one that deliberately puts them in harm’s way.”
The change comes after an executive order issued by Gov. Mike Braun in March prohibiting what he called “modern gender ideology” by state agencies.
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