The Social Security Administration said Wednesday that applicants can now self-report the sex that best aligns with their gender identity.
The policy change, which is a part of the agency’s Equity Action Plan, is intended to be more inclusive for transgender people, and it follows through on an earlier announcement about the shift from March.
The equity plan “includes a commitment to decrease administrative burdens and ensure people who identify as gender diverse or transgender have options in the Social Security Number card application process,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, the agency’s acting commissioner, in a press release this week.
The Human Rights Campaign commended the U.S. Social Security Administration in a statement, calling the policy change “a move that will mitigate the risk of discrimination, harassment and violence faced by millions of transgender Americans.”
The Social Security Administration now accepts the self-identified sex marker of either male or female, even if the selection differs from what is shown on identity documents such as passports or driver’s licenses. The agency is also exploring possible future policies and system updates to support an “X” sex designation for applicants whose gender identities don’t align with male or female.
People seeking to update their Social Security records will need to reapply for cards — which do not include sex markers — and must provide current documentation of some kind for identification purposes. But with the new policy, they will no longer be required to provide medical or legal documentation related to sex designation.
“Self-attestation is the correct standard for updating this information – transgender and nonbinary people are the experts on what their gender is, and requirements for medical certification are an unnecessary hurdle that nobody should have to deal with just to get the correct information on their government records and identity documents,” National Center for Transgender Equality’s policy director Olivia Hunt told HuffPost.
The change is a part of a larger White House effort to increase gender identity acceptance. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in June to advance LGBTQ equality, including “strengthening supports and protections for transgender Americans.”