Beginning June 10, the State Department is implementing a new policy that may make it easier for transgender people to change the gender listed in their passports.  Under this policy, anyone presenting certification from an attending physician that they have undergone appropriate treatment for gender transition will be able to obtain a passport reflecting their new gender.

With proper certification based on the statement of a physician, those who are still in the process of transitioning can obtain a limited-validity passport during their gender transition.  Previous policy listed sex reassignment surgery, a medical procedure that not all transgender people are willing or able to undergo, as a prerequisite for changing the gender on a passport.

The State Department announcement also directs all passport issuing officers in the United States and abroad to ask only appropriate questions to obtain the necessary information to determine the citizenship and identity of passport applicants.  Read the State Department’s announcement here.