AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) made an unannounced policy change Friday, modifying its requirements for Texans seeking to change the sex marker on their birth certificates.
The DSHS website previously said the agency would accept a certified court order to change a person’s sex marker on their birth certificate, according to an archived version accessed via the Wayback Machine. That is no longer listed as an accepted document for VS-170, the DSHS form required to make such a change.
“Trans Texans no longer have an option to amend their birth certificate to reflect their gender identity. We are still working with our legal partners to understand these changes,” read a social media post from the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT).
KXAN reached out to the DSHS for comment on the change, and whether it was directed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to make the change. Previously, Paxton directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to refuse court orders that require the agency to allow Texans to change the gender marker on state-issued IDs.
That policy change by DPS also included a directive for DPS employees to submit the court orders to the Attorney General’s office for its records. It is unclear if the DSHS policy change also includes a similar directive.
Texas law permits changes to birth certificates if proven “by satisfactory evidence to be inaccurate.” However, it doesn’t allow state agencies to make substantive policy changes without 30 days’ notice and a public comment period.
In order to obtain a court order for a sex marker change, transgender Texans have to submit evidence to a family court judge. In Travis County, this includes a letter from a medical professional or therapist.
In 2023, the Texas House declined to pass Senate Bill 162, which would have prevented changes to the sex marker on a minor’s birth certificate but still allowed an adult Texan to update their own.
DSHS will still accept a court order for changes to sex on a death certificate, according to the website.