Indiana BMV not required to offer X as gender on driver's licenses, appeals court rules

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles no longer has to provide X as a gender option on driver's licenses following a Court of Appeals decision Tuesday.

The latest step is part of a years-long issue dating back to 2019 when the BMV recognized X as a gender option other than male or female on driver's licenses. The BMV reversed the decision in 2020 after former Attorney General Curtis Hill, who is now running for governor, said in advisory opinion the BMV did not have the authority to allow another gender option.

In its opinion Tuesday, the Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s 2022 order that the BMV reinstate the X option for nonbinary Hoosiers. The trial court determined that removing the X option violated state administrative laws and the plaintiffs’ rights to informational privacy.

The plaintiffs in the case make up a group of mostly anonymous nonbinary Hoosiers who sought the X option on their drivers licenses but were denied. They filed the lawsuit in 2021.

From 2023: Indiana AG Rokita appeals court decision allowing nonbinary gender marker on BMV licenses

The Court of Appeals in its opinion stated that gender means sex in the section of state law applying to motor vehicles, until the Indiana General Assembly “determines otherwise.” The Court stated that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate “a rational basis” for the X classification on drivers licenses.

Fitz Simmons, one of the plaintiffs, told IndyStar in 2023 that having the X option denied was like “death by 1,000 cuts.”

“I was just asking them to understand me and my body and my brain in a way that didn't seem to mesh with whatever their paperwork said,” Simmons, who uses "they" and "them" pronouns, said.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita on Tuesday shared news of the Court of Appeals opinion in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Rokita’s office in 2023 appealed the lower court’s order that required the BMV to offer the third gender option.

“‘X' will NOT mark the spot on Indiana driver's licenses,” Rokita posted on the social media platform.

IndyStar archives contributed to this story.Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Court says BMV will not offer X gender option on licenses