Florida Rescinds Gender-Change Policy on Replacement Licenses

Florida will no longer allow individuals to change their sex on replacement driver’s licenses on a whim, rescinding IR-08 Gender Requirements after concluding that “expanding the Department’s authority to issue replacement licenses dependent on one’s internal sense of gender or sex identification is violative of the law,” the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) confirmed to Breitbart News.

In other words, a male can no longer change their status to female when replacing their license or vice versa. Florida Democrat state lawmaker Rep. Anna V. Eskamani complained about the change on X, and shared an image of the letter:

This letter from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles was shared w/me last night — I have contacted the department to confirm its authenticity but based on what I am hearing, computer systems locally are no longer allowing gender to be updated.

“This is another gross example of how every state agency has been weaponizes to attack trans people. Instead of addressing the property insurance crisis, this is what our state is doing. Shameful,” she added.

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The FLHSMV letter states that the department has “undertaken a review of current practices, polices, and directives to better align the services” provided by the department and stakeholders.

“As part of this review, the Department is reviewing practices, policies, and directives to ensure that all guidance provided by the Department is consistent with Florida law,” it states.

Ultimately, the letter states that the department “rescinds the Driver License Operations Manual, Issuance Requirements, IR08-Gender Requirements,” which directed personnel to “issue a new license in the event that a license wished to alter the gender marker on his or her license” However, the letter contends that the provisions of IR08-Gender Requirements are “not supported by statutory authority.” Rather, the Department can only issue a new license when one is lost or stolen or with a “subsequent change in the licensee’s name, address, or restrictions.”

The letter adds that “gender” in “s.322.08 F.S., does not refer to a person’s internal sense of his or her gender role or identification, but has historically and commonly been understood as a synonym for ‘sex,’ which is determined by innate and immutable biological and genetic characteristics.”

Further, the letter makes it clear that a license is an “identification document and, as such, serves a critical role in assisting public and private entities in correctly establishing the identity of a person presenting the license,” and continued:

Permitting an individual to alter his or her license to reflect an internal sense of gender role or identity, which is neither immutable nor objectively verifiable, undermines the purpose of an identification record and can frustrate the state’s ability to enforce its laws.

The letter adds that “establishing gender on a newly issued Florida Driver License is based on the supporting documents provided with an application.”

The letter, addressed to County Tax Collectors, was from Robert Kynoch, the Deputy Executive Director of HSMV.

Breitbart News reached out to FLHSMV to confirm the authenticity of the letter and inquire if this is, indeed, the new official policy of the department. The department told Breitbart News, “Upon appointment as Executive Director by Governor DeSantis in January of last year, Director Kerner tasked senior Department leadership with ensuring our policies, procedures, and technical guidance/advisories were consistent with both statutory law and the Department’s inherent authority.”

“The Department is charged with important statutory duties, to include issuance of Florida driver’s licenses and identification cards, and to issue replacement credentials under specific circumstances,” the department said, explaining that “expanding the Department’s authority to issue replacement licenses dependent on one’s internal sense of gender or sex identification is violative of the law and does not serve to enhance the security and reliability of Florida issued licenses and identification cards.”

“The security, reliability, and accuracy of government issued credentials is paramount,” the department continued, affirming that it has, in fact, rescinded IR-08 Gender Requirements. However, the department emphasized that the rescission “pertains solely to replacement license requests.”

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“No changes have been made to the process of establishing gender on a newly issued Florida credential, governed by s. 322.08, F.S.,” it emphasized.

FLHSMV also shared a technical advisory from the department issued January 26, which affirmed these changes.

“The customer’s gender as displayed on the driver license or identification card must be taken from a primary identification document,” it stated. “IR08.4 regarding gender change is rescinded.”

This is not the first time Florida has taken a stand against the left’s attempts to redefine sex and gender, as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed legislation last year designed to “protect the innocence of Florida’s children” as radical leftists insist it is appropriate to allow children to receive what they describe as “gender-affirming care” — which is leftist speak for puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and sex change surgeries.

In 2022, Florida also moved to prohibit Medicaid from covering transgender procedures. That decision came months after the release of a Florida Medicaid report, requested by the Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which concluded that these so-called treatments for gender dysphoria are not “safe or effective” but “experimental and investigational” in nature.