Gender Markers on Forms

A bill to update sections of the Code of Virginia so people in Virginia have the option to mark sex or gender as nonbinary.

• Nonbinary: a person who doesn’t feel like they are just a boy or just a girl. They might feel like both, neither, or something different. It’s another way of thinking about who someone is.

• If the bill passes, people can mark their sex and gender as nonbinary on official paperwork relating to:

  • Getting your name changed

  • Emancipation

  • Applying to carry a hand gun and the permission slip to carry a handgun

  • Becoming a special conservator

  • Becoming a Citizens Commissioner

  • School Directories

  • Registering to vote

  • Adoptions and sex changes

  • How gender is listed on marriage and death certificates

  • The Virginia Donor Registry

  • Employment

  • New & Commercial drivers

  • Getting prescription medication from a pharmacy

• Code of Virginia: Collection of all the laws and rules in the state of Virginia. It organizes these laws by topic, like education, transportation, or health, so people can easily find and understand the rules that affect them. It’s like the official rulebook for how things are done in Virginia.

• If this bill passes, the current law on getting a name changed will change to include the option to list gender as “nonbinary,” instead of just “male” or “female” on the application.

• The current law allows any person age 16 or 17, or their parent or caretaker can ask the local children’s court to emancipate them. 

  • Emancipation: when a young person, like a teenager, is legally allowed to live on their own and make their own decisions, even though they’re not yet an adult. It means they take on responsibilities like finding a place to live and working to support themselves. It’s like being treated as a grown-up by the law.

• The emancipation petition must include the child’s gender, petitioner's relationship to the child, and choose a gender option. If this bill passes, the gender options will change to include "male," "female," and "nonbinary."

• This current law also has the rules for giving permission for people to carry small guns called “handguns.” If this bill passes, the law will change so that people who are applying to be able to carry handguns in Virginia will be able to choose “male,” “female,” or “nonbinary.”

• And, if this bill is passed once someone’s application gets approved, their permit will display the gender option they selected, including “nonbinary.”

• The current law also outlines rules to become a special conservator, including that options for gender identity must be in the application.

  • Special Conservator: A special conservator is someone chosen by a court to help keep a certain place safe, like a neighborhood, building, or event. They can have some of the same responsibilities as police officers, but only in the area where they are assigned to work. Their job is to make sure everyone follows the rules and stays safe.

• If this bill passes, the law will be changed so that people applying to be a special conservator can mark their gender as “nonbinary.”

• The current law also includes rules about becoming a Citizen Commissioner

  • Citizen Commissioner: a regular person who helps decide how voting areas are divided up on a map. These areas show where people vote for their leaders, like for the governor or president. To be picked, the person needs to have lived in Virginia for a few years, voted in elections, and stayed out of political jobs or big campaigns recently. They are chosen to make sure the maps are fair and represent all kinds of people in the state.

• The application to become a Citizen Commissioner needs the following details:

  • Full name

  • Gender

  • Birthday 

  • Social security number (if they have one)

    • Social security number: A special number given to people in the United States to help keep track of things like their jobs, taxes, and the money they might get when they’re older or can’t work. It’s like a secret code for each person that helps the government know who each person is.

  • U.S. citizenship status

  • Address of where they live

  • Any history crimes, being judged in a court of law, and if they got their voting rights back after committing a crime.

• If this bill passes, the law will change so that the application includes "male," "female," or "nonbinary" gender options.

• If this bill passes, students at schools in Virginia will have the choice to have their gender listed in the school directory as “male”, “female”, or “nonbinary.”

  • Directory:

• The current law also includes rules about registering to vote. If this bill is passed, applications to register to vote will change to include “male”, “female”, and “nonbinary” as gender options.

  • Then, in lists of registered Virginia voters, “male”, “female”, and “nonbinary” will be used in saying voter gender.

• The current law includes rules for people who are changing their sex. If this bill passes, people applying for a new birth certificate to show they changed their sex will be allowed to choose “male,” “female,” or “nonbinary” for the sex on the new birth certificate. 

• If this bill passes, marriage licenses will include “nonbinary” as a gender option available for one or both of the married people, along with “male” and “female.”

• The current law also includes rules about the piece of paper saying that someone has died, which is called a death certificate. 

• If this bill passes, the sex of the person who died can be “male”, “female,” or “nonbinary” on their death certificate.

• Another part of the current law is about the Virginia Donor Registry, which deals with donating organs when someone dies.

  • The registry is supposed to help make sure there are enough organs for people who need new ones, and cut down barriers to donation to save costs.  

• If this bill passes, the information kept about those in the registry will include “nonbinary” as a gender option, not just “male”, or “female.”

• Another part of the existing law is about paperwork people need in order to work, called Employment Certificates, and rules for people who hire other people who work for them, including children.

  • Employment certificates need information like name, sex, date of birth, and where the person lives; proof of conditions met; and employer info.  

• If this bill passes, employment certificates for children can include “nonbinary” as a gender option as well as “male” and “female.”

• If this bill passes, applications and permission slips for children to do entertainment work, called a “theatrical permit” will include “nonbinary” as an option for the child’s gender, as well as “male” and “female.”

  • Permit applications must be sent in at least five days before the event and allow the person to choose "male," "female," or "nonbinary."

• The current law also includes rules for new drivers. If this bill is passed, applications for a new drivers license will include gender options “male,” “female,” and “nonbinary”

• If this bill is passed, these gender options will also be available on applications for a commercial driver’s license.

  • Commercial drivers license: A special license that someone needs to drive big vehicles like trucks or buses. It shows they’ve learned how to drive these vehicles safely and follow important rules because these vehicles carry things like packages, goods, or lots of people.

• The current law also deals with Special ID cards for people with commercial licenses. If this bill passes, people applying for a Special ID card can choose to mark their gender as “nonbinary” instead of “male” or “female.” 

• This will also be the case for applications for an Escort Vehicle license.

  • Escort Vehicle License: A special license that lets a person drive a car or truck that helps guide really big trucks carrying heavy or oversized things, like a giant machine or a house. The escort vehicle makes sure the big truck stays safe on the road and warns other drivers to be careful.

• This law also sets rules for getting medications that a doctor writes permission for, from a pharmacy. If this bill passes, patients at pharmacies in Virginia can choose to mark their gender as “male” “female” or “nonbinary.”