The Social Security Administration on Thursday said it will allow people to self-select their sex on their Social Security records. The agency is “committed to reducing barriers and ensuring the fair treatment of the LGBTQ+ community,” Kilolo Kijakazi, acting commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement.
The option will likely become available this fall, the agency said. It means that people will be able to choose their sex on their Social Security records without having to provide documentation about their sex designation to officials, it explained.
Other U.S. government agencies are also moving toward policies that provide more inclusion, such as the State Department’s announcement on Thursday that Americans will be able to identify with the gender designation “X” on their U.S. passports starting on April 11. That designation intends to make federal documents more inclusive for transgender, intersex, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people.
People who want to update their sex marker on their Social Security records will need to apply for a replacement card, although Social Security cards don’t include a person’s sex designation, the agency said.
The Social Security Administration said it is also exploring the possibility of updating its systems to support an “X” gender designation for the Social Security number card application process.
