Changes to Sex Listed on Virginia Birth Certificates More Than Doubled After 2020 Law

The number of Virginians changing the sex listed on their birth certificate more than doubled between 2020 and 2022 after the passage of a law streamlining the process for individuals wanting to do so.

Previously, a person seeking to change the sex designation on their birth certificate had to provide the state registrar evidence that specific medical procedures had occurred as well as a court order. Now, a person can request the change by submitting to the registrar a form from their health care provider stating “clinically appropriate treatment for gender transition” was provided.

Virginia Department of Health Director of Communications Maria Reppas said the number of Virginians who have changed the sex listed on their birth certificate increased from 166 during the fiscal year 2020 to 275 in the fiscal year 2021 and 384 in the fiscal year 2022.

Narissa Rahaman, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Virginia, said her group worked to introduce the legislation to ease the historically “cumbersome” process of updating the sex on birth certificate documents, which is especially significant for those identifying as transgender or nonbinary.

“When you have trans, nonbinary people who are seeking housing or employment or opening a bank account and they’re running into discrimination or harassment” because their birth certificate sex doesn’t align with how they identify, she said, “that can often lead [to] those folks not wanting to seek those services in the future.”

Rahaman also added that not every person who identifies as a different sex than the one to which they were assigned at birth chooses to have surgery, which she said is why removing the requirement to provide evidence of medical procedures is important.

After the law was passed, Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, the patron of the bill in the Senate, said the gratitude expressed by those who had previously struggled to get their birth certificates changed “was just enormous.”

While the law has officially been in effect for over three years, Reppas said the regulatory review process associated with it began last month after a unanimous vote from the State Board of Health on June 15. The regulation, which officially changes regulatory language to reflect new provisions in the law, is currently being reviewed by the state’s executive branch through a fast-track process meant for noncontroversial regulations.

Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office declined to comment on the review. Macaulay Porter, a spokeswoman for Gov. Glenn Youngkin, said, “The regulation is making its way through the regulatory process, and therefore, I don’t have anything to add at this time.”

Even though the regulatory changes are under review, Reppas said the Office of Vital Records has been using the new procedures since 2020, and the changes “would not be invalidated by any failure of the fast track amendments to become effective.”

The patron of the House version of the legislation, Del. Marcus Simon, D-Falls Church, attributed the law’s passage to Democratic control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office in 2020. Since then, Republicans have retaken the House and the executive branch.

“I think with the current makeup of the House of Delegates, it may not even get a hearing — it may not have definitely gotten out of a subcommittee,” said Simon.

As other states have introduced bills this session that, among other aims, would prohibit a person from changing the biological sex on their birth certificate and ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, Rahaman said Virginia is in a unique position legislatively and geographically.

“When many LGBTQ folks are looking to move from less restricted states to states that offer more protections and safety, Virginia is one of the states that people are looking at,” Rahaman said. “We are a beacon of hope for many around the country, but especially in the South, and we should do our part to remain that way.”