NEWS

Documents Confirm Texas Making List of Transgender Drivers, But Not Explaining Why

Red River Radio | By Lauren McGaughy,

Published December 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM CST

File Photo - Demonstrators rally in support of trans youth in Austin outside the Texas Capitol in 2022. Texans are no longer allowed to change the sex on their current driver’s license, unless it is to fix a clerical error.

State documents released through a public records request show 110 people sought to change the sex listed on their Texas driver's license. The names were redacted before being publicly released. Some worry the information could be used to pass laws targeting trans rights.

The state of Texas is keeping a list of transgender drivers seeking to change the sex listed on their licenses. As The Texas Newsroom’s Lauren McGaughy reports, she obtained the list through a public records request.

Texans are no longer allowed to change the sex on their current driver’s license, unless it is to fix a clerical error.

Last fall, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced it would no longer allow people to change the sex on their driver’s license unless it was to fix a clerical error. Since then, the agency has been amassing a list of people who tried anyway.
As of August, as McGaughy reports, there were 110 people on the list, which were all redacted. But internal emails showed people were reported from all over the state — from El Paso to Plano to Paris. The state has not answered questions as to why it is keeping the list.

In 2025, Texas had the highest number of anti-trans bills [139] under consideration, according to the independent research organization known as the Trans Legislation Tracker.

Landon Richie with the Transgender Education Network of Texas worries the information could be used to pass laws targeting trans rights. “That the state has not been forthcoming on their intent with this data collection, it's certainly very concerning. A new law restricting what restrooms transgender people can use in government buildings just went into effect.” According to research carried out by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, on transgender studies, roughly 161,000 transgender adults live in Texas, which translates to less than 1% of the population of more than 31 million people. In 2025, Texas had the highest number of anti-trans bills [139] under consideration, according to the independent research organization known as the Trans Legislation Tracker. This year it has tracked 1,020 bills “under consideration across the country that would negatively impact trans and gender non-conforming people.