Texas DPS Collects Data on Transgender Residents Seeking ID Updates Without Explanation
The state has documented at least 42 cases of transgender individuals requesting changes to driver's license sex markers since August 2024, raising privacy and civil rights concerns.
- The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been collecting information on transgender residents who request changes to the sex marker on their driver's licenses since implementing a restrictive policy in August 2024.
- At least 42 cases have been recorded in the past five months, including instances where individuals sought guidance on the process without filing formal requests.
- Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion on March 14, 2025, stating that transgender Texans cannot change their IDs and that previously updated documents must be reverted.
- The DPS has not disclosed why this data is being collected, how it is being used, or with whom it is being shared, prompting public and activist backlash.
- Initial activist efforts to disrupt the internal email system used for this data collection have subsided, and the system is reportedly being used as intended.
Advocate 
Houston Public Media 