The Social Security Administration announced a new policy change which will allow people to self-select their sex marker on their Social Security number record, likely beginning in the fall of 2022.
The announced was made by Acting Commissioner of Social Security Kilolo Kijakazi Thursday morning, March 31, 2022.
“The Social Security Administration is committed to reducing barriers and ensuring the fair treatment of the LGBTQ+ community by updating our procedures for Social Security number records,” said Acting Commissioner Kijakazi. “This policy change will allow people to self-select their sex in our records without needing to provide documentation of their sex designation.”
According to the SSN press release, people who update their sex marker in Social Security’s records will need to apply for a replacement card. They will still need to show a current document to prove their identity, but they will no longer need to provide medical or legal documentation of their sex designation once the policy change becomes effective. SSN cards do not include sex markers.
In February, the agency issued guidance instructing employees to accept evidence documents that contain non-binary identifiers for original SSN and replacement SSN card applications, and other updates to the agency’s internal SSN records. The agency is exploring possible future policy and systems updates to support an “X” sex designation for the SSN card application process, according to the SSA statement.
