Original Date Announced

The State Department issued a notice requesting public comment on proposed changes to Form DS-5504 (Application for a U.S. Passport for Eligible Individuals: Correction, Name Change to Passport) in compliance with EO 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government."

DOS proposes that the revised application form will:

• Request the applicant's biological sex at birth, and will only allow responses of "M" or "F," not "X"; and
• Replace the term "gender" with "sex."

In addition, the form will be revised to add an applicant statement confirming that the applicant is not required to register as a sex offender, in accordance with International Megan's Law (34 U.S.C. § 21501 et seq., and 22 U.S.C. § 212b).

The Department will accept comments from the public until March 20, 2025.

Notably, the State Department is providing a version of Form DS-5504 on its website that puts this proposed change into effect immediately, even though this proposal is currently in the 30-day notice period under the Paperwork Reduction Act process. The version of Form DS-5504 currently being provided by the Department of State has an expiration date of 11/30/2022, and does not allow the "X" gender marker to be selected. This version of the form was a previous version approved by OMB during Trump 1.0.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1576]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.04.25 Amended Complaint - Orr v. Trump

Twelve transgender and nonbinary U.S. citizen plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit, challenging the government's policy of using gender markers reflecting individuals' sex assigned at birth under EO 14168. The plaintiffs allege that this passport policy violates the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). They seek declaratory and injunctive relief to vacate agency actions taken according to this policy and to prevent further implementation. The original complaint was filed on February 7. Orr v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-10313 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.06.17 Preliminary Injunction - Orr v. Trump

Judge Kobick preliminarily enjoined the federal government from enforcing its passport policy against individuals in the "M/F" or "X" designation classes who do not have a currently valid passport, have a passport that expires within one year, need to update their passport to "have the sex designation on it align with their gender identity or to reflect a name change," or need a new passport because it was lost, stolen, or damaged. Orr v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-10313 (D. Mass.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.11.06 Order Staying Preliminary Injunction Order - Trump v. Orr

The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's request to stay the June 17, 2025 preliminary injunction in Orr v. Trump, 1:25-cv-10313 (D. Mass.). As a result, the government may enforce its passport policy. The Court held that the government is likely to succeed on the merits. It stated that "[d]isplaying passport holders' sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth—in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment." It further found that plaintiffs are not likely to prevail in arguing that the government acted arbitrarily and capriciously. Trump v. Orr, 607 U. S. ___ (2025).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**