WSR 18-02-048
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
[Filed December 27, 2017, 4:55 p.m., effective January 27, 2018]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: WAC 246-490-075 Changing sex designation on a birth certificate, the rule establishes procedural requirements for individuals to change the sex designation on their birth certificate. The rule replaces the current department procedure established in 2008 with an updated procedure and includes "male," "female," and "X" as options for sex designation on the birth certificate. The rule only applies to amendments made to birth records after the original record is completed at the time of birth.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: New WAC 246-490-075.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 43.70.150.
Other Authority: RCW 43.70.160.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 17-22-105 on October 31, 2017.
Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: Subsection (2) is amended to allow an adult, through a guardian appointed pursuant to chapter 11.92 RCW, to apply for a sex designation change on a birth certificate.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Vicki M. Bouvier, Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics, P.O. Box 7814, Olympia, WA 98504-7814, phone 360-236-4233, TTY 360-833-6388 or 711, email GenderChangeRuleMaking@doh.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: December 27, 2017.
John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH
Secretary
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-490-075 Changing sex designation on a birth certificate.
(1) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Adult" means a person who is at least eighteen years of age, or is an emancipated minor under chapter 13.64 RCW.
(b) "Minor" means a person under the age of eighteen years of age, but not an emancipated minor under chapter 13.64 RCW.
(c) "X" means a gender that is not exclusively male or female, including, but not limited to, intersex, agender, amalgagender, androgynous, bigender, demigender, female-to-male, genderfluid, genderqueer, male-to-female, neutrois, nonbinary, pangender, third sex, transgender, transsexual, Two Spirit, and unspecified.
(2) Only an adult, or an adult through a guardian appointed pursuant to chapter 11.92 RCW, may apply to change sex designation on a birth certificate for oneself.
(3) Only the parent or legal guardian of a minor may apply to change sex designation on the minor's birth certificate.
(4) To change sex designation on a birth certificate, an adult, or parent or legal guardian of a minor, must submit to the department a completed, signed, and dated application provided by the state registrar that includes, at a minimum, the following information for the person named on the birth certificate:
(a) Full name listed on the birth certificate;
(b) Date of birth;
(c) Place of birth;
(d) Mother or parent's full name listed on the birth certificate;
(e) Father or parent's full name listed on the birth certificate, if it appears on the record;
(f) Contact information;
(g) Sex designation requested (male, female, or X); and
(h) Other information requested by the state registrar.
(5) If an adult, or parent or legal guardian, cannot provide the information in subsection (4) of this section due to special circumstances; the adult, or parent or legal guardian, must submit a written explanation of the circumstances to the state registrar. The department may change the sex designation on the birth certificate if, in the state registrar's judgment, these circumstances prevent the adult, or parent or legal guardian, from knowing one or more of the required items.
(6) The sex designation change application of an adult must be notarized and signed under penalty of perjury pursuant to chapter 9A.72 RCW.
(7) The sex designation change application of a minor must include a signed statement by the minor's licensed health care provider attesting that:
(a) The minor identified on the application is under the care of the provider; and
(b) The provider has determined the request to change sex designation on the birth certificate is consistent with the minor's identity.
(8) Only licensed health care providers whose scope of practice allows for attestation of a sex designation change may provide this attestation.