The U.S. State Department announced on June 9 a new policy that no longer requires passport applicants seeking a gender change to have undergone sexual reassignment surgery.  The policy allows a gender change with a certification from an attending physician and went into effect on June 10.

The certification must confirm only that “the passport applicant has undergone treatment for gender transition.”  Applicants who are in the process of gender transition will be able to obtain a limited-validity passport under the new policy.

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, the policy changes a process that previously required individuals to provide documentation from a surgeon that sex reassignment surgery had been performed.