There is a new law in New York City that makes it easier for transgender and non-binary New Yorkers to have their birth certificate match their gender identity without a signed affidavit from a healthcare provider.
The law, that went into effect Tuesday, will create a new label "X" on a birth certificate to represent a non-binary identity.
"Transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers deserve the right to choose how they identify and to live with respect and dignity," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement released Monday. "Our city respects your gender identity and the right to have it affirmed on your birth certificate," de Blasio's office echoed in a Tuesday tweet.
With this new law, individuals born in the city can apply to have a gender marker on their birth certificate by submitting a notarized application that the revision is to reflect their "true gender identity and is not for any fraudulent purpose."
"You don't need a doctor to tell you who you are and you shouldn't need a doctor to change your birth certificate to reflect your true self," New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a June statement when the law was first proposed.
NYC will join the states of California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho in allowing a birth certificate change without a medical professional's signature. New Jersey is scheduled to do the same in February.
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