Agency·Rule

Pentagon Proposes Ending Sex Marker Changes on Military ID Cards for Retirees and Dependents

Identification (ID) Cards for Members of the Uniformed Services, Their Dependents, and Other Eligible Individuals; Amendment

4 months ago·View on Federal Register

Key Points

Retirees, family members, and contractor employees can no longer change the sex listed in their military records, except to fix a clear clerical error.
The policy replaces the word “gender” with “sex” in ID card rules and changes “gender marker” to “sex code” in the records system.
The change takes effect immediately, and the public can send comments until January 30, 2026.
If other IDs show a different sex, some people may see mismatches that could affect access to services or facilities that use sex markers.
This follows a presidential order telling agencies to use sex, not gender, and to treat sex as not changeable.

Civil RightsVeteransHealthcareNational Security

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Negative Impacts(3)

Retiree

Hurts

Lgbtq

Hurts

Veterans Benefits

Hurts

Mixed Impacts(2)

Child Tax Credit

Neutral

Federal Employee

Neutral

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

2025-12-01

DEERS “gender marker” change-by-preference process is removed for retirees, dependents, and contractor employees

Starting this date, these groups generally cannot update the sex-related field in DEERS unless DoD treats it as correcting an administrative error, so some people may be stuck with mismatched records

2026-01-30

Public comment window closes for the interim final rule

After this date, comments may be less likely to shape how DoD writes the final version, so people affected who want the rule changed should submit input before the deadline

Months after Jan. 30, 2026

DoD reviews comments and may publish a final rule that keeps, revises, or further clarifies the change

The long-term impact depends on whether DoD adjusts the rule (for example, clarifying what counts as an “administrative error” and what proof is needed)