Pennsylvanians who don’t want to identify themselves as either male or female will be allowed a third option when they obtain a government-issued identification card in 2020.

State department of transportation officials have been following national trends and believe a gender-neutral option should be offered in the commonwealth, PennDOT Communications Director Erin Waters-Trasatt said. PennDOT doesn’t need the legislature’s approval to offer the option, she added.

The state’s system will be updated as "quickly as possible” to allow for an "X" indicator. PennDOT is working on changing its gender selections to M, F, and X. She declined to say how much it will cost the state — if anything — to add the option.

Motorists have been asking for PennDOT to include the X indicator, Trasatt said.

"Gov. Wolf has been on the forefront of diversity and inclusion policies within state government services that we provide to Pennsylvania residents,” she continued.

Thirteen states offer the option, according to The National Center for Transgender Equality. The Washington-D.C. based non-profit advocates for policy that "increases the understanding and acceptance of transgender people.”

The X option allows for a "more accurate gender marker” and provides "increased privacy around gender” on state IDs, the center reported on its website.

While the X indicator has recently been adopted by over a dozen states in America, other countries have used it longer, the center reported. The X indicator is permitted on Real IDs.

"An X gender marker is consistent with the practice of the International Civil Aviation Association, an agency of the United Nations, which uses an internationally-recognized passport format that allows for M, F, or X gender markers,” according to the center.