The Bureau of Motor Vehicles Indiana announced last week that driver's licenses will now have a third gender option.

Starting this month, the BMV has begun issuing driver's licenses and identification cards with a non-binary option, designated by an "X," in addition to "M" for male and "F" for female.

When the change was first announced, applicants could provide proof of a permanent gender change in the form of a certified, amended birth certificate or a signed and dated physician's statement. But on March 20, a state House panel voted 10-3 to make a gender change more challenging by allowing only a birth certificate.

According to Susie Guyer, spokeswoman for the BMV, the addition of the third gender option came "in response to constituents requesting a non-binary marker," she said in an email.

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Indiana Code Title 9 states that an application for a driver's license or identification card is required to include the gender of the applicant. The BMV is following the credential standards proposed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), Guyer said.

The AAMVA released the 2016 "DL/ID Card Design Standard" publication in 2016, which included the process for offering a non-binary option for states that choose to include it: use the letter "X" on the face of the card, and the number "9" in the coding of the card, which stands for "not specified." Organization vice president Ian Grossman said this is to offer consistency across states.

Not much will change for license enforcement for the Indiana State Police, said Capt. Dave Bursten.

"If somebody is violating a traffic law, they will still receive a citation and we’re going to list their gender however it’s listed on drivers’ license," he said.

Kit Malone, advocate and educator for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, called the move a "pleasant surprise," as it happened suddenly.

"This puts us on the very short list of states in the U.S. that recognize that there are more than two genders," Malone said. "Non-binary people will now be able to access identity documents that affirm who they are."

She added that while this is a big step, there is still a lot of "gatekeeping of trans people in general," and "more needs to be done."

The National Center for Transgender Equality updated a report in February that lists the ease of receiving a gender change on a license. In addition to Indiana, five states have a gender-neutral option for driver's licenses and identification cards:

California, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington, D.C.: Gender-neutral option, no provider certification required.

Gender-neutral option, no provider certification required. Indiana, Colorado and Maine: Gender-neutral option available, provider certification required.

Gender-neutral option available, provider certification required. Massachusetts and Nevada: No gender-neutral option. Applicants can choose his or her gender identity without provider certification.

Chris Paulsen, CEO for Indiana Youth Group, an organization that provides support for LGBT young people, said this is a win for the community.

"We see BMVs across the nation moving in this direction, and I'm happily surprised Indiana is doing it so soon," she said.

Paulsen said the paperwork needed to receive the non-binary designation shows that it "actually takes work to get gender marker changes" and "hopefully it will alleviate the fears of people" in opposition of transgender rights.

Arli Christian, state policy director for the National Center for Transgender Equality, provided a statement on the licensing change:

"Having a gender neutral designation of 'X' in addition to 'M' and 'F' gives residents the options needed to have accurate and appropriate gender markers on their IDs to go about their daily lives ... NCTE encourages the agency to remove burdensome and invasive medical information from their form, as recommended by the American Medical Association and other medical experts.”

Reporter Kaitlin Lange contributed to this report.

Kellie Hwang is a reporter at IndyStar. You can email her at kellie.hwang@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @KellieHwang.