Beginning in late February 2026, social media posts began claiming that the state of Kansas revoked the licenses of transgender drivers in the state. One popular Facebook post (archived) said, "Kansas demands the immediate surrender of trans people's driving licenses."
Other popular posts (archived) online made a similar claim that it was now illegal for transgender people in Kansas to drive a car until they went to the DMV and got new licenses corresponding with their sex assigned at birth. Users made similar posts about Kansas revoking transgender residents' licenses on Instagram (archived), X (archived) and Reddit (archived). Numerous Snopes readers searched the site and sent us emails asking whether the claims were true.
Some social media posts included pictures of a letter purportedly sent by the state's Department of Records Division of Vehicles. It read:
Dear Kansas Credential Holder:
House Substitute for Senate Bill 244, enacted by the Kansas Legislature overriding Governor Kelly's veto, requires Kansas-issued driver's licenses and identification cards to reflect the credential holder's sex at birth and directs the Division of Vehicles to comply with K.S.A. 77-207.
What does this mean for you? If you have received this notice, our records indicate that, upon publication of this law in the Kansas Register on Thursday, February 26, 2026, your current Kansas credential will no longer be valid. Additionally, please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials. This means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credential will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential.
What do you need to do?
Pursuant to this new law, if the gender/sex indication on the face of your current credential does not match your sex assigned at birth, you are directed to surrender your current credential to the Kansas Division of Vehicles. Upon surrendering the credential, you will be issued a new credential reflecting the gender identification consistent with statutory requirements.
If you have any questions regarding procedures for obtaining a legally compliant credential, please contact the Kansas Division of Vehicles or visit your local driver licensing office.
Can you appeal this notice?
Yes. If you believe you have received this notice in error, you may appeal. Appeal rights are available under K.S.A. 8-259. However, please be advised that the filing of an appeal will not preserve the validity of your current credential and associated driving authority.
For additional information about visiting a DOV exam station, please review the https://www.ksrevenue.gov/DOVAppointmentInfo/
We apologize for the inconvenience this causes you
Kansas passed and enacted a law in February that immediately invalidated driver's licenses and birth certificates with gender indicators that didn't match a person's sex assigned at birth, thus invalidating licenses and birth certificates for many transgender people in the state. Therefore, we have rated this claim true.
The bill in question is House Substitute for SB 244. It requires public buildings designate "multiple-occupancy private spaces" — such as restrooms and locker rooms — for use by only one sex, defines the word "gender" in state law as "biological sex at birth," orders the state's division of vehicles to revoke licenses that do not meet this new definition of gender and reissue them so they do, and orders the same of birth certificates.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill, but on Feb. 18 the Republican supermajority in the state legislature overrode Kelly's veto. The law was added to the state's register on Feb. 26, 2026, going into effect immediately.
The text of the law dedicates just two paragraphs to the revocation of transgender people's licenses. First, it invalidates driver's licenses that identify a person's gender differently from the state's new legal definition of gender. It then directs the division of vehicles to send written notice telling those affected that their licenses are invalid and need to be surrendered, and the division will then be able to issue new licenses in place of the invalid ones. The text can be found in italics on Page 8 of the law.
In an email to Snopes, the Kansas Department of Records confirmed the letter circulating on the internet was real and was sent to people affected by the new state law. The text of the same letter was also included on pages 19 and 20 of a lawsuit filed against the state by a group of transgender people affected by the new law.
The letter gave notice that the state law was in effect immediately upon its entry into the state's register and that the state "did not include a grace period for updating credentials," meaning that transgender people's licenses were "invalid immediately" and those notified were at risk for other penalties if they drove a car before getting an updated license.
A first-time offense of driving without a license in the state of Kansas is a misdemeanor that carries a sentence of up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.