Startling shift in teens identifying as nonbinary in California

After years of steady growth, the number of 16- and 17-year-olds in California identifying as nonbinary on their driver’s licenses has dropped sharply, according to new data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles.The option for a nonbinary “X” gender marker on state driver’s licenses was introduced in 2019 under the state’s Gender Recognition Act.In the first year, just 38 16-year-olds — the minimum age for a license — selected the nonbinary designation.Numbers rose steadily, peaking in 2023 with 164 16-year-olds.

But the trend has since reversed: The figure fell to 95 in 2024, then dropped again to just 46 in 2025 opting for the nonbinary marker.A similar pattern appears among 17-year-olds, with nonbinary identifications declining from 418 in 2024 to 203 in 2025.Overall, nonbinary markings on California licenses and IDs across all ages continued to climb modestly — from 3,050 in 2019 to 21,140 in 2024 and a whopping 24,236 in 2025.The total number of 16-year-olds obtaining licenses (regardless of gender marker) was slightly higher in 2025 than in 2023, suggesting the drop is specific to the nonbinary choice rather than fewer teens in that age group choosing to drive.Experts and observers are divided on what’s driving the decline among California teens to identify themselves as nonbinary on their driver’s licenses, suggesting it may not be reflective of a diminishing social trend.

That is, teens might still identify privately as nonbinary but choose not to mark it on official government documents amid simmering national debate.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story University of California, Santa Cruz psychology professor Phillip Hammack, who directs the Sexual & Gender Diversity Laboratory, suggested the drop may be due t...