Trans Rights Challenge at DGT
Trans Man Files Complaint After Examiner Demands Scar to Verify Identity
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A trans man in Valencia was forced to show his mastectomy scars to a driving examiner before she would let him take his practical test. José Joaquín Cerdá, 40, says the examiner refused to accept any of the documents he brought to prove his identity — because his DNI still carries his birth name, "Tatiana" — and told him she needed "tangible proof" of his transition. He called it "the greatest humiliation of my life," according to Levante-EMV.
The incident took place on June 10 at the DGT testing site in Xàtiva, Valencia. José, who is in the middle of the legal name-change process, has now filed a formal complaint with the Provincial Traffic Headquarters. "There are people for whom something like this can ruin their lives," he warned, according to Diario Córdoba.
Examiner Rejected Legal Documents, Demanded Surgical Proof
When José arrived for his test, the examiner flagged that his appearance did not match the name on his DNI. He then produced his health card and bank documents showing his ongoing name-change process. The examiner dismissed them, according to La Opinión A Coruña. She wanted "tangible proof" — and nothing short of physical evidence would do.
Feeling he had no other choice — and not wanting to lose the exam fee he had already paid — José offered to show the scars from his mastectomy. The examiner accepted this as proof and allowed him to get into the car. Legal experts say the examiner likely exceeded her authority. Under Spanish administrative law, a court order or supporting documents should be enough to verify identity, according to Europa Press.
Spain's Trans Law Leaves Thousands Stuck in a Legal Limbo
Spain's 2023 "Ley Trans" (Law 4/2023) lets people change their legal gender without needing medical or psychological reports. But updating the physical DNI card takes time. That gap leaves many trans people carrying documents that do not match their appearance or chosen name, according to Informacion.es.
Since the law took effect, 15,818 people have changed their gender marker in the Civil Registry across Spain. In the Valencia region alone, 869 people made the change between 2023 and 2024. But the slow bureaucratic process means many still face the exact situation José was in: legally in transition, but without a matching ID card.
Valencia's Regional Rollback Fuels Discrimination, Groups Say
The incident comes amid a tense political climate in Valencia. In early 2026, the regional government — a coalition of PP and Vox — passed Law 5/2025, modifying the 2017 regional Trans Law. The changes removed the "inversion of the burden of proof" in discrimination cases and brought back medicalized language. Since then, reported cases of institutional discrimination against trans people in Valencia have risen by 60%, according to Lambda Valencia's annual report.
Lambda Valencia's coordinator, Raquel Ruiz, said demanding to see a surgical scar is a "violent and illegal intrusion into a person's privacy" that violates Article 14 of the Spanish Constitution, according to Cadena SER. The group has called for a hate crime investigation and disciplinary action against the examiner. Spain's Ministry of Equality has also expressed "deep concern," warning that regional legal rollbacks are creating "legal uncertainty" for trans citizens.
DGT Faces Pressure to Update Its Own Rules for Trans Applicants
This is not the first time a DGT examiner has clashed with a trans applicant over a mismatched DNI. In February 2023, an examiner in Almería repeatedly used a trans applicant's birth name during a test. That case ended with a formal apology from the DGT after national outrage, according to Europa Press.
Now the DGT is under pressure to update its official procedures manual to give examiners clear instructions on how to handle discordant IDs. If José's complaint is escalated to criminal court, the examiner could face charges under hate crime statutes (Article 510 of the Penal Code) or "degrading treatment by a public official." The case is also likely to be used by the central government in its ongoing appeal to the Constitutional Court against Valencia's 2025 legal changes.
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