OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Washington is significantly speeding up the process for residents who want to change the sex designation on their birth certificates.

The Washington State Department of Health announced on Wednesday, Feb. 12 that it will now process all requests within three business days.

It marks a substantial reduction from the previous wait time of up to 10 months. Washington state birth certificates have three options for sex designation: M, F and X.

According to the DOH, “X” refers to a gender that is not exclusively male or female including transgender, nonbinary, genderfluid and more classifications.

Governor Bob Ferguson applauded the decision on social media, saying the department worked through a weekend to clear its backlog of more than 500 pending requests.

Despite the expedited processing time, it can still take up to two weeks for certificates to be mailed and delivered. The announcement comes after President Donald Trump announced several executive orders affecting transgender people.