Gender recognition certificate
In some countries, a gender recognition certificate is a vital record to indicate a legal change of gender identity. This is distinct from a birth certificate, which is often amended in various countries following a legal gender change.
By country
[edit]Australia
[edit]India
[edit]Under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, a transgender person can apply to the district magistrate for a transgender person certificate which will give them the right to change the name on their birth certificate and have all documents updated accordingly.[1] However, similar to the 2018 bill provisions, a transgender person can be identified as male or female only after applying for a revised certificate to the district magistrate, post sex reassignment surgery.[2]
Ireland
[edit]Under the Gender Recognition Act 2015, Irish citizens are allowed to apply for a gender recognition certificate to change their gender on government documents through self-determination. The law does not require any medical intervention by the applicant nor an assessment by medical professionals.[3]
United Kingdom
[edit]In the United Kingdom, citizens who seek to change their legal gender must appear before the Gender Recognition Panel, a national tribunal which issues a gender recognition certificate to applicants. People granted a full GRC are from the date of issue, considered in the eyes of the law to be of their "acquired gender" in most situations.
However, on 15 April 2025 the UK Supreme Court ruled[4] that as far as the Equality Act was concerned, a woman is defined by biological sex, that is, the sex shown on her birth certificate, with the caveat that the law still gives protection against discrimination to transgender people.
References
[edit]- ^ Gandhi, Dhruva; Ghia, Unnati (5 August 2019). "Transgender Rights Bill: A Stunted Understanding of Gender and Equality". The Wire. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ Karpagam, Sylvia (30 December 2018). "Why Transgender Persons Bill 2018 is a healthcare nightmare for the community". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ Hofflich, Jessica (20 July 2015). "Ireland passes bill allowing gender marker changes on legal documents". GLAAD. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7pqzk47zo