Right to change legal gender
You can change your legal gender in 66 countries, but 33 require surgery.
DATE
Right to change legal gender
Legal recognition of sex reassignment by permitting a change of legal gender on an individual's birth certificate.
Summary
Timeline of right to change legal gender
Number of countries to allow changing legal gender over the past 61 years.
Recent & Upcoming Changes
Upcoming Changes
- Czech RepublicLegal, but requires medical diagnosisJuly 1
- SwedenLegal, no restrictionsJuly 1
- GermanyLegal, no restrictionsNovember 1
2024
- IdahoIllegalJuly 1
- MontanaLegal, no restrictionsJune 25
- IraqIllegalApril 27
- YucatánLegal, no restrictionsMarch 28
2023
- PakistanLegal, no restrictionsDecember 13
- MontanaIllegalOctober 23
- RussiaIllegalJuly 24
- ChechnyaIllegalJuly 19
- IllegalJuly 19
- KansasIllegalJuly 1
- TennesseeIllegalJuly 1
- New ZealandLegal, no restrictionsJune 15
- PakistanIllegalMay 19
- FinlandLegal, no restrictionsApril 3
- SlovakiaLegal, but requires medical diagnosisMarch 3
- BulgariaIllegalFebruary 21
- AndorraLegal, no restrictionsFebruary 17
- Hong KongLegal, no restrictionsFebruary 6
2022
- SpainLegal, no restrictionsDecember 22
- QueenslandLegal, no restrictionsDecember 2
- CyprusLegal, no restrictionsNovember 23
- MontanaLegal, no restrictionsSeptember 19
- North CarolinaLegal, no restrictionsJune 23
- MontanaIllegalMay 23
- JapanLegal, but requires surgeryApril 1
- LithuaniaLegal, but requires medical diagnosisFebruary 2
- SurinameIllegalJanuary 1
- SwitzerlandLegal, no restrictionsJanuary 1
Right to change legal gender by Country
Legal, no restrictions
Right to change legal gender is legal, no restrictions in 33 regions.
Legal, but requires medical diagnosis
Right to change legal gender is legal, but requires medical diagnosis in 22 regions.
Legal, but requires surgery
Right to change legal gender is legal, but requires surgery in 33 regions.
- Asia (16)
- China 1986
- India 2019
- Indonesia 1973
- Iran 1987
- Japan 2022
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan 2011
- Kyrgyzstan 2020
- Laos 2009
- Lebanon 2016
- Mongolia 2009
- Singapore 1996
- Syria 2004
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan 1972
- Vietnam 2017
- Europe (11)
- Armenia 1972
- Azerbaijan 1972
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Czech Republic 1975
- Georgia 2008
- Kosovo 1989
- Latvia 2012
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia 2019
- Romania 1996
- Turkey 2017
Illegal
Right to change legal gender is illegal in 94 regions.
- Asia (17)
- Afghanistan
- Brunei
- Cambodia
- Iraq 2024
- Kuwait
- Malaysia 1983
- Maldives
- Myanmar
- North Korea
- Oman
- Philippines 2007
- Qatar 1915
- Saudi Arabia
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- United Arab Emirates 2019
- Yemen
- North America (16)
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador 2017
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Nicaragua
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Africa (40)
- Algeria
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
Varied, unclear, or unknown laws
Data on right to change legal gender is unclear, not applicable, or missing in 15 regions.
- Antarctica (1)
- Antarctica N/A
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