Current Version
| Region | Netherlands |
| Issue | Right to change legal gender |
| Status | Legal, but requires medical diagnosis |
| Start Date | Dec 18, 2013 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of not requiring surgery to change one's gender on official documents. It is still required to get a medical diagnosis, however. |
| Sources | http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/the-netherlands-passes-landmark-gender-identity-law https://www.transgendernetwerk.nl/thema/informatie-voor-jou/geslachtsregistratie-wijzigen-v-en-m/ https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/wetsvoorstellen/detail?id=2021Z07392&dossier=35825 |
Reports (1)
- Status is not correct "Legal, no restriction : Article 16 et seq. of the Civil Code (1970) stated that each municipality must have at least two Registrars of Civil Status, which may register certificates of civil status in the Civil Registry records. For subsequent amendments of the Civil Registry records (among which the Civil Code includes the rectification of the gender marker), the Registrar may update the records if an applicant submits a court decision ordering those changes.
Regarding the order to change the description of gender on the birth certificate, Article 28, introduced in 2002, stated that “every Dutch national who is convinced that they are of another gender than the one recorded on their birth certificate and who has physically adjusted to the desired gender from a medical and psychological point of view, may request the District Court to order a change of the description of their gender on their birth certificate, requiring that the applicant is definitely incapable of procreating children”. In order to prove these requirements, applicants were required to submit an expert report, collectively signed by experts designated by the court.
In 2013, Article 28 of the Civil Code (2014) was amended to reduce these restrictions and remove the requirement for medical intervention and sterilisation. At present, criteria for legal gender recognition are thus: (1) the applicant is at least 16 years old and (2) six months before the application, an expert designated by the court must issue a statement certifying the applicant's gender identity and that this identification is permanent.
With regard to non-binary gender markers, Article 19(c) of the Civil Code establishes that “if the child’s gender is doubtful, the birth certificate will record that the sex of the child could not be determined”. After three months, a doctor may issue a medical certificate stating whether the child’s gender is impossible to determine or concluding that the newborn must be recorded under a specific gender. In 2018, the Limburg Court on Family Matters held in its Judgment No. 4,931 (2018) that, in the case of non-binary or gender-fluid persons, if they prove that their gender is not within the binary, they may have their legal marker amended in accordance with Article 19(d) of the Civil Code, stating that “their sex cannot be determined”. This case-law has been applied in subsequent decisions by several First Instance courts. In July 2021, the Court of Amsterdam in its Judgment No. 3732 (2021) went beyond this case-law by arguing that "Article 1:19(d) of the Dutch Civil Code refers to the case in which the (physical) gender of a child is and remains doubtful after birth, while in the present cases there is a non-binary gender identity of the applicant". The court thus argued that requests by non-binary individuals should be approached under Article 28(a)-(c) of the Civil Code, despite the fact that these articles do not provide for the option of a non-binary gender marker. The court ruled that the lack of non-binary options on birth certificates was discriminatory and that an "X" marker should be implemented.
In 2021, a bill was sent to Parliament that will make it possible for people of any age to legally declare a change in their gender to the registry of births, deaths and marriages. If the bill passes, transgender people will no longer need an expert statement from a doctor or psychologist. In June 2022, it was reported that a lawmaker from the D66 party had initially submitted an amendment to the bill to allow applicants to attain a gender-neutral "X" marker on their passports, but announced that she had withdrawn the amendment to ensure the bill's swift passage, with apparent plans to introduce a separate bill for gender-neutral gender markers instead.
In September 2022, a new transgender law was debated in the House of Representatives. If passed, every Dutch person from the age of 16 will be able to legally change the gender on the birth certificate and in the passport without a statement from an expert. In October 2023, The District Court in The Hague supported a non-binary person's plea for a gender registration change, highlighting politicians' need to create a legal framework for non-binary identities; according to the court: "complex considerations must be made”, and this requires “further debate and decision-making.” In April 2024, local media reported that the bill had been rejected by the Parliament.
https://database.ilga.org/netherlands-lgbti"
Revision History (2)
edited by Notdog1996. A diagnosis is still needed
Helpful?
1 | Old Value (Original) | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Legal, no restrictions | Legal, but requires medical diagnosis |
| Description | In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of not requiring surgery to change one's gender on official documents. | In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of not requiring surgery to change one's gender on official documents. It is still required to get a medical diagnosis, however. |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/the-netherlands-passes-landmark-gender-identity-law | http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/the-netherlands-passes-landmark-gender-identity-law https://www.transgendernetwerk.nl/thema/informatie-voor-jou/geslachtsregistratie-wijzigen-v-en-m/ https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/wetsvoorstellen/detail?id=2021Z07392&dossier=35825 |
Show Difference | ||
| Original entry | |
|---|---|
| Status | Legal, no restrictions |
| Start Date | Dec 18, 2013 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of not requiring surgery to change one's gender on official documents. |
| Sources | http://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/the-netherlands-passes-landmark-gender-identity-law |
Reports (4)
- Status is not correct "In the Netherlands you do need a medical diagnosis to change your gendermarker. Or to be more specific, you need a expert statement which you can only get if you have a diagnosis. There is a law in the works that would remove this requirement, however it has been in the debatestage for about 3 years, and with the far right outcome of the last ellections it will surely not make it to actual law. the current goverment can't push it through because the toppic has been deemed controversial.
this is the website tracking the current progress of that law: https://www.tweedekamer.nl/kamerstukken/wetsvoorstellen/detail?id=2021Z07392&dossier=35825
This website details the current process: https://www.transgendernetwerk.nl/thema/informatie-voor-jou/geslachtsregistratie-wijzigen-v-en-m/"
- Status is not correct "Changing your legal gender is legal, however you need a statement from a transgender specialist or doctor in order to get the change done. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/lhbti-emancipatie/gelijke-rechten-lhbtis#:~:text=Transgender%20personen%20kunnen%20hun%20geslacht,niet%20meer%20nodig%20sinds%202014.
The Dutch government website states: "Transgender people can have their gender changed on their birth certificate. For this they now need a statement from a doctor, psychologist or psychotherapist with the designation""
- Note field is incorrect "Surgery is not required any more, however, trans people still need an "expert declaration" from a psychologist in order to get their legal gender changed. This is still gatekeeping and is not sufficient self determination, as this is not accessible to everyone."
- Newer law has been passed "The Dutch Civil Law required as of July 1, 2014 that in order to change legal gender they need an expert letter by an assigned expert (physician, psychologist or psychiatrist) to request the change on their birth certificate at the Civil Registry of the municipality where they were born. Thus, no longer requiring surgery and sterility to change their legal gender."