Gender self-identification
Gender self-identification or gender self-determination is the concept that a person's legal sex or gender is determined by their gender identity, without medical or judicial requirements.
It is a major goal of the transgender rights movement. Advocates argue that medical requirements for gender recognition are intrusive and humiliating forms of gatekeeping that can pressure transgender individuals into undergoing unwanted medical procedures. They also claim that self-identification simplifies the process of transgender people living without prejudice and discrimination.
Proponents claim a lack of evidence suggesting adverse outcomes in countries where self-identification laws have been implemented, such as Ireland, which adopted self-identification policies in 2015. Opponents of the concept believe that safety in spaces like women's shelters and prisons and fairness in competitive sports is compromised by self-identification.
As of January 2026, 23 countries have enacted laws allowing gender self-identification without requiring judicial or medical approval: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay. Proposals for similar laws have sparked controversy in some nations, especially in the United Kingdom.
In federated countries like Australia, Canada and Mexico, gender recognition laws often vary by province or state. Within a single jurisdiction, procedures may also differ across official documents, such as birth certificates and passports. These laws do not necessarily encompass all aspects of gender recognition in areas such as healthcare or access to facilities.
Third gender self-determination is available in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Colombia, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and some American states.
Positions of international bodies
In April 2015, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 2048, within which "the Assembly calls on Member States to... develop quick, transparent and accessible procedures, based on self-determination... available for all people who seek to use them, irrespective of age, medical status, financial situation or police record".Also in 2015, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that "abusive requirements as a precondition of recognition — for example, by requiring... forced gender reassignment and other medical procedures" are "in violation of international human rights standards".
In 2018, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the United Nations Independent Expert on Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, stated that "the right to self-determine one's gender was a fundamental part of a person's freedom and a cornerstone of the person's identity" and that states' obligations included "adopting legal measures such as being based on self-determination ensuring that minors have access to recognition of their gender identity".
Positions of international charities
In 2014, Amnesty International released a report titled The state decides who I am: Lack of Legal Gender Recognition For Transgender People in Europe. The report criticized European countries for legal gender recognition laws that were based on stereotypical gender norms and violated rights such as the right to private and family life, recognition before the law, the highest attainable standard of health, and freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Amnesty argued that transgender individuals should have access to legal gender recognition through quick, accessible, and transparent procedures that align with their own perceptions of gender identity.To mark Transgender Awareness Week in November 2019, Dentons produced a report titled Only adults? Good practices in legal gender recognition for youth, written along with IGLYO and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The report examined the status of legal gender recognition for minors in several European countries and positioned itself as a "powerful tool for activists".
Based on international children's rights standards, the report advocated for the right of individuals under 18 to obtain legal gender recognition based on self-declaration, the recognition of a third gender marker, publicly accessible transgender healthcare, and legal protections against discrimination based on gender identity. It also examined successful strategies for reform campaigns, emphasizing the importance of targeting younger politicians and youth wings of political parties, highlighting depathologization and human rights aspects, using personal stories to humanize the issue, intervening early in the legislative process, fostering strong collaboration among advocacy groups, minimizing the risk of public scrutiny of advocacy and legislative efforts, "tying your campaign to more popular reform" in what they termed a "veil of protection", and undermining parental involvement, calling the need for parental consent "restrictive and problematic for minors".
Positions of non-governmental organizations
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project in the United States is a legal advocacy organization which provides legal services and does policy work advocating for transgender peoples' access to identity documents. The SRLP advocates for the right of gender self-determination regarding the identity documents. They find that in practice, access to gender self-identification can be significantly restrained by socioeconomic status, immigration status, and documentation requirements. Transgender people, particularly those who are low-income, face greater difficulties in obtaining accurately gendered identification documents. This is a large systemic barrier since these are necessary for accessing public benefits, employment, housing, foster care systems and other essential services. For transgender immigrants these challenges are compounded as they face higher scrutiny and surveillance, made worse by other access barriers. The expansion of identification controls and counter-terrorism policies has contributed to increased criminalization and xenophobic enforcement practices. This limits many transgender immigrants' ability to obtain safe and accurate identification documents. This calls into question the practical implementation of gender self-determination policies in areas of immigration and identification documentation.Around the world
Africa
Botswana
In the 2017 case ND v. Attorney General of Botswana and Another, the High Court of Botswana ruled that the government must "ensure that procedures exist whereby all State-issued identity documents which indicate a person's gender/sex reflect the person's self-identified gender identity." Although there is no current legislation on legal gender recognition in Botswana, this ruling established a precedent for recognizing gender identity based on self-identification.The Americas
A 2018 study published in BMC International Health and Human Rights found that "the majority of countries from South America allow their transgender citizens to change name and gender in legal documents in a fast, easy, and inexpensive manner" and noted that "legislation to protect rights in South America underwent fundamental and positive transformations" during the 2010s. However, the study also highlighted that "transgender people are unable to change their gender in public records and legal documents in several Latin American and Caribbean countries—mostly in the Caribbean and Mesoamerica."Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,Ecuador and Uruguay have self-identification laws. Similar laws also exist in several Canadian provinces, as well as in some Mexican and U.S. states.
Argentina
In 2012, Argentina enacted the Ley de Género, becoming the first country to allow individuals to change their gender identity without medical requirements. In 2015, the World Health Organization cited Argentina as an exemplary country for providing transgender rights.A 2018 study published in the Journal of Human Rights analyzed the factors leading to the creation of the law. It concluded that "a more institutionalized group played a major role in getting the issue on the agenda, while a more radical challenger coalition was crucial in developing and advancing the ground-breaking content."
Bolivia
The Gender Identity Law allows individuals over the age of 18 to legally change their name, gender, and photograph on official documents. While surgeries, hormone therapy, or a judicial order are not required, a psychological examination confirming the individual's informed consent is necessary. The law came into effect on 1 August 2016.Brazil
On March 1, 2018, the Supreme Federal Court ruled that transgender individuals have the right to change their official name and sex based solely on self-declaration of their psychosocial identity. On June 29, 2018, the Corregedoria Nacional de Justiça, a body of the National Council of Justice, published regulations for registry offices to follow regarding this process.Canada
As a federation, Canada's legal gender recognition procedures vary by province and territory. At the federal level, Canadians can change the gender marker on their passports through self-identification.In Québec, legal gender recognition has operated on an affidavit basis since 2015. In 2021, the Coalition Avenir Québec government introduced Bill 2, proposing to reinstate a surgical requirement. Following significant controversy, Québec Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette announced the removal of this provision from the bill.
In 2017, Newfoundland and Labrador abolished the requirement for a medical letter, transitioning to a self-declaration process. Alberta followed in 2018, allowing legal gender changes through an affidavit and eliminating the need for a psychiatrist's letter. Nova Scotia adopted an affidavit process in 2019, and in 2022, British Columbia removed the medical letter requirement for adults seeking legal gender changes.
As of October 2021, Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and all territories do not permit legal gender changes for those born outside of their jurisdictions. Federally, refugee claimants gained the right to change their legal gender in November 2020, and in March 2021, temporary residents were granted the same right without needing a passport change.