Checklist to review gender recognition legislation
This checklist should help you understand if there are any major gaps in the gender recognition legislation you are reviewing. It is especially helpful when you are working on a bill that will either be proposed or voted on soon.
How to use this checklist
Go through the three different sections. You will need to answer "Yes", "No", or "Don’t know" for each criteria. If you cannot answer "Yes" to a question, you may want to review your legal text to clarify or amend it. You can also add comments to provide more context at the end of the three sections.
Background information
What (proposed) law are you reviewing?
What country is this law from?
What date are you reviewing this law on?
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Day
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Month
Year
Date
Procedures
This section is about legal gender recognition procedures. It concerns how a legal gender recognition process is set up. Often, these technical and administrative elements are decisive for who has access to the procedure, how effective, and how secure it is for the individual applicant.
Separate procedures are available for change of name and registered gender.
Yes
No
Don't know
In the case of gendered surnames, the applicant is free to adapt their surname as well.
Yes
No
Don't know
The applicant has free choice of names, including gender neutral names.
Yes
No
Don't know
The institution in charge (i.e. the name of the ministry or civil registry administration) is clearly evident in the text of the regulation.
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure is quick and the maximum time this can take is clearly and explicitly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure is free of charge or with a small administrative fee only.
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure is accessible for citizens and non-citizens who have a link to the country, such as residents, asylum seekers, refugees, or other migrants.
Yes
No
Don't know
Access to the procedure for foreign residents, including refugees, is regulated explicitly.
Yes
No
Don't know
Non-citizens in asylum procedures or detention have access to documents that reflect their name and gender identity during the asylum process or detention.
Yes
No
Don't know
Access to the procedure for minors is explicitly and clearly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
Access to the procedure for persons under guardianship is explicitly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
Access to the procedure for incarcerated people is explicitly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
People with limited legal capacities are involved as much as possible, and their best interests are a primary consideration, in all decisions concerning them.
Yes
No
Don't know
Access to the procedure for citizens living abroad is explicitly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
The recognition of foreign decisions (e.g. recognition of legal gender by another country) is explicitly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
Privacy of the applicant [i.e. non-disclosure of the applicant’s (gender) identity] is ensured throughout and after the procedure.
Yes
No
Don't know
Disclosure of private information about the applicant and without their explicit consent is prohibited. Effective measures have been established to enforce this, such as fining offenders.
Yes
No
Don't know
Grounds for refusal, such as fraudulent intention, are limited and clearly regulated.
Yes
No
Don't know
The possibility for an applicant to appeal the decision is clearly regulated, including the body to whom the applicant should appeal.
Yes
No
Don't know
Enforcement of the legislation for correct implementation is supervised. A remedy or review mechanism is in place in the case practice does not correspond to the law.
Yes
No
Don't know
Comments
Requirements
This section is about the legal requirements a person has to meet for gender recognition procedures. These are the criteria for changing name or legal gender. They must not counter an individual’s human rights.
Self-determination of the applicant is the sole basis for legal gender recognition.
Yes
No
Don't know
A person does not need to state association with a certain gender in order to qualify for legal gender recognition. People who identify as non-binary or outside the gender spectrum have access to the procedure.
Yes
No
Don't know
No interference or opinion of a professional third party (mental health experts, etc.) can be requested.
Yes
No
Don't know
No interference or opinion of a private third party (parental or spousal consent, children, colleagues, etc.) can be requested, as a principle.
Yes
No
Don't know
No proof of surgical intervention, hormonal treatment, or any other medical or psychological intervention or status can be requested.
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure for gender marker change has no age limits. It is fully accessible to young and elderly applicants.
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure for name change has no age limits. It is fully accessible to young and elderly applicants, even if gender marker change has an age limit.
Yes
No
Don't know
For a minor, the best interest of the child and the right of the child to be involved and be heard according to their evolving capacities prevail.
Yes
No
Don't know
In cases of discordant or reluctant parents or guardians, effective provisions are in place to ensure the child can access the procedure. These provisions respect the best interest of the child. The minor is involved and heard according to their evolving capacities.
Yes
No
Don't know
Diagnostic assessment of a child’s gender identity and other forms of testing the child’s identity are explicitly omitted. This does not include assessments of a child’s capacity to consent.
Yes
No
Don't know
Effective provisions are in place to ensure applicants with limited legal capacity and/or under guardianship can access the procedure. These provisions respect the best interest of the applicant and involve them according to their capacities.
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure is fully accessible to an applicant who is married or in a registered partnership.
Yes
No
Don't know
An existing marriage or registered partnership remains intact without any loss of acquired rights. The applicant and their partner can, if freely chosen, transfer their marriage into a registered partnership and vice versa (where available).
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure is fully accessible to an applicant who is a parent or has custody, guardianship, or visiting rights of children (independent of their age).
Yes
No
Don't know
The procedure is fully accessible to an applicant independent of previous or current convictions.
Yes
No
Don't know
No “wait time”, “reflection period”, or other additional time component prolongs the application or the recognition from coming into effect.
Yes
No
Don't know
The applicant is not requested to have lived for a certain time in their gender identity (so called “real life experience”) or to have used the chosen name.
Yes
No
Don't know
No other personal characteristic, such as physical appearance, sexual orientation, sex characteristics or intersex status, disability, health, ethnic background, or social status, may pose valid grounds for refusal or delay.
Yes
No
Don't know
Comments
Effects
This section is about the legal effects of a gender recognition procedure. What are the concrete outcomes and legal consequences for a person of the procedure?
A choice of gender markers beside “male” or “female” is available, such as an “X” gender marker, or omission of the gender marker completely.
Yes
No
Don't know
The applicant receives a document as proof. This confirms the change of name and/or gender marker.
Yes
No
Don't know
Upon the decision, the applicant is considered a member of the registered gender for all intents and purposes. They enjoy all (gendered) rights and duties at par with others of the same registered gender.
Yes
No
Don't know
Equity provisions protecting the applicant on grounds of their gender identity are explicitly regulated. For example, if a gendered cancer prevention programme exists, it must also account for a person’s body independent of their gender marker.
Yes
No
Don't know
A change of name and gender marker leads to an automatic (ex officio) change in all publicly held registries. This change is not traced, and does not “out” the person in these registries.
Yes
No
Don't know
Once a decision is in force, the name(s) and gender marker which were in use prior, are not public or searchable, unless there is an overriding interest or the person concerned consents.
Yes
No
Don't know
A change of name leads to the right to be addressed in all official purposes as belonging to the corresponding gender.
Yes
No
Don't know
State and non-state actors are obliged to rectify gendered information, including gendered letter and number combinations on educational certificates, working references, etc. without a trace. This also applies retroactively.
Yes
No
Don't know
Where necessary, additional documentation (conscription exemption, army leaving certificates, etc), are issued to enable equal access to employment.
Yes
No
Don't know
Existing rights and acquired privileges relating to a marriage or registered partnership remain unaffected.
Yes
No
Don't know
Acquired pension rights and/or similar recurring benefits remain unaffected.
Yes
No
Don't know
Next-of-kin relationships, especially custody and visitation rights to children, remain unaffected.
Yes
No
Don't know
Upon gender recognition, a parent can be registered with the recognised gender as “mother” or "father” according to their gender on birth certificates and documentation of both previously born and future children.
Yes
No
Don't know
Upon gender recognition, a non-binary parent can be registered in accordance with the recognised gender as “parent” on birth certificates and documentation of both previously born and future children.
Yes
No
Don't know
Comments
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Email
example@example.com
Your gender recognition legislation receives the following score out of 100. The score is based on these 51 metrics. The higher the score, the more likely the law will be comprehensive, based in human rights principles, and serve the trans people whose lives it governs.
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