E-petition: transgender people self-identifying their legal gender

Background

The e-petition Allow transgender people to self-identify their legal gender is being debated in Westminster Hall on 19 May 2025. The petition calls on the government to change the law so that trans people can change their legal gender without an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria and states that there is a “positive correlation between allowing trans people to live as their gender, rather than their sex assigned at birth in regards to positive mental and physical health outcomes.”

The petition is open until 12 June 2025 and had received over 127,000 signatures by May 2025.

Government response

In its response to the petition, given on 19 March 2025, the government stated that:

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is a robust piece of legislation, with appropriate checks and balances that reflect the seriousness of changing a person’s legal sex. The Government is committed to modernising, simplifying and reforming the legal gender recognition process to remove indignities for trans people whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. We believe this strikes the right balance, and the Government will not introduce self-identification as part of these reforms.

Gender Recognition Act 2004

The Gender Recognition Act (GRA) enables people whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex originally registered on their birth certificate (trans people) to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) which provides legal recognition in their acquired gender.

Under section 9(1) of the GRA, where a GRC is issued to a person “the person’s gender becomes for all purposes the acquired gender”. “Acquired gender” is described in the act as the gender in which an applicant is living and seeking legal recognition.

The GRA enables trans people to achieve legal recognition in their acquired gender “so that an applicant who was born a male would, in law, become a woman for all purposes”. The sex recorded on someone’s birth certificate is also amended to reflect this, if they were born in the UK. In light of the decision in the For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers judgment, a GRC does not change someone’s sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. See the Library briefing Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010: For Women Scotland for further info.

Trans people can make some changes in their life without obtaining full legal recognition, such as changing: their name, the gender in their passport, their driving licence, or their gender details with their bank or other service providers.

The gender recognition process involves applying to the Gender Recognition Panel (GRP) for a GRC. The application process was moved online in June 2022 and applications are made through an online portal. In almost all circumstances, the applicant will not appear in person before the GRP. In most cases, applicants must provide:

• Two medical certificates, including a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and details of any treatment received.
• Evidence of living in their acquired gender for at least two years and a statutory declaration that they will continue to do so permanently.

If an applicant is married or in a civil partnership, then their partner must provide consent, known as spousal consent. There is no requirement for applicants to have undergone gender reassignment surgery or hormone treatment.

The legal recognition granted to GRC holders is limited by the 2004 act in various areas. For instance, in relation to peerages, succession, parental status regarding children, and certain gender-specific offences. In these circumstances, a GRC holder may lawfully be treated according to their sex registered at birth. Under section 9(3) of the GRA, any piece of legislation, including secondary legislation, may introduce further exemptions to the scope of a GRC.

Conservative government consultation on reforming the GRA

In July 2018, the Conservative government announced a consultation on reforming the GRA in England and Wales. It said that many trans people felt that the system was intrusive, humiliating and burdensome and it wanted to make it easier for trans people to achieve legal recognition.

The Conservative government responded to the consultation in September 2020. It stated that it had decided not to take forward any proposals for reform, concluding that the GRA struck the right balance “in that there are proper checks and balances in the system and also support for people who want to change their legal sex”. However, it lowered the cost of applications and introduced an online process.

Women and Equalities Committee inquiry on the GRA

On 28 October 2020, the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee launched an inquiry on GRA reform. The Committee published its report on 21 December 2021.

Among other things, the Committee recommended a diagnosis of gender dysphoria should no longer be a requirement for obtaining a GRC, moving the process closer to a system of self-declaration. The Committee further recommended “robust guidance” should be developed on how a system of self-declaration would work in practice. The Committee considered appropriate safeguards were essential “to ensuring that the rights of natal women and the use of the single-sex and separate-sex exceptions in the Equality Act 2010 are protected”.

The Committee urged the Government Equalities Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to publish better guidance on the single-sex and separate-sex exceptions. (The EHRC produced new guidance in 2022, but the new guidance is currently under review following the For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers judgment)

The Conservative government responded to the inquiry in March 2022, stating that it would “not be changing the legislation” as the “current provisions allow for those that wish to legally change their sex to do so.” Instead, the government said it was working to “improve the process and experience of transgender people applying for a GRC.”

Labour government position on the GRA

The Labour Party’s manifesto for the 2024 general election contained a commitment to “modernise, simplify, and reform the intrusive and outdated gender recognition law to a new process” […] whilst “retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor” before somebody can apply for a GRC.  The Labour government has not yet provided any further details on its plans for reforming the law on gender recognition.

In addition to reforming the law on gender recognition, the Labour government has announced several other policies aimed at “advancing the rights and protections afforded for LGBT people”, including:

• delivering a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy practices,
• equalising all existing strands of hate crime to make them aggravated offences, and
• reviewing adult gender identity services to ensure that all trans people receive appropriate and high-quality care.

 Further reading

Gender recognition and the rights of transgender people, House of Commons Library, 2020

Reform of the Gender Recognition Act, Women and Equalities Committee, 2021

Gender Recognition Act reform: consultation and outcome, House of Commons Library, 2022

Gender recognition and the Equality Act 2010, House of Commons Library, 2024