| Third gender law | |
|---|---|
| |
| Citation | 18 December 2018, Federal Law Gazette I page 2635 |
| Territorial extent | Germany |
| Effective | 22 December 2018 (5 years ago) |
| Status: In force | |
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Germany's third gender law introduced the gender "diverse" (German: divers) as a third option in alternative to "female" and "male" in the German civil status register.[1]
The law, codified in § 45b PStG (Personenstandsgesetz), laid down an administrative procedure for assigning a diverse gender. It requires a doctor's note confirming "a variant of sex development". The diverse gender can be assigned to people listed in the register, at birth or later in life. When individuals change their legal gender later in life, they can also change their first name.[2]
The administrative process is officially aimed at intersex people, but nonbinary people (who were not intersex) have also tried to use it, due to its manageable burden compared to the gender entry change procedure for trans people (Transsexuellengesetz). However, the Federal Court of Justice ruled on 22 April 2020 that § 45b could not be used by a nonbinary person who was not intersex.[3]
The third gender law took effect on 22 December 2018. A bill to ease the process for transgender, intersex and non-binary non-intersex people, the Self-Determination Act, was passed on April 12, 2024, and is set to take effect in November 2024.
- ^ "Male – Female – Diverse: The "third option" and the General Act on Equal Treatment". Antidiskriminierungsstelle. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ "Ratgeber für inter- und transgeschlechtliche Menschen". www.lsvd.de. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
- ^ "BGH verwehrt nicht-binärer Person die Streichung des Geschlechtseintrags nach § 45b PStG und verweist auf TSG – TrIQ: "Der Beschluss ist viel Kritik wert" – TransInterQueer e.V." (in German). Retrieved 2022-11-14.