Consultation outcome

Reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004

This consultation has concluded

Detail of outcome

This consultation has now ended.

Please see the Government’s response and analysis.


Original consultation

Summary

We are seeking your views on how best to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

The deadline for the Gender Recognition Act consultation has been extended due to the high volume of responses. You now have until Monday 22 October at 12 noon to submit your response. You can submit online using our online consultation website

Or you can:

  1. Download the ‘Gender Recognition Act Consultation Questions (open document version)’ below
  2. Fill it out and email your response to gra.consultation@geo.gov.uk

Thanks to the 53,000+ people who have already responded. We are committed to listening to all voices on this.

Trans people are able to receive legal recognition of their acquired gender through a process set out in the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) 2004. Since the GRA came into force, only 4,910 people have legally changed their gender. This is fewer than the number of trans respondents to the government’s LGBT survey, who were clear that they wanted legal recognition but had not applied because they found the current process too bureaucratic, expensive and intrusive. The government therefore seeks your views on how to reform the legal recognition process.

The consultation focuses on the Gender Recognition Act 2004. We are not proposing any amendments to the Equality Act 2010.

This consultation does not consider the question of whether trans people exist, whether they have the right to legally change their gender, or whether it is right for a person of any age to identify with another gender, or with no gender. Trans and non-binary people are members of our society and should be treated with respect. Trans people already have the right to legally change their gender, and there is no suggestion of this right being removed. This consultation simply asks how best government might make the existing process under the Gender Recognition Act a better service for those trans and non-binary people who wish to use it.

Please email any enquiries to: gra.consultation@geo.gov.uk

Documents

Published 3 July 2018
Last updated 19 October 2018 + show all updates
  1. We have extended the deadline for the Gender Recognition Act consultation to Monday 22nd October at 12 noon.

  2. First published.