Self-Determination Act (Germany)

Self-Determination Act
Self-Determination Act
	First page of the law in the Federal Law Gazette
German Bundestag
	Long title Act on Self-Determination with Regard to Gender Entry; German: Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag ;
Citation	Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag (SBGG) of 19 June 2024
Territorial extent	Germany
Passed by	German Bundestag
Passed	12 April 2024
Passed by	German Bundesrat
Passed	17 May 2024
Signed by	President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Signed	19 June 2024
Commenced	1 November 2024; (21 months ago)
Codification
Acts repealed	Transsexuals Act; German: Transsexuellengesetz
Legislative history
Initiating chamber: German Bundestag
Introduced	1 November 2023
First reading	15 November 2023
Second reading	12 April 2024
Third reading	12 April 2024
Voting summary	372 voted for; 251 voted against; 11 abstained; 100 absent;
Revising chamber: German Bundesrat
Received from the German Bundestag	26 April 2024
Passed	17 May 2024
Summary
	German federal law on the free and independent determination of legal gender
	Status: In force

The Act on Self-Determination with Regard to Gender Entry (German: Gesetz über die Selbstbestimmung in Bezug auf den Geschlechtseintrag, SBGG), unofficially also called Self-Determination Act (German: Selbstbestimmungsgesetz), is intended to make it easier for transgender, intersex, genderless and non-binary people in Germany to have their gender entry and first name changed.

A draft bill of the law has been available since May 2023. Following detailed changes, it was passed as a government draft on 23 August 2023.^[1]^[2] Further changes were made before it was adopted by the German Bundestag on 12 April 2024^[3] and passed the German Bundesrat on 17 May 2024.^[4] The law was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 21 June 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2024.^[5]

The law stipulates that the gender entry and first name can be changed by simply making a declaration at the Standesamt; a three-month waiting period must be observed beforehand. Medical measures are neither regulated nor mandated by the SBGG.

With the entry into force of the Self-Determination Act on 1 November 2024, the Transsexuals Act (German: Transsexuellengesetz, TSG), which prescribes a complex expert procedure and judicial recognition of the changes for changing the gender entry and name, has been repealed.^[6] It also replaced the main provisions introduced by the Third Gender Act, which previously only allowed intersex people to legally identify as a third, non-binary gender.

Details

The SBGG standardizes the regulations for transgender and intersex individuals regarding changes to their gender entry and first names. Medical measures are not regulated by the SBGG (Section 1, subsection 2).

To change the gender entry and first names, a declaration must be made before the registry office (Section 2, subsection 1), along with an assurance that the chosen gender entry or the removal of the gender entry best corresponds to the person's gender identity (Section 2, subsection 2). For minors over the age of 14, the consent of a legal representative (or the family court) is required (Section 3, subsection 1); for minors under the age of 14, only the legal representative may submit the declaration (Section 3, subsection 2). The minor or the legal representative must also declare that they have received counseling (Section 3, subsection 1). The declaration to change the gender entry and first names must be notified to the registry office three months in advance (Section 4). After the change, a one-year waiting period applies during which no further changes may be made (Section 5).

Domestic rules (Section 6, subsection 2), sport (Section 6, subsection 3) and health-related measures or services (Section 6, subsection 4) are independent of the gender entry.

If a state of tension or defense is declared and a change in gender entry was declared no more than two months prior, the previous classification as male remains in effect with regard to military service (Section 9).

Documents containing the old gender or first names must be reissued upon request, provided a legitimate interest can be demonstrated (Section 10).

The SBGG prohibits disclosing or investigating former gender entries and first names (Section 13). However, in cases of "special reasons of public interest", e.g. for criminal prosecution, this prohibition is suspended (Section 13, subsection 1, number 2). Anyone who violates the prohibition on disclosure and intentionally causes harm to the person concerned commits an administrative offense and is subject to a fine of up to €10,000 (Section 14).

The federal government is required to review the law within five years and report its findings to the Bundestag.

Legislative history

The law was initiated by the progressive traffic light coalition and voted upon in the Bundestag on 12 April 2024. It was adopted with 372 votes in favour, 251 against, 11 abstentions and 100 absent.^[3]

The law passed the Bundesrat on 17 May 2024. A motion to refer the matter to the mediation committee (German: Vermittlungsausschuss) failed to gain a majority.^[4]

The law was promulgated in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 21 June 2024 and came into force on 1 November 2024.^[5]

Criticism

Queer associations criticised the final draft for the 3-month waiting period, which did not previously exist in TSG and § 45b PStG.^[7] Furthermore, trans people with legal guardians (due to impairments or disabilities) would not get self-ID under the draft. Legal guardians should be there to protect vulnerable people from things like giving away their possessions, but not to prevent them from coming out as trans, the association "Queer Handicap" argued.^[8]

In a letter dated 13 June 2024, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Reem Alsalem criticised the Self-Determination Act. She cautioned that the current measures in place to safeguard women and girls from male perpetrators of violence were inadequate, and highlighted the potential for minors aged 14 and above to alter their gender registration without the consent of their legal guardians. Furthermore, she identified the prohibition on disclosure as a potential infringement on freedom of expression. The Federal Government of Germany rejected the accusations.^[9] For years, queer organisations have accused Alsalem of abusing her position to spread anti-trans policies.^[10] In 2023, the women's rights organisation Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) published an open letter in which it made serious accusations against Alsalem: "The UN Special Rapporteur is abusing her position and power to promote discriminatory policies against trans people and disregard established human rights principles".^[11] The letter was signed by hundreds of women's and LGBTI organisations, including the National Council of German Women's Organizations and ILGA World.^[11]

Statistics

According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, there were already 10,589 gender changes nationwide in the first two months after the law came into force (November and December 2024). From January to October 2024, there were only 596 cases under the old Transsexuals Act. Of the declarations submitted in 2024, 33% involved changes from male to female and 45% from female to male, accounting for more than three-quarters of all changes.^[12]