Germany adopts legal third gender identity for intersex people

LGBTQ+ activists argue the law needs to go further

Germany introduced a new law in December allowing intersex people to legally register as a third gender.

Those identifying as neither male nor female biologically can now choose the category “diverse” on official documentation.

Anyone interested in pursuing the option will need a doctor’s certificate to do so.

Comes into effect now

Germany’s parliament approved the law change which came into effect on 1 January.

Up until then the only alternative was to leave the gender option blank.

Intersex people are born with both male and female sex characteristics which can either appear at birth or later in life.


The UN says up to 1.7% of the world’s population are born with intersex traits.

Many intersex people face stigma, legal discrimination or even forced surgery because of their identity.

In 2017 the country’s top court ruled it was discrimination to deny people a gender following someone who had registered as female had a chromosome test confirming they were neither sex.

Further to go

LGBTQ+ campaigners have argued the new policy fails to go far enough. There have been calls to new legislation for people who do not identity with the gender they were born with to change it on official documents.

Austria’s constitutional court introduced a similar ruling to Germany’s in June, while Australia, Canada, Malta, New Zealand and Australia have passed policies for intersex citizens.

In 2013, Germany became the first European country to recognise undetermined sex by allowing babies with no clear gender anatomy to be registered without a male or female classification.