Allow people to identify outside of 'male' and 'female' on legal documentation

Non-binary people in the UK are currently unable to identify on legal documentation that their gender is neither male or female. We want to apply pressure on the UK Government to allow non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender-fluid and intersex people the right to self-identify.

Many non-binary people are prevented from self-identifying in institutions such as the NHS, HMRC, and when applying for a new passport. It not only is upsetting to not be allowed to be recognised by your own government as the gender that you self-identify with, but it leaves non-binary people feeling like we are not protected or seen as a people that deserve recognition in society.

The Government recognises that an increasing number of people do not identify as either male or female. We want people who identify as non-binary to be able to live lives free from discrimination in accordance with who they believe their true selves to be and the Government is committed to determining what action it needs to take in order to achieve this.

The Government is aware that recognition on identification documents is an issue of importance for many non-binary people. The National LGBT Survey (2017) gave us new insight into the experiences of non-binary groups with a number of non-binary identifying respondents raising the issue of gender-neutral markers on documents. However, the Government is aware that we have more to learn.

In the Gender Recognition Act consultation, we included an open question on non-binary identity. We are currently analysing these results. In addition, as committed to in the LGBT Action Plan, we will shortly launch a separate Call for Evidence on the experiences and issues faced by non-binary people. The Government will use any insights gained to improve our understanding and carefully inform our next steps in this area.

Government Equalities Office