FAQ: Correcting the Gender Marker on an Ohio Birth Certificate

On December 16, 2020 a federal judge struck down Ohio’s policy that prohibited transgender people born in this state from correcting the gender markers on their Ohio birth certificates. The judge's ruling resolved the constitutional challenge to the policy brought by the ACLU of Ohio, ACLU, Lambda Legal, and Thompson Hine LLP in March 2018 on behalf of four transgender clients who were born in Ohio.

To comply with the Court's order, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has established new procedures that allow transgender people to correct the gender or "sex" marker on Ohio birth certificates. This is a huge victory for the LGBTQ community!

ODH's new process empowers transgender people born in Ohio to correct the gender marker on their birth certificate so that it truly reflects who they are. Along with our partners nationally and across the state, the ACLU of Ohio is committed to ensuring that people who need corrected birth certificates are able to obtain them in the most efficient, fairest way possible.