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. 

Unfortunately, on November 19, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court was unable to reach a majority in a case pending before them, In re Application for Correction of Birth Record of Adelaide, 2024-Ohio-5393, regarding whether Ohio Revised Code Section 3705.15 allows a probate court to make a sex marker correction on a transgender person’s birth certificate. There is therefore no controlling Ohio Supreme Court precedent, and probate courts throughout the state are not all interpreting this provision in the same way. It may therefore be wise to check with your probate court before filing an application.