This summary separates four terms and states the German legal position as of 13 November 2026. It is not legal advice.

Four terms kept apart

  • Gender identity: who a person experiences themselves to be.
  • Gender expression: clothing, posture, behaviour.
  • Body and sex characteristics: intersex (inter*) people have innate characteristics that cannot be classed medically as clearly male or female.
  • Attraction: sexual orientation concerns desire, not identity or body.

The dimensions are independent of each other.

In its decision of 10 October 2017 (1 BvR 2019/16), the Federal Constitutional Court held that civil status law is unconstitutional if it forces people who permanently assign themselves to neither sex to give an entry but allows only "male" or "female". Parliament had to legislate by 31 December 2018. Since 22 December 2018, "diverse" can be entered, or the entry left open.

The Self-Determination Act (SBGG) entered into force on 1 November 2024; until then section 45b of the Civil Status Act usually required a medical certificate. According to the ministry, a declaration at the registry office suffices; no court or expert opinion is needed. The change must be registered three months in advance, and a one-year lock follows, except for minors.

The current entry and first names apply in legal dealings (section 6(1) SBGG). Former entries and names may not be disclosed or investigated without consent. The ministry's glossary calls repeated or deliberate misgendering discrimination.

The AGG names sex and sexual identity (section 1), not gender identity. The 2017 decision nonetheless counts people outside the male-female binary within the protection against disadvantage because of sex. Employers must protect employees from disadvantage, including preventively (section 12(1) AGG). The bill amending the AGG (21/6178) does not change these grounds and was not adopted on 13 November 2026.

Toilets, changing rooms and data

The position is not settled. The SBGG gives no right of access to protected spaces; freedom of contract and house rules remain (section 6(2)). Refusal solely because someone is trans is prohibited under the AGG, but unequal treatment can be justified by privacy or personal safety (section 20 AGG).

Language tips for teams

These are my recommendations, not legal rules. Use the names and pronouns a person gives, ask rather than guess, and do not ask about bodies or the past.

The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency registered 374 enquiries on the characteristic "sex" from trans, inter or non-binary people in 2025 (2020: 154); these are enquiries, not a measure of frequency.

This is a summary. The full German article with all details is at the same address under the German site.