Overview

Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

The Scottish Government has introduced draft legislation to change the system through which transgender people can gain legal recognition in Scotland.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill will amend the existing Gender Recognition Act 2004 to introduce new criteria for applicants who wish to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). When a trans person obtains a GRC, it means they are legally recognised in their acquired gender and can obtain a new birth certificate stating that gender.

The draft Bill will reduce the time period that applicants are required to live in their acquired gender from two years to three months (with an additional three month reflection period). Applicants will no longer be required to provide a medical diagnosis or medical evidence to support their application.

It will be a criminal offence under the Bill for an applicant to make a false statutory declaration. The offence will carry a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine.

The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is the lead policy committee scrutinising the Bill. Your response to this call for views will inform the scrutiny of the EHRCJ Committee. The Finance and Constitution Committee will consult on the financial memorandum.

The Bill proposes to:

• remove the requirement for medical evidence
• remove the GRP from the process - applications will be made instead to the Registrar General for Scotland
• reduce the period that applicants must live in their acquired gender from 2 years to 3 months
• introduce a mandatory 3-month reflection period
• reduce the minimum age for applicants from 18 to 16
• introduce a new duty on the Registrar General to report on an annual basis, the number of applications for GRCs and the number granted.

The Committee will not, as part of its scrutiny, address or explore issues which are outwith the scope of the Bill as outlined above. Submissions which contain offensive language, do not comply with GDPR requirements or are not relevant to the Committee’s scrutiny will not be published.

How to submit your views

Share your views on the purpose of the Bill (short survey) 

If you wish to provide a short response with your views on the Bill overall, please complete the survey.   

Please submit your views via the survey linked to below. 

If you wish to submit a more detailed response to the provisions in the bill, please click here to return to the main page for this Call for Views. 

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language.  

We would like to hear from you by 23:59 on Monday 16 May 2022.

What happens next

The views you provide will be analysed and summarised by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).  A high-level analysis of responses will be made publicly available.