Supreme Court Bans Transgender Gender Markers on Passports

In a landmark decision on November 6, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all new, renewed, or replacement passports must display a person’s sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity. The ruling, which allows the Trump administration to enforce this policy, effectively bans the use of transgender and nonbinary gender markers—like “X”—that had previously been possible under the Biden administration.​

The majority on the court argued that requiring birth sex on passports is comparable to listing one’s country of birth, stating it “merely attests to a historical fact” and doesn’t violate equal protection principles. However, the three liberal justices strongly dissented, highlighting the real dangers this policy poses—greater risk of harassment, violence, and discrimination for transgender and nonbinary travelers whose identity documents may out them against their will.​

Advocacy groups and civil rights organizations, including the ACLU, condemned the ruling as discriminatory and harmful, vowing to continue fighting the policy in court. Passports that already show accurate gender markers will remain valid until they expire, but moving forward, applicants and those renewing their documents will only be able to select “male” or “female” based strictly on their original birth certificate.​