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How Germany’s ‘self-determination law’ will make it easier for people to change their gender 

To change their gender in Germany's registry offices, people navigate high hurdles. The government has changed this with a new law on self-determination, which the Bundestag passed on Friday. 

Published: 12 April 2024 10:49 CEST
Updated: 12 April 2024 16:22 CEST
rainbow beard
A man with a rainbow-colored beard takes part in the Pride Parade. Germany's Self-Determination Act would allow transgender people to legally change their gender identity more easily. Photo: picture alliance / Jonathan Brady

On Friday the Bundestag passed new rules for gender changes at the registry office.

The self-determination act makes it easier for someone in Germany to change their gender entry and first name officially. To do so, they can now simply submit a declaration to the registry office. There is no longer a requirement for a medical certificate, expert opinion or court order.

The self-determination act only affects the process for changing genders with the registry. It does not make any provisions for physical interventions, such as hormone therapies or gender reassignment surgery.

Who does the Self-Determination Act affect and when does it apply?

According to the Family Affairs Ministry the act was drafted with three groups of people in mind: transgender, intersex and non-binary people. 

Transgender people – also known as trans people – often do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, and may live with the feeling of being in the “wrong body”. Intersex people, on the other hand, have physical characteristics that cannot be clearly classified as male or female, which can also affect the set of chromosomes or hormone production. Non-binary people are defined by not feeling like they belong to any gender.

According to Germany’s Office of Justice, 3,232 people proceeded with gender entry changes in 2021. The press office for  Sven Lehmann,, the government’s representative for the rights of the LGBTQ community, said they expect about 4,000 declarations per year going forward.

The new procedure will apply from November 1st 2024 under current government plans. 

READ ALSO: Germany set to simplify gender change procedure 

What’s wrong with the current law?

Until now, official gender identity changes were governed by the Transsexual Act of 1980, which will become obsolete with the new law. 

Under the previous law, people who wanted to change their legally registered genders had to endure a lengthy and costly procedure, which included getting an expert opinion and court order, if they wanted to have their gender entry and first name changed. 

Until 2011, transgender people even had to be sterilised for this purpose. 

The Federal Government’s Queer Commissioner, Sven Lehmann, says the current legal situation violates human dignity. The German Psychotherapists’ Association has also been advocating removing these hurdles for some time.

What are the age limits for changing the gender entry?

Minors under the age of 14 are not allowed to submit the declaration to the registry office themselves. Instead, it needs to be submitted by a legal representative in this case. 

Minors who are 14 or older, can submit the declaration to the registry office themself, but also need the consent of their legal representative. 

When one’s legal representative disagrees, the case could be challenged in the family court. If both parents have custody and cannot come to an agreement, they are required to make a decision in the best interests of the child. Otherwise, the family court can decide a solution.

Adults can submit the declaration themselves, without the need for further consent or consultation. However, a change is only possible once a year at most.

Names are generally changed along with gender

A person’s first name is expected to be changed along with their gender identity – unless their current first name also matches the new gender.

According to the law, the first name is still expected to correspond to the gender entry. For example, if you choose the entry “male”, you will not be able to enter Bettina or Julia as your name. 

Overall, there is still a choice between “male”, “female” and “diverse”. 

Those affected may also choose not to provide gender information. A separate change of the first name without changing the gender entry is not possible on the basis of the law on self-determination.

Why is the law controversial?

Protests against the law change have been bubbling up in the last few years, especially from the conservative spectrum. 

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party wants to introduce a motion in the Bundestag this Friday, in which it calls for even greater hurdles than before for those affected. 

Some critics have suggested that the law could create incentives to have someone’s gender entry arbitrarily adjusted for nefarious purposes. Berliner Zeitung reported that the deputy chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz, said: “From November, it will be possible to change one’s identity with a simple declaration in front of the registry office and the security authorities will not know about this.”

Those affected categorically reject this portrayal and point out that no one takes this path voluntarily.

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POLITICS

‘We want to govern’: Could the far-right AfD join a coalition in Germany?

The far-right AfD party conference was met by mass protests against the party. But comments by party leaders suggest that the party is confident it will continue to grow. Could the far-right party join a governing coalition?

Published: 1 July 2024 15:47 CEST
'We want to govern': Could the far-right AfD join a coalition in Germany?

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) held its national party conference at the weekend in the western German city of Essen – despite mass protests against the party.

The party’s co-leaders, Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, were re-elected at the conference. Party delegates also adopted resolutions on foreign policy toward Russia, China and the United States. 

“We want to govern, first in the east (of Germany), then in the west, then at federal level,” Chrupalla announced at the two-day party conference.

This comment – along with recent election results – have revitalised fears that the AfD could step into higher positions of power in Germany. So how likely is that?

Ambitions to govern the Bundesrepublik

The AfD party conference comes ahead of September state parliamentary elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, where the AfD is expected to make a strong showing – potentially even winning the majority of votes in some regions.

The party had relatively strong results in recent local elections in those states – winning elections in Brandenburg for the first time. In Thuringia, AfD candidates lost run-off elections for local positions, but the party maintains its influence in the state as the second most popular party behind the CDU.

READ ALSO: Germany’s far-right AfD sees strong gains in local eastern elections

Churpalla’s statement on wanting to get into power in Germany echo comments that have been made by members and supporters at various levels of the party.

For instance, Henning Zoz, one of the party’s financial backers who also plans to run for the mayor of the town of Siegen, told German business news outlet WiWo that he plans to later enter the Bundestag and then ride “the wave directly into the Chancellery”.

But political scientists have told The Local that the party doesn’t have a high chance of getting into a government at the moment.

Asked about the likelihood of the AfD taking power at the state or federal level, Dr. Ursula Münch, head of the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing, told The Local that statements like Chrupalla’s “completely ignore the fact that the AfD will not find a coalition partner due to its partly extremist orientation”.

The so-called Brandmauer, or firewall, against the party means that for now, Germany’s mainstream parties have ruled out the possibility of bringing the AfD into a governing coalition at the federal level.

However, as the party’s popularity has grown in recent years, there have been signs that the Brandmauer is loosening, with some state leaders showing willingness to at least informally cooperate with AfD politicians.

Still, Münch suggests that the AfD won’t see their members join state or federal coalitions for the time being.

She added: “The party is a long way from an absolute majority of seats, even in Thuringia and Saxony”, thanks in part to the success of former Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht  and her BSW party, which appears to be drawing votes from the AfD’s supporter base.

Meanwhile, Kai Arzheimer, political scientist at the University of Mainz, previously told The Local that it would be “highly unlikely” that the AfD could join Germany’s federal government. 

But Arzheimer did say that he was “very worried”, about the party’s trajectory. 

Following a surge of anti-AfD protests in January, he had noted that at that time it looked very possible for the party to reach a majority in the state parliaments in Thuringia or Saxony. While the AfD maintains a stronghold of support in these states, it has lost a few points in recent polls following recent scandals.

READ ALSO: How worried should Germany be about the far-right AfD after mass deportation scandal?

police break up anti-afd protest

The police break up a sit-in blockade not far from where the AfD party conference is taking place in Essen. Numerous organizations announced opposition to the meeting and more than a dozen counter-demonstrations were organised. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Henning Kaiser

Mass protests over the weekend 

It comes as thousands of people protested against the AfD party conference in Essen on Saturday and Sunday. 

Groups of up to several hundred protesters repeatedly attempted to block delegates from attending the conference, police reported on Saturday evening.

According to information shared by protestors on social media, 1,500 people temporarily blocked an exit of the A52 highway. Other groups trapped party members in a hotel, and blocked a subway entrance.

Police forces moved in to clear blockades, and clashed with protestors at some locations.

“In the course of these violent actions, our colleagues had to make repeated use of batons and irritant gas,” police told DPA. 

Video clips on social media showed some of these clashes, including moments when police appeared to use excessive force on protestors who were acting peacefully.

On Saturday the police reported that officers were injured during the day’s events, and that several people had been arrested.

For their part, protest organisers criticised police, accusing them of bringing unnecessary force against largely peaceful protest actions.

Asked about the anti-AfD protests in Essen, Münch noted that, “The majority of the demonstration against the AfD party conference was peaceful.”

But she made clear that violent acts of protest must be condemned.

“Violent attacks against AfD delegates and police officers only benefit the AfD,” she said. “The party uses these incidents to portray itself as a victim. And to bolster its false claim that ‘internal security in Germany is at risk’.”

Christian Baumann of the initiative “Essen stellt sich quer” (Essen stands up for itself) told the TAZ newspaper that protests were overwhelmingly peaceful.

Baumann suggested that police warnings of a “robust deployment of strong security forces” likely deterred some who wanted to protest. According to TAZ, a witness on the sidelines of a protest noted that there were more police officers present than demonstrators at one location.

With reporting by DPA and AFP

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