Indiana’s transgender laws now restrict gender-affirming medical care for anyone under 18, require schools to tell parents when a student asks to be called by a different name or pronoun, limit school and college sports teams to students of the same biological sex, and, as of February 2026, block any change to the gender marker on a driver’s license or state ID. Legal name changes are still available through the courts, and federal employment protection under Title VII still applies, but the state offers no standalone civil rights protection based on gender identity.
Gender-Affirming Care for Minors Is Banned
Senate Bill 480, signed in 2023, prohibits physicians and other practitioners from providing gender transition procedures to anyone under 18.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Senate Bill 480 – Gender Transition Procedures for Minors The ban covers puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgical procedures intended to alter sex characteristics, and it bars practitioners from aiding or abetting another provider in delivering those treatments to a minor.2Justia Law. Indiana Code Title 25, Article 1, Chapter 22
Treatments a physician considers medically necessary outside the context of gender transition, such as care for precocious puberty or certain hormonal disorders, remain permitted. The statute lives in Indiana Code Title 25, Article 1, Chapter 22.
Providers who violate the ban face licensing discipline that can include suspension or permanent revocation. The law also creates a private right of action: a patient who received a prohibited treatment, or the patient’s parent, can sue the provider for damages without first going through the licensing board.2Justia Law. Indiana Code Title 25, Article 1, Chapter 22
Federal challenges to laws like Indiana’s are effectively foreclosed. In June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a nearly identical Tennessee ban in United States v. Skrmetti, applying rational basis review and holding that the law did not violate the Equal Protection Clause.3Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Skrmetti
School Notification and Curriculum Rules
House Enrolled Act 1608, passed in 2023, imposes two rules on Indiana public schools. If an unemancipated minor asks school staff to use a name or pronoun different from what is on file, the school must notify at least one parent in writing, and school employees cannot honor a student’s request to keep that from a parent.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana House Bill 1608 – Education Matters The requirement applies across all K-12 public schools.
The same law bars schools, school employees, and third-party vendors from teaching human sexuality to students in pre-kindergarten through third grade. Teachers can still answer individual student questions, but structured lessons on human sexuality are off-limits in those grades.
The 2025 legislative session added more parental-rights provisions. Senate Bill 143 prohibits any government entity from advising a child to withhold information from a parent or from denying a parent access to records about the child’s healthcare or emotional well-being. House Bill 1412 and Senate Bill 80 clarified that raising a child in a manner consistent with the child’s biological sex does not constitute child abuse or neglect under Indiana law.
School Sports Are Divided by Biological Sex
House Enrolled Act 1041, signed in 2022, requires school athletic teams to be designated male, female, or coeducational, and it prohibits students whose biological sex at birth is male from participating on teams designated for females.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana House Bill 1041 – Participation in School Sports The original law covered school corporations, public schools, nonpublic schools, and athletic associations.
In 2025, the legislature extended the same rules to state educational institutions and to private postsecondary schools that compete against public ones, bringing college athletics under the biological-sex eligibility framework.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana House Bill 1041 – Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Sports
Changing a Gender Marker on Indiana Documents
This is where Indiana law has changed the most, and where most administrative pathways have closed.
Driver’s Licenses and State IDs
As of February 12, 2026, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles no longer accepts any request to change the gender marker on a driver’s license or state ID. The BMV previously accepted court orders or physician statements as evidence for an update, but Amended Rule 140 of the Indiana Administrative Code eliminated that option.7Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Amending Your Driver’s License or Identification Card No administrative pathway currently exists.
Birth Certificates
Indiana Code 16-37-2-10 addresses corrections to birth certificates based on DNA testing and paternity affidavits and says nothing about gender.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-37-2-10 – DNA Test, Additions or Corrections to Birth Certificate Indiana courts have historically granted gender marker changes on birth certificates through their equity jurisdiction, relying on In Re Petition for Change of Birth Certificate, 22 N.E.3d 707 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).
That pathway may be closing. In the 2026 session, lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 182, which would define sex as strictly biological, prohibit changes to the sex designation on birth certificates except to correct errors or address medically verifiable disorders of sex development, and require local health officers to record sex as male or female. The bill also includes provisions on multi-person restrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas in schools and universities. Anyone considering a petition should check the current status of SB 182 before filing.
Legal Name Changes Are Still Available
Changing your legal name is a separate process from changing a gender marker and remains available in Indiana. You file the petition under Indiana Code 34-28-2-1 in the county court where you live.9Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Adult Name and Gender Marker Change Form Instructions You must be at least 18, cannot be a registered sex or violent offender, and must state that the request is made in good faith.
Indiana normally requires public notice of a name change petition, but courts can waive that requirement for transgender petitioners. In In re Name & Gender Change of R.E., 142 N.E.3d 1045 (Ind. Ct. App. 2020), the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a transgender person’s fear of harm from publication is “easily sufficient” to justify sealing the record and waiving notice.
Filing fees vary by county and typically range from around $100 to several hundred dollars. Contact your county clerk of court for the current amount before filing.
Federal ID Documents Have Also Changed
Indiana residents often need to update federal documents alongside state ones, and those rules have tightened too.
As of January 31, 2025, the Social Security Administration no longer permits any change to the sex designation on Social Security records. Medical documentation, court orders, and physician statements will not result in an update. Legal name changes on Social Security records are still processed with a court order.
The State Department now requires passports to reflect sex assigned at birth. The “X” gender marker has been removed, and requests to change a sex marker to reflect gender identity are no longer processed. Existing passports with a previously issued M, F, or X marker remain valid until they expire. Renewal or replacement triggers the current policy, and a legal name change filed with the State Department may prompt the sex marker to be updated to match birth records.
Discrimination Protections in Indiana
Indiana’s statewide civil rights statutes do not list gender identity as a protected class. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission enforces protections against discrimination based on sex, race, religion, and other categories, but the state has not extended those protections to cover transgender status in employment, housing, or public accommodations.
Local Ordinances
More than 50 Indiana cities and counties have their own nondiscrimination ordinances that include gender identity. Indianapolis-Marion County, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Evansville, and Carmel are among them. These ordinances prohibit private employment discrimination based on gender identity within their jurisdictions, and coverage depends on where the discriminatory act occurred.
Federal Workplace Protection
The strongest protection for transgender workers comes from federal law. In Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court held that firing someone for being transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, because you cannot discriminate against a person for being transgender without discriminating based on sex.10Supreme Court of the United States. Bostock v. Clayton County That holding applies in Indiana regardless of what state law says.11U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Sex Discrimination
Enforcement guidance has shifted. In January 2026, the EEOC rescinded its 2024 guidance on sexual orientation and gender identity harassment, which had covered pronoun usage and bathroom access. The rescission leaves the day-to-day treatment questions less defined at the agency level, though Bostock itself remains good law, and workers who experience discrimination based on transgender status can still file a charge with the EEOC.
Deducting Transition-Related Medical Expenses
Adults paying out of pocket for gender-affirming care should know the IRS treats hormone therapy and surgical procedures as deductible medical expenses when documented as treatment for a medical condition, following the U.S. Tax Court’s decision in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner. Standard medical expense rules apply: you can deduct only the portion of unreimbursed expenses that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, and you must itemize. Qualifying expenses can also be paid through a Flexible Spending Account if your employer offers one.