Transgender rights in Ohio sit at the intersection of state statutes, a 2020 federal court ruling, and sweeping 2025 federal policy changes, and the result is a patchwork: adults can still update their name, Ohio birth certificate, and state ID, but House Bill 68 bans most gender-affirming care for minors and restricts school sports, Ohio’s employment discrimination law does not cover gender identity, and federal agencies no longer process gender marker changes on passports or Social Security records.1Ohio Legislature. House Bill 68 – 135th General Assembly
Changing Your Legal Name
A legal name change starts at the probate court in the Ohio county where you live, and you must have lived there for at least sixty days before filing.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2717.01 – Application to Change Name of Person Bring a government-issued photo ID, proof of your county address such as a utility bill or lease, and a copy of your birth certificate so the court can verify your current legal name. Filing fees vary by county; Hamilton County, for example, charges $150.3Hamilton County Probate Court. Hamilton County Probate Court – General Resources After you file, the court schedules a hearing where a judge confirms the request isn’t fraudulent and that there’s reasonable cause.
The Publication Waiver for Safety
Ohio ordinarily requires you to publish notice of your name change in a local newspaper at least thirty days before the hearing. The statute, however, requires the court to waive publication if you can show that publishing the notice would jeopardize your personal safety, and when the court grants the waiver it must also seal the records of the proceeding.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2717.01 – Application to Change Name of Person For many transgender applicants, raising this safety exception with the court is worth doing from the outset.
Correcting the Gender Marker on an Ohio Birth Certificate
A 2020 federal court decision struck down Ohio’s longstanding policy that had blocked transgender people born in the state from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates.4American Civil Liberties Union. Federal Court Strikes Down Ohio’s Anti-Transgender Birth Certificate Policy You now obtain the correction by asking any Ohio probate court for an Order for Correction of Birth Record, which you can request at the same time as a name change or separately. Each court sets its own forms and procedures, so call your local probate court first.
Once the probate court grants the order, it is sent automatically to the Ohio Department of Health, which updates the record. ODH does not charge a fee for the correction itself, though you’ll pay for any new printed copy of the certificate. If you were born in Ohio but live out of state, you can mail the original court order to the ODH Bureau of Vital Statistics in Columbus.
Updating Your Driver’s License or State ID
To change the gender marker on your Ohio driver’s license or state ID, complete Form BMV 2369, the Declaration of Gender Change.5Ohio Department of Public Safety. Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles – Declaration of Gender Change You fill out the top; a licensed professional completes and signs the bottom. Eligible professionals include a physician, psychologist, therapist, nurse practitioner, or social worker licensed to practice in the United States.
Take the completed form to a deputy registrar’s office, where staff will process the change and issue a new card. The duplicate card fee is $24.50. If you’re updating your name at the same time, bring a certified copy of the probate court order so both corrections happen in one visit.
Federal Documents After the 2025 Changes
Federal identity documents are a different story. An executive order signed in January 2025 directed federal agencies to issue identity documents reflecting biological sex at birth and rescinded prior orders that had expanded gender identity recognition across the federal government.6The White House. Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
The State Department now issues passports only with an M or F marker matching biological sex at birth, and the X marker has been eliminated. Passports already issued with a different marker remain valid until they expire, but any renewal or replacement will be reissued with the birth sex marker.7U.S. Department of State. Sex Marker in Passports The U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court injunction against this policy in November 2025, so the restriction remains in effect.
The Social Security Administration stopped processing gender marker changes on Social Security records as of January 31, 2025. You currently cannot update the sex designation tied to your Social Security number. Because employers and government agencies rely on these federal records for verification, the practical reach of the change extends well beyond the documents themselves.
Gender-Affirming Care
What the SAFE Act Bans for Minors
Ohio’s Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, enacted as part of House Bill 68, bars physicians from performing gender-reassignment surgery on anyone under eighteen. It also prohibits prescribing puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to minors for the purpose of gender transition.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3129.02 – Prohibitions on Gender Transition for Minors The ban extends to anyone who aids or abets the prohibited treatments, though the statute explicitly protects speech under federal and state law.
A narrow exception covers minors who were already receiving hormone therapy or puberty blockers before the law took effect on April 24, 2024. To qualify, the minor must have been a continuous Ohio resident since that date, the physician must have started the prescription before that date, and the physician must document in the medical record that stopping treatment would cause harm.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3129.02 – Prohibitions on Gender Transition for Minors The exception does not apply to surgery, which is banned for all minors regardless of prior treatment.
A physician who violates these prohibitions faces professional discipline; the statute treats any violation as unprofessional conduct subject to action by the applicable licensing board.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3129.05 – Disciplinary Action The law also allows a patient who received prohibited treatment as a minor to later sue, with the limitations period depending on the type of claim.
What Still Applies to Adults
Adults are not subject to the SAFE Act’s prohibitions. Restrictions on surgery, hormones, and puberty blockers apply only to minors. Early draft administrative rules in 2024 would have imposed requirements on adult care as well, including review by a multidisciplinary team with a bioethicist, but after public comment the final rules were scaled back to apply only to care for minors.10Ohio Department of Health. Memo – Response to Public Comment to Gender-Related Rules Adults work directly with providers without those state-imposed team requirements. The legislative picture is fluid, though: as of 2026, House Bill 838 has been introduced to bar Ohio Medicaid from covering gender-reassignment surgery. It has not been enacted, but adults planning care should verify current Medicaid and private insurance coverage with their provider.
School Sports Eligibility
The Save Women’s Sports Act, also part of House Bill 68, requires K-12 schools and colleges to designate athletic teams based on biological sex, and transgender girls and women are prohibited from participating on teams designated for females.1Ohio Legislature. House Bill 68 – 135th General Assembly The rule covers public school districts, chartered nonpublic schools that participate in interscholastic conferences, state universities, and private colleges. Schools must verify biological sex if a dispute arises over eligibility, and students or parents may sue a school district or university for damages for failing to enforce the requirements.
Workplace Discrimination Protections
Ohio’s state employment discrimination law does not list gender identity as a protected category. The statute prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, and ancestry, and stops there.11Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 4112.02 – Unlawful Discriminatory Practices That gap limits state-level remedies for transgender workers.
Federal law fills part of it. The Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County held that firing someone for being transgender constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.12Supreme Court of the United States. Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia Title VII applies to employers with fifteen or more employees. If your employer is smaller, Title VII does not reach you and Ohio state law offers no fallback for gender identity discrimination.
To file a federal claim, submit a charge to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days of the discriminatory act. The window is 300 rather than 180 days because Ohio has a state agency (the Ohio Civil Rights Commission) that enforces employment discrimination laws, which automatically extends the federal deadline.13U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge Missing the deadline usually ends the claim, so mark the calendar.
Twenty-six Ohio cities and counties have passed their own nondiscrimination ordinances that explicitly include gender identity, including Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, and Toledo. These local laws typically cover employment, housing, and public accommodations, and residents can file complaints with local civil rights boards. Outside those jurisdictions, federal Title VII is often your only route for a workplace discrimination claim.
Tax Treatment of Transition-Related Medical Costs
Gender-affirming medical care, including hormone therapy and surgery, can qualify as a deductible medical expense on your federal tax return. The IRS treats these costs like any other medical expense: you can deduct the portion that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income for the year.14Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 502 – Medical and Dental Expenses You have to itemize on Schedule A, so the deduction only helps if your total itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction.
Qualifying expenses include hormone therapy, surgery, and mental health treatment related to gender dysphoria. Keep documentation from your providers showing the care was medically indicated. These costs can also be paid through a Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account, which lets you use pre-tax dollars without itemizing, and for many people that route is more practical than claiming the deduction.