Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court has ruled that a 16-year-old can legally change their gender in the civil status registry without needing parental approval.
The case centered on a teenager born in 2007 and her parents, who opposed her decision to update her legal gender and name on official documents. In November 2023, the child protection authority instructed the parents to provide their daughter’s identification documents to her guardian to facilitate the change.
This procedure aligns with updates to the Swiss Civil Code implemented in 2022. These changes allow individuals aged 16 or older and deemed legally competent to modify their gender designation without a court ruling, as was previously required.
The teenager’s parents challenged the decision, arguing that legal competence in such matters should be determined by a psychiatrist with expertise in gender issues, rather than by a government official.
In its ruling, the court upheld that parental consent is unnecessary for such changes. It emphasized that the legislative amendments explicitly excluded parental involvement while establishing 16 as the minimum age for independent action in these cases.
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