Utah enacted S.B. 93, adding evidentiary barriers and an age ban to transgender birth-certificate sex changes

On March 23, 2023, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 93, "Birth Certificate Modifications," into law. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Daniel McCay and carried on the House floor by Rep. Brady Brammer, and was enacted by the Utah State Legislature during the 2023 General Session as Chapter 493.

S.B. 93 repeals and reenacts Utah Code 26-2-11 to impose new substantive and procedural barriers on court-ordered sex-designation changes to birth certificates. A court may grant such a change only on clear-and-convincing-evidence findings that the petitioner is not a party to pending litigation and is not on probation or parole, has "transitioned" and outwardly expressed the sought sex in a consistent and uniform manner for at least six months, and suffers clinically significant distress from the current designation. For minors aged 15 years and 6 months or older, the court must appoint a guardian ad litem, at the family's expense, to independently assess the request. The law bars any sex-designation change for a birth certificate belonging to a child younger than 15 years and 6 months, and provides that an approved order for an older minor cannot take effect until the individual turns 16.