In Estonia, indicating a gender transition or changing gender data is possible in the population register.
The legal recognition of gender is regulated by Chapter 31 of the Vital Statistics Registration Act.
A medical expert committee has been established by a directive of the Minister of Social Affairs to identify the status of persons with gender incongruence and to issue a decision necessary to change gender data in the population register. The corresponding committee operates at AS Lääne-Tallinna Keskhaigla (West Tallinn Central Hospital).
Applying to the medical expert committee to identify gender incongruence and the conditions and procedure the committee follows when making a decision are specified in the regulation of the Minister of Social Affairs “Conditions and procedure for making a decision on gender incongruence”.
To apply to the committee, a free-form, digitally signed application must be submitted to the email address – [email protected]. The recommended form for submitting an application is at the bottom of the page. The committee will inform the applicant of the time of the committee meeting. The waiting list of applicants is managed by the committee.
Changing gender data in the population register
Based on the decision of the medical expert committee to identify gender incongruence, a person may, if they wish, apply to have their gender data changed in the population register. To do this, a written application along with the record of the decision of the medical expert committee on identifying gender incongruence must be submitted to the local government unit of the county centre. The application must either be digitally signed or signed on site at the institution.
When changing gender data, a new gender and personal identification code will be entered in the population register. At the person's request, a new gender-appropriate first name chosen by them may be entered in the register. If, according to national or cultural custom, the gender is also reflected in the person's surname, the gender-appropriate form of the surname will also be entered in the register at their request. The person's other data and vital statistics entries in the population register will not be changed.
A person who has changed their gender data will be issued an extract from the population register regarding the change of gender data.
No state fee is required for changing gender data.
If the change of gender data has taken place in a foreign country, the person must submit a document from the foreign authority regarding the change of gender data to the local government of the Estonian county centre or an Estonian foreign mission within 30 days for entry in the population register. A document certifying the change of gender data that took place in a foreign country must generally be legalised or certified with an apostille and must be in Estonian, English or Russian or translated into these languages. More detailed requirements for a foreign document can be requested from the local government or the Estonian foreign mission.
Laws
- Common Requirements for Medical Operations for Gender Reassignment
- Vital Statistics Registration Act
- Names Act
- Population Register Act