The Supreme Court of the United States paved the way for the Trump administration to enforce a policy restricting passport gender markers to an individual’s sex assigned at birth.
The ruling reverses flexibility introduced in Joe Biden’s term, which allowed transgender and non-binary Americans to select a gender marker that matched with their identity, per AP News. The ruling was issued via an unsigned emergency order, resulting in it being immediately effective while further litigation continues.
Under the reinstated rule, passports must list an individual’s sex based on birth records rather than self-identified gender.
The court held “Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth. In both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment.”
For transgender and non-binary travelers, may now face challenges in international travel as there may be discrepancies between their identity documents and daily life, per Washington Post.
The three liberal judges who dissented, noted that “The Passport Policy also invites the probing, and at times humiliating, additional scrutiny these plaintiffs have experienced.”
The decision immediately sparked controversy because the policy could undermine the dignity and safety of transgender Americans. According to Reuters, the plaintiffs claimed that they were harassed and mistreated because their gender identity did not match their official documents. They were accused of having fake identification, had to undergo extra security screenings, and were even detained.
With the U.S. government announcing it will now require listing the sex assigned at birth on new passports, there’s a lot of uncertainty for people holding existing documents and for those who identify as non-binary or gender-diverse.
Is your passport now invalid? Can you still… pic.twitter.com/URqf8BJSsf
— Upgraded Points (@upgradedpoints) November 7, 2025
The change also affects U.S. passport policy for children and adults applying for updated travel documents. Officials will now strictly enforce that gender designations correspond with birth certificates. This may complicate the process for individuals who have undergone legal or medical gender changes, per Washington Post.
This court decision comes as part of a broader pattern in which the Trump administration has sought to roll back policies enacted under previous Democratic leadership, citing the need to align federal documents with original legal records. As liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote, “This Court has once again paved the way for the immediate infliction of injury without adequate (or, really, any) justification,” per AP News.
In recent times, the high court has backed the Trump administration in over 20 short-term orders on a range of policies including preventing transgender people from the military.
Observers also note that the Supreme Court’s action does not preclude future challenges. The case could return to the justices after lower courts have had a chance to fully consider arguments on the merits, meaning the policy could remain in limbo for months or years.
For now, transgender and non-binary Americans applying for new or renewed passports will have to comply with the reinstated rules. The decision only exacerbates the ongoing tension between federal policy, civil rights protections, and the courts’ role in mediating these disputes.
Jon Davidson, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project stated, “This is a heartbreaking setback for the freedom of all people to be themselves, and fuel on the fire the Trump administration is stoking against transgender people and their constitutional rights.”
