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One Year On, Over 11,000 Gender-Entry Changes Under Germany’s Self-Determination Law

Officials have launched a formal review, projecting roughly 4,000 applications a year.

Overview

  • Berlin recorded about 2,400 changes, with further high totals in Hamburg (~900), Munich and Cologne (each just under 700), Frankfurt (just over 440), and Düsseldorf (300).
  • Leipzig leads per capita with about 151 changes per 100,000 residents, followed by Hannover (98) and Bonn (86), and responses indicate more switches from female to male than other options.
  • Applications have been possible since August 2024, with declarations allowed after a three‑month wait and due within six months, and many cases are forwarded to the birth‑registry office.
  • Registrations more often lapse when deadlines are missed, while formal rejections are rare and typically stem from name mismatches, disallowed characters, or missing guardians’ consent for minors.
  • The Families Ministry has begun a nationwide data query to evaluate the law, and the government expects volumes to ease after the initial surge to an average of around 4,000 applications annually.