North Dakota has a highly restrictive legislative landscape for transgender individuals, with significant anti-trans legislation passed across multiple years. The state has enacted laws banning gender-affirming care for minors, restricting birth certificate changes, banning transgender athletes from sports, and limiting bathroom access.
2023:
- Gender-affirming care ban (April 5, 2023): Makes it illegal to provide gender-affirming care to minors, passed by veto-proof majority
- Birth certificate restrictions (May 2023): Bans transgender people from updating gender markers on birth records
- Challenged in court; trial completed February 2025, awaiting judge's ruling
- Sports bans (April 2023): Bans transgender individuals assigned male at birth from female sports teams in K-12 and higher education
- Bathroom restrictions (April 2023): Allows restriction of transgender individuals' public bathroom usage in state-run facilities, effective July 1, 2023
- Pronoun restrictions (May 2023): Revised bill passed requiring parental and administrative approval for preferred gender pronouns in state-run schools
- Religious exemption (March 2023): Allows businesses to refuse service based on religious objections
2023:
- 17 anti-trans bills tracked across healthcare, sports, education, identity documents, bathroom access
- Multiple bills enacted including care ban, birth certificate restrictions, sports bans, bathroom restrictions
2025:
- 9 anti-trans bills tracked across bathroom access, healthcare, marriage, education, sports, other areas
- Notable: Bill passed requiring social workers not be ethical violations for offering counseling aligned with heterosexuality or biological sex
| Name |
Party |
Chamber |
Key Actions |
| Gov. Doug Burgum |
R |
Governor |
Signed multiple 2023 anti-trans bills |
| Date |
Event |
| March 2023 |
Religious exemption bill passed |
| April 5, 2023 |
Gender-affirming care ban passed by veto-proof majority |
| April 2023 |
Sports bans and bathroom restrictions passed and signed |
| May 2023 |
Birth certificate restrictions passed; pronoun restrictions revised and signed |
| July 1, 2023 |
Bathroom restrictions take effect |
| February 2025 |
Birth certificate restriction trial completed, awaiting ruling |
| 2025 |
9 anti-trans bills tracked |
- Trans Legislation Tracker 2023/ND
- Wikipedia - LGBTQ Rights in North Dakota
- ACLU ND - House Passes Bill
- Trans Legislation Tracker 2025/ND
- LegiScan - HB 1522
Last updated: 2026-04-02