Birth Certificates

2025-2026 Bill 5207: Birth Certificates - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Download
This Bill
in Microsoft Word Format
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
H. 5207
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Holman, C. Mitchell, Sessions and Cox
Document Path: LC-0439VR26.docx
Introduced in the House on February 18, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
Summary: Birth Certificates
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/18/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 49
)

2/18/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 49
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/18/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION
44-63-100
, RELATING TO COURT ORDERED
CHANGES TO BIRTH CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO CHANGE THE TERM "GENDER" TO "SEX"; BY
ADDING SECTION
44-63-95
SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH FROM
CHANGING AN INDIVIDUAL'S SEX IN THE SEX FIELD OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, WITH
EXCEPTIONS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION
59-1-500
, RELATING TO BIRTH CERTIFICATES OF
STUDENTS ON SCHOOL SPORTS TEAMS, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
44-63-100
(A) and (D) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:

(
A) A petition may be filed in the
South Carolina family court of petitioner's residence, or if petitioner no
longer resides in South Carolina, in a court of competent jurisdiction in the
state of petitioner's residence, for an order establishing a record of the name
at birth, subsequent name changes,
gender
sex
at birth,
gender
sex
changes, date of birth, county of birth, and the full
name of the mother prior to any marriages, and the full name of the biological
father of the person whose birth is sought to be registered by way of a Delayed
Certificate of Birth Established by Court Order.

(
D)
The court shall determine, and the order must include, the registrant's name at
birth, subsequent name changes,
gender
sex
at birth,
gender
sex
changes, the date of birth, the county of birth, the
full name of the mother prior to any marriages, the full name of the biological
father, and additional findings as the court considers necessary. The order
also must include a description of the evidence presented to the court. The
order must be forwarded by the clerk of court to the State Registrar no later
than thirty days following the month in which the order was entered by the
court.

S
ECTION 2.
C
hapter 63, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:

S
ection
44-63-95
.
(
A) For the purposes of
this section:

(
1)
"Disorder of sexual development" means a congenital condition involving
atypical development of sex chromosomes, gonads, internal genital ducts, or
external genitalia, including disorders of sex hormone synthesis or action. The
term "disorder of sex development" does not include psychological or behavioral
conditions, nor typical male or female sex development with distress regarding
sexed anatomy.

(
2)
"Female" means an individual who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a
developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident the reproductive system
that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization.

(
3)
"Male" means an individual who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a
developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident the reproductive system
that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.

(
4)
"Sex" means an individual's biological sex, either male or female.

(
B)
(
1) The Department of Public Health may
not change an individual's sex in the sex field on the individual's birth
certificate unless the individual petitions the department to make a change to
correct a clerical error in recording the individual's sex on the individual's
birth certificate or to correct a misclassification of an infant's sex at birth
due to a medically verified disorder of sex development.

(
2)
A petition to change an individual's sex on the individual's birth certificate
due to a misclassification of an infant's sex at birth due to a medically
verified disorder of sex development must be accompanied by:

(
a)
a sworn affidavit from the petitioner's physician attesting to the objective
medical evidence establishing the petitioner's medically verified disorder of
sexual development; and

(
b)
all medical evidence relied upon by the physician to support the diagnosis of a
medically verified disorder of sexual development.

S
ECTION 3.
S
ection
59-1-500
(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:

(
A) For purposes of this section, a
statement of a student's biological sex on the student's official birth
certificate is considered to have correctly stated the student's biological sex
at birth if the statement was filed at or near the time of the student's birth.
However, if a student changes the sex on the student's birth
certificate pursuant to Section
44-63-95
because of a clerical error in
recording the student's sex on the student's birth certificate or to correct a
misclassification of an infant's sex at birth due to a medically verified
disorder of sex development, then the sex on the student's birth certificate
reflecting the change is considered to have correctly stated the student's
biological sex at birth.

S
ECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on February 18, 2026 at 1:12 PM