BOISE, Idaho — A federal court has lifted an injunction that stopped Idaho from enforcing a law requiring birth certificates to show biological sex at birth.
Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond E. Patricco approved Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s request, allowing Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare to enforce the policy for the first time since 2018.
The policy faced a legal challenge in 2018, leading to an injunction that compelled Idaho to process applications to change sex markers based on gender identity.
Despite the Idaho Legislature passing a law in 2020, and updating it in 2024, to maintain birth certificates as reflecting the biological sex at birth, courts blocked its enforcement.
Attorney General Labrador sought to lift the injunction in October 2025, referencing recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
In one case, Trump v. CASA, the Court decided that federal courts cannot issue broad injunctions affecting individuals not directly involved in a lawsuit. Another case, United States v. Skrmetti, concluded that laws like Idaho’s are not discriminatory against transgender individuals because they apply equally to everyone.
“For years, Idaho was blocked from enforcing common-sense policy and law requiring birth certificates to reflect biological sex recorded at birth,” said Attorney General Labrador.
He highlighted the role of birth certificates as legal documents used in medicine, public health research and identification.
Idaho’s law outlines specific procedures for amending material facts recorded at birth. Requests within one year require a notarized affidavit for incorrect information. After a year, changes need a court process to show fraud, duress or a factual mistake. This procedure applies uniformly to all Idahoans seeking to amend any biological fact on their birth certificate.
The parties involved filed an agreement to lift the injunction, which Judge Patricco ordered on January 8, 2026.
