Is non-binary gender legally recognised in India?
Recognized
India legally recognizes a third gender category for transgender persons.
India is one of 9 countries classified “Recognized” for non-binary gender recognition — 38% of the 24 with data. (Also searched as third gender, X gender marker.)
Source
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Nepal
- Recognized Nepal's Supreme Court established a third-gender category for official documents.
- Pakistan
- Limited recognition Pakistan issues national identity cards with a distinct gender marker for the khawaja sara community.
- Thailand
- Not recognized Thailand does not legally recognize non-binary gender on identification documents.
- Japan
- Not recognized Japan does not legally recognize non-binary gender on official documents.
- Kenya
- Limited recognition Kenya requires an "I" gender marker for intersex people under the 2022 Children Act.
- Austria
- Recognized Austria allows non-binary gender recognition in civil registers following a 2025 court ruling.
Other laws in India
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Not recognized
- Same-Sex Activity
- Legal
- Sex Work
- Varies by region
- Pornography
- Restricted
- Divorce
- Heavily restricted
- Same-Sex Adoption
- Limited (step-child / single)
- Incest Laws
- Legal between adults
- Marriage Age
- 18+
Every law in India → · Where is non-binary gender legally recognised? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.