Transgender people will no longer have to provide medical evidence to change the gender on their passports, the Government has announced.

The move will abolish the current requirement of having to produce a doctor’s letter to prove you are permanently living as another gender.

Campaigners insist that being asked to produce a doctor’s letter can be offensive, as it makes some people feel they are being treated as if they have an illness.

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The government says some transgender people find it upsetting to be asked to put their birth sex on a form for a UK passport

A review of the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, which was commissioned by equalities minister Nicky Morgan, has made a number of recommendations for adapting the legal processes for registering a change of gender.

It suggests there should be a drive to remove ‘unnecessary’ requests for gender information. And one of the key recommendations published in the review is a move to shift the gender registration process from ‘medicalised’ questions towards ‘self-declaration’.

Mrs Morgan has previously said some transgender people find it upsetting to be asked to put their birth sex on a form.

A review of the 2004 Gender Recognition Act, which was commissioned by equalities minister Nicky Morgan, has made a number of recommendations for adapting the legal processes for registering a change of gender

And in a response to her department’s review, a spokesman for the Government revealed Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) has already decided to drop the requirement of a doctor’s letter in the process of changing gender on a passport – and extend the range of documents which can be used to demonstrate someone’s ‘gender of choice in their daily life’.

A spokesman said: ‘At present, a person is required to produce a doctor’s letter before they can change the gender which is shown in their passport. HMPO will extend the range of supporting documentation that can be used by an applicant to demonstrate use of their gender of choice in their daily life.

‘This will mirror the approach adopted for passport applicants who wish to change their name.’

They went on to say that the Government has also been examining which official documents should drop the requirement to record gender, adding: ‘An administrative process must be developed, centred on the wishes of the individual applicant, rather than on intensive analysis by doctors and lawyers.’

Her Majesty's Passport Office in London has decided to drop the requirement of a doctor’s letter in the process of changing gender on a passport – and extend the range of documents which can be used to demonstrate someone’s ‘gender of choice in their daily life’

Mrs Morgan, who is also Education Secretary, said: ‘No-one should have to face discrimination or live in fear because of who they are. We must set the pace on this and lead the way in better understanding and supporting our trans people. That’s why I am delighted to announce we will be helping overturn an outdated system and ensure the transgender person’s needs are at the heart of the process.’

She added: ‘It’s fantastic to see trans issues increasingly on the public agenda. But we still don’t know enough. That’s why we are going to work with transgender people to understand more about the issues facing them.’