Federal Court dissolves injunction on Idaho’s biological sex birth certificate policy

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is celebrating a federal court decision ending a years-long freeze on the state's birth certificate policy. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond E. Patricco granted the state's motion to dissolve a 2018 injunction, effectively allowing Idaho to require that birth certificates reflect an individual's biological sex at birth, A.G. Labrador announced today.

The ruling allows the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to enforce the policy for the first time since 2018.

“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. “Birth certificates aren't symbolic documents that are subject to how an individual may feel, they're legal records used in medicine, public health research, and identification. Idaho can now enforce our law protecting accurate vital records, while treating all Idahoans equally under the same amendment process.”

Policy Background and Legal Challenges

The legal battle traces back to 2018, when a federal judge issued an injunction forcing Idaho to allow transgender individuals to change gender markers on their birth certificates to match their gender identity. While Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 509 in 2020 to codify the biological sex requirement, the 2018 injunction prevented the enforcement of the biological sex policy.

The turning point came in October 2025, when Labrador filed a motion to dissolve the injunction based on two landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings:

• Trump v. CASA — In which the Court ruled that federal courts cannot issue universal injunctions affecting people beyond the parties in a lawsuit.
• United States v. Skrmetti — Where the Court ruled that laws like Idaho's do not discriminate based on transgender status because they apply equally to everyone.

The parties filed a joint stipulation agreeing to dissolve the injunction, which Judge Patricco ordered on January 8, 2026.

The Amendment Process

Under the now-enforceable law, the process for amending a birth certificate is standardized for all Idahoans. If requested within one year, individuals must provide the state a notarized affidavit declaring that the information on the birth certificate was incorrectly recorded. After one year, all corrections will require a court proceeding to demonstrate fraud, duress, or a "material mistake of fact."

AG Labrador says this process applies equally to all Idahoans seeking to amend any biological fact on their birth certificate.