UK Guidance Confirms Toilets and Changing Rooms Must Be Based on Biological Sex

New guidance published Thursday by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission states that toilets and changing rooms must be used on the basis of biological sex. The code of practice, approved by ministers, applies to associations, businesses and public services. It covers settings including shopping centres, gyms, hospitals and restaurants.

A trans woman, defined in the guidance as a biological male who identifies as a woman, should not use female toilets or changing rooms. Transgender people should instead be offered a third or gender-neutral space. The code says leaving a trans person without access to any facilities would be unlikely to be proportionate and could be discriminatory.

It recommends gender-neutral toilets or changing rooms include self-contained lockable areas with floor-to-ceiling walls and wash basins. Services with only two toilets, one for men and one for women, could convert them into unisex facilities. The watchdog said it did not think the requirements would be too onerous.

The guidance follows a Supreme Court ruling last year that the definition of a woman under the Equality Act should be based on biological sex. The more than 300-page code was first sent to the government in September 2025. Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson said the aim was to allow people to live free from discrimination and harassment.

"Our focus has always been making sure organisations have clear, accessible guidance on how to implement the law," she said. EHRC chair Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson said she hoped people would read the code with an open mind. She added that the goal was to ensure everyone has access to the services they need.

Clare Reddington, chief executive of the Watershed arts cinema in Bristol, said the guidance had taken too long to publish and had led to confusion. The venue has gender-neutral toilets with floor-to-ceiling doors that won a Loo of the Year award in 2024.

Maya Forstater of Sex Matters said organisations that had been waiting for guidance must now fix unlawful policies. She said the principle at the heart of the code is that sex means male and female. A spokesperson for TransActual said the guidance leaves trans people with fewer rights and appears to have weakened protections for the LGBT community as a whole.

Joanne Moseley of Irwin Mitchell Solicitors said some businesses changed facilities immediately after the Supreme Court ruling while others are waiting for the guidance to come into force. With the guidance now before parliament, MPs and peers have 40 days to raise any concerns.

If there are no objections, the guidance becomes statutory.