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HB 1225OKLAHOMASession 2026State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Oklahoma requires birth certificates to contain only male or female biological sex designations

Original title: Vital records; requiring certificates of birth to contain accurate biological sex designations; clarifying certain requirement and prohibitions; emergency.

Last action · May 11, 2026: Approved by Governor 05/07/2026Sponsors: Gabe Woolley and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Does

House Bill 1225 requires all birth certificates issued, delayed, amended, or newly established in Oklahoma to contain an accurate biological sex designation of either male or female as identified at birth, explicitly prohibiting gender identity, nonbinary designations, or the letter "X". The measure takes effect immediately as an emergency measure.

Why it matters

Residents seeking to obtain, amend, or register birth statistics records are restricted to binary male or female sex markers, preventing the issuance or alteration of records to reflect nonbinary or gender-identity designations.

Background
  • The legislation addresses administrative disputes and court challenges regarding whether Oklahoma birth certificates could display nonbinary sex markers. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

individuals obtaining birth certificates

Must receive birth certificates containing solely a male or female biological sex designation without nonbinary markers.

Directly affected

State Department of Health

Must enforce the binary biological sex designation requirement across all issued, delayed, amended, or newly established birth certificates.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What sex designations are permitted on Oklahoma birth certificates under HB 1225?
Birth certificates must contain an accurate biological sex designation of either male or female as identified at the time of birth.
Can a birth certificate in Oklahoma display a nonbinary designation or the letter "X"?
No. The law explicitly prohibits birth certificates from displaying gender identity, nonbinary designations, or any symbol representing a nonbinary designation, including the letter "X".

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

28 actions
  1. May 11, 2026HouseEnrolled
    Approved by Governor 05/07/2026
  2. May 5, 2026House
    Sent to Governor
  3. May 5, 2026Senate
    Enrolled measure signed, returned to House
  4. May 5, 2026House
    Enrolled, signed, to Senate
  5. May 5, 2026HouseCommittee
    Referred for enrollment
  6. May 5, 2026House
    Fourth Reading, Measure and Emergency Passed: Ayes: 70 Nays: 17
Show 22 earlier actions
  1. May 5, 2026HouseFloor
    SA's read, adopted
  2. Apr 29, 2026House
    SA's received
  3. Apr 29, 2026Senate
    Engrossed to House
  4. Apr 29, 2026SenateCommittee
    Referred for engrossment
  5. Apr 29, 2026Senate
    Measure and Emergency passed: Ayes: 37 Nays: 8
  6. Apr 29, 2026Senate
    General Order, Considered
  7. Apr 29, 2026Senate
    Coauthored by Senator Burns
  8. Apr 22, 2026Senate
    Placed on General Order
  9. Apr 20, 2026Senate
    Emergency added
  10. Apr 20, 2026SenateFloor
    Reported Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Health and Human Services committee; CR filed
  11. Apr 1, 2026SenateCommittee
    Second Reading referred to Health and Human Services
  12. Mar 12, 2026SenateIntroduced
    First Reading
  13. Mar 12, 2026House
    Engrossed, signed, to Senate
  14. Mar 11, 2026HouseCommittee
    Referred for engrossment
  15. Mar 11, 2026HouseFloor
    Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 73 Nays: 18
  16. Mar 11, 2026House
    Coauthored by Representative(s) Woolley
  17. Mar 11, 2026House
    General Order
  18. Mar 9, 2026House
    Authored by Senator Bergstrom (principal Senate author)
  19. Mar 9, 2026HouseFloor
    CR; Do Pass, amended by committee substitute Rules Committee
  20. Feb 4, 2025HouseCommittee
    Second Reading referred to Rules
  21. Feb 3, 2025House
    Authored by Representative West (Kevin)
  22. Feb 3, 2025HouseIntroduced
    First Reading

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

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Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

Gabe WoolleyHouse · District 98RepublicanPrimary sponsor
George BurnsSenate · District 5RepublicanCosponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Clarification of Prior Legislative Intent

The legislature explicitly stated its finding that a previous law (Senate Bill No. 1100 of 2022) was intended to restrict birth certificates to biological sex designations only, countering court assertions of acquiescence to nonbinary markers.

State Department of Health

Connected Entities

Department of Human Services, State Department of Health, Bergstrom and 3 more
OrganizationDepartment of Human Services“Handles electronic records regarding acknowledgment of paternity”Map →
OrganizationState Department of Health“Registers and amends birth certificates and vital records”Map →
PersonBergstrom“Senate sponsor of HB 1225”Map →
PersonGeorge Burns“Senate sponsor of HB 1225”Map →
PersonGabe Woolley“House sponsor of HB 1225”Map →
PersonWest (Kevin)“House sponsor of HB 1225”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.oklegislature.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy85
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz60
    Current news / social attention level

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