Key takeaways
Respecting identity is central to new inquest rules
Guidance promotes dignity for trans people after death.
Privacy protections strengthened for trans individuals
Disclosure of gender history is tightly controlled.
Medical records require careful redaction
Sensitive references must be reviewed before inclusion.
On 18 June 2025, the Chief Coroner issued new guidance to coroners to assist them with matters which may arise during their investigations that involve trans people.
The key points from the guidance are:
The coroner should establish the deceased’s likely preference regarding their gender identity from the evidence of those close to them in life, such as a close family member.
A person’s gender at birth or their transgender history, including their previous name, should never be disclosed, unless it is necessary and relevant to the fundamental purpose of the coronial investigation or proceedings. Disclosure of this information could amount to a criminal offence.
Unless their trans status is relevant to the cause of death, or the person’s experience or acquired gender is in dispute, the medical notes for a deceased trans person may need careful review and redaction to ensure that any reference to their sex assigned at birth, gender dysphoria, transitioning and any related therapy is removed.
On the Record of Inquest, a trans person’s name need not be documented as the given name on their birth certificate. This is the case for anyone who at the time of their death has chosen to go by a different name from the name on their birth certificate.
A trans person’s sex recorded at death can be different from their sex recorded at birth. This is regardless of whether they had a Gender Recognition Certificate.
A non-binary or gender fluid person’s recorded sex could be ‘unascertained’ or left blank on the Record of Inquest.
Coroners are encouraged to adopt this guidance and consider each case on its specific facts. As in all cases, coroners are required to respect the wishes and preferences of the deceased.
In our experience, the gender identity and trans history of the deceased is often irrelevant to the scope of a coroner’s investigation and in most cases should not feature in the evidence. The only scenarios where evidence relating to this may prove important to a coroner’s investigation is where a person’s gender dysphoria, transitioning and any related surgery or therapy is believed to be relevant to answering the questions ‘how, when and where the deceased came by their death’.
The full guidance can be found here - Chapter 19: Trans people and the Coroner’s Court - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Detailed information on the appropriate terminology and difficulties trans people may face when involved in the justice system can be found in Chapter 12 of the Equal Treatment Bench Book - ETBB - July 2024 (May 2025 update).