Since 1993, it has been possible to state on a birth certificate "sex cannot be determined" when the sex of a newborn baby is unclear. On 28 May 2018, the District Court of Limburg ruled in favour of a Dutch citizen who wished to be recognized as a "third gender" on their birth certificate. Although current laws do not provide for the possibility to be registered as a "third gender", the judge did grant the request for the wording "sex cannot be determined". The court urged lawmakers to provide more options than the current generic "male" (man) and "female" (vrouw) boxes, because the absence of a gender-neutral option is a violation of private life, the right to self-determination and personal autonomy for both transgender and intersex persons. The Dutch Government is currently examining the legal consequences of the ruling. The plaintiff in the case, Leonne Zeegers, received a Dutch passport with an "X" sex descriptor in October 2018. Despite this, as no legislation has been enacted yet, it currently remains a matter for the courts to decide if an individual should receive an "X" designation for gender. The second person to receive an "X" sex marker, Nanoah Struik, did so in July 2019. According to the Social and Cultural Planning Office of the Netherlands, there are an estimated 80,000 intersex people in the Netherlands.
