The Civil status law (PStG) regulates the ‘personal status’, the legal family status within the legal system. It includes data on birth, marriage and death, as well as all related family and name law facts. In the personal status, a person is determined according to legal criteria.

In § 21 para. 1 no.1 PStG, gender/sex is also classified as a characteristic of the personal status. Therefore, the recognition of gender under civil status law has an identity-forming effect. Since 2018, the "Law amending the information to be entered in the natal register’’  opens up the possibility to leave the gender entry blank or the registration as ‘divers’, when the child could not clearly be assigned as either male or female at birth. If these people were assigned as male or female, they can also have their gender entry and first name changed later by a declaration to the registry office in accordance with § 45b PStG. Since the new-born is unable to communicate their gender identity at the time of the entry shortly after birth, the entry can be changed at the time where the affected person is able to develop their own gender identity. Intersex people for whom the parents have registered a certain gender/sex, can delete their gender entry or attain the status of a third gender. For a child, who is not legally competent or under the age of 14, only their legal guidance can make the declaration. Trans* people can change their gender entry according to the regulations of the Transsexual Law  or, as stated in the judgment of the OLG Celle of 12.05.2017 leave their gender entry blank. It is important to mention that people can be trans* and intersex at the same time, which is not recognised by the legislation and is always perceived as two different groups.