Photo: G. Edward Johnson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights published a final rule on Oct. 30, 2026, stating that gender dysphoria not resulting from a physical impairment does not qualify as a disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, according to HHS.
The rule applies to all programs and activities that receive HHS funding.
What the rule does
Section 504 prohibits programs that receive federal money from discriminating on the basis of disability. When Congress wrote the law, it excluded several conditions, including "gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments."
The new rule adds those statutory exclusions to HHS's Section 504 regulation at 45 C.F.R. § 84.4(g). It states that gender dysphoria not resulting from a physical impairment falls within them.
Background
HHS's 2024 Section 504 rule did not address gender dysphoria in its text, but its preamble suggested gender dysphoria could qualify as a disability. In April 2025, HHS published a notice in the Federal Register saying the preamble had no force or effect of law.
HHS published the proposed rule on Dec. 19, 2025, and says it received more than 380 comments.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said: "Congress defined which conditions qualify for protection as disabilities under federal law, and HHS has a duty to faithfully apply the law as written."
HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Paula M. Stannard said the rule "ensures recipients of HHS funding follow those definitions, eliminating confusion for the people they serve and restoring confidence in the statute."
Source: HHS press release, Oct. 30, 2026