The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new guidance requiring single-sex spaces to be organized based on biological sex [1, 2].
The rules apply to toilets and changing rooms across England, Wales, and Scotland. This shift clarifies the legal obligations for facility providers and aligns public access with a recent Supreme Court ruling [1, 2].
The guidance came into force on May 21, 2026 [1, 3]. Under the new code, biological sex is the determining factor for entry into spaces designated for a single sex, rather than gender identity [1, 2].
Scale of the impact is significant across the three nations. The new code affects nearly 13,000 toilets [4] and more than 5,000 changing rooms [4]. These facilities must now ensure their organization reflects the biological sex of the users to remain compliant with the EHRC standards [1, 2].
The EHRC said that the guidance is necessary to implement the legal requirements established by the Supreme Court. The move aims to provide a clear framework for how biological sex is handled in the context of single-sex facilities, a point of ongoing legal and social debate in the United Kingdom [1, 2].
By standardizing these requirements, the commission seeks to remove ambiguity for business owners and public facility managers. The guidance provides a specific set of rules to follow when determining who may access single-sex spaces, ensuring that biological sex remains the primary criterion [1, 2].
“Single-sex spaces such as toilets and changing rooms to be organised on the basis of biological sex”
This regulatory shift marks a move away from gender-identity-based access in public facilities toward a biological definition of sex. By anchoring the guidance in a Supreme Court ruling, the EHRC is establishing a legal baseline that prioritizes biological sex, which may lead to increased litigation or challenges from transgender advocacy groups regarding accessibility and discrimination laws in the UK.
