THE POLICY LANDSCAPE

Rights, restrictions & the places between.

Sources retrieved

Legal recognition · Legal sex definitions

Montana

Restriction reported

Code-wide statute defines sex by reproductive biology, in force since Mar. 24, 2026; PI motion pending

Laws cited
2025 Mont. Laws ch. 778 (SB 437), § 1 ('Terms of wide applicability', codified in Mont. Code Ann. Title 1, ch. 1, pt. 2 per § 67, replacing repealed § 1-1-201 per § 66); signed and effective Mar. 24, 2026 (§ 69, effective on passage and approval)
In effect since
Instrument
Statute
Litigation
Edwards v. State of Montana, No. DV-23-1026 (Mont. 4th Jud. Dist. Ct., Missoula County, Judge Leslie Halligan; filed Oct. 2023). Order on Cross Motions for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 54, Feb. 18, 2025) declared SB 458 (2023) facially unconstitutional under the Montana Constitution's equal-protection and privacy guarantees and, in ordering paragraph (3), enjoined defendants 'from directly or indirectly enforcing SB 458, or any law with the same effect.' After SB 437 was signed, the court allowed a supplemental complaint adding it (Dkt. 99, May 7, 2026); plaintiffs had moved for a TRO and preliminary injunction (Dkt. 86, Apr. 6, 2026). The Order Denying TRO (Dkt. 111, May 22, 2026) denied the TRO because the likelihood-of-success analysis 'warrants further briefing and a hearing', described 'the threshold issue' as 'whether SB 437 is materially distinguishable from SB 458', and set a preliminary-injunction hearing for June 19, 2026. No ruling on the preliminary injunction was located as of 2026-09-22, so no order is known to block SB 437. Related: Reagor v. State, No. DV-23-1245 (Mont. 4th Jud. Dist. Ct. June 25, 2024) permanently enjoined SB 458 for a single-subject title defect (Dkt. 54 n.1); Kalarchik v. State, No. ADV-24-261 (Mont. 1st Jud. Dist. Ct.) concerns birth certificates and driver's licenses (single-subject, other atlas area).
Researched
(Date of the primary-source research; not a legal effective date)

From the source text

An individual's sex is rooted in reproductive anatomy and is in no way influenced or defined by one's psychological state, behavior, expression, or personal identity.

Sources

Policy sources

Court sources

Researched from primary sources

Trans Data Initiative research. Researched from primary sources (enacted text, the code on official sites, executive orders, court orders), starting from the Trans Data Initiative legislation tracker's bills. Each determination was checked independently by a second researcher; disputes were settled by a third review. No other tracker's descriptions were used.

A record is what a source reported on the date it was captured, not a legal effective date. An unobserved record is not a finding that no restrictions exist.

Dated records for Montana in this area

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