West Virginia

Restriction reported

Statute defines sex, male/female, man/woman for the whole code and state rules

Laws cited: W. Va. Code §§ 5-32-1 to 5-32-9, esp. § 5-32-3 (2025 W. Va. Acts ch. 202, Enrolled Com. Sub. S.B. 456, Riley Gaines Act)
In effect since: June 9, 2025
Instrument: Statute
Litigation: No court order blocking S.B. 456 found.
Researched: September 22, 2026 (Date of the primary-source research; not a legal effective date)

From the source text

"Sex", when this term is used to classify or describe a natural person, means the state of being either male or female as observed or clinically verified at birth.

Sources

Policy 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 West Virginia in this area

June 9, 2025 Reviewed primary source

Statute defines sex, male/female, man/woman for the whole code and state rules

W. Va. Code §§ 5-32-1 to 5-32-9, esp. § 5-32-3 (2025 W. Va. Acts ch. 202, Enrolled Com. Sub. S.B. 456, Riley Gaines Act)

Date basis: Effective date in the primary source. Researched September 22, 2026.

Inspect date source(opens another site) · W. Va. Code § 5-32-3 (official code)(opens another site) · WV Legislature: SB 456 (2025) bill history(opens another site) · LegiScan locator: WV SB456 (2025)(opens another site)