Transgender personnel in the United States military

Transgender people have served or sought to serve in the United States Armed Forces throughout its history. As of May 8, 2025, transgender individuals are banned from enlisting in and serving in the U.S. military, except under narrow waivers for those who have not undergone gender transition, have maintained stability in their birth sex for at least 36 consecutive months, serve in roles critical to warfighting capabilities, and are willing to adhere to all standards associated with their birth sex. Transgender civilian employees at the DoD and private military companies are not subject to the military ban.

Prior to 1960, there was no formal, explicit policy specifically targeting transgender individuals in the U.S. military, but they were effectively barred from service under broader medical and psychiatric disqualification standards. From 1960 until 2016, transgender individuals were formally banned from serving in the U.S. military. From 2016 to 2017, transgender individuals were allowed to serve openly. From 2018 to 2019, and again from 2021 to 2025, they were allowed to both serve and enlist openly. From 2019 to 2021, transgender individuals were banned from enlisting in and serving in the U.S. military, except under narrow exceptions.

From January 28 to March 27, 2025, the U.S. Navy began rejecting all transgender applicants. Across the rest of the U.S. Armed Forces, transgender enlistment and access to publicly funded gender-affirming surgeries were paused on February 7, 2025, and a full ban on transgender service was implemented on February 26, 2025. These restrictions were paused from March 27, when a nationwide preliminary injunction was issued in the case Shilling v. United States, to May 6, when the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the injunction allowing the ban to resume effect. As of September 2025, the ban is being appealed in the Ninth Circuit.

Unlike bisexuals, gays, and lesbians, whose service was codified by the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, transgender service and enlistment policies in the U.S. military are not codified in the United States Code. The only statutory provision is the Selective Service System, which requires all transgender women in the United States who were assigned male at birth and are ages 18–25 to register regardless of legal or medical transition, though they would not be drafted if induction were reinstated, provided they can present at least one government document showing their legal gender marker as female.

This absence of codification allows for frequent policy changes via administrative and executive directives, making it a recurring issue of political contention. This dynamic has been described as an example of a political football, with policies frequently revised or reversed depending on the administration in power, resulting in five major transgender U.S. military policy changes across four presidential administrations in less than a decade since June 30, 2016.