In a significant victory for LGBTQ+ advocates, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed Senate Bill 18 into law, establishing a robust shield of privacy for transgender minors navigating the legal name-change process. The legislation, which officially takes effect on July 1, 2026, requires state courts to seal the records of name-change petitions for individuals under the age of 18, ensuring that these sensitive legal transitions remain out of the public eye.
The bill’s passage marks a pivotal moment in Colorado’s ongoing effort to solidify its status as a sanctuary for transgender rights. Under the new law, name-change records for minors will be automatically suppressed and made accessible only by court order or to specific judicial officers. This change aims to prevent the “outing” of transgender children, a practice that advocates say has led to harassment and safety concerns in school communities.
“Passing this bill is simple, but its impact is profound,” says state Senator Katie Wallace, a Longmont Democrat and one of the bill’s primary sponsors. “It gives children the safety and dignity they deserve, and it treats their private life with the same care we afford in other sensitive cases.”
The legislative journey was not without compromise. An earlier version of the bill included a provision that would have directed family court judges to consider a parent’s support of a child’s gender identity when determining custody or parenting time. However, following pushback from Republican lawmakers and a potential veto threat from Governor Polis over concerns regarding the complexity of family law, the sponsors opted to remove that section to ensure the privacy protections survived.
Community advocates emphasized that the law’s benefits extend beyond the transgender community. Z Williams, co-director of the Bread and Roses Legal Center, testified about the dangers of public records being used to target children. Williams noted that the bill was inspired by real-world instances where “that parent looked up the child’s name change and exposed that child as transgender in second grade to the entire school community.”
Additionally, the law provides a vital pathway for Indigenous youth. Zorion Wilbanks, an outreach specialist for the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, highlighted that the policy protects children seeking to use spiritual names. Wilbanks stated that it is essential to have “a route for youth to be able to be seen as their spiritual names rather than their first and often English names.”
By prioritizing the safety of some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, Colorado’s Democratic supermajority has once again signaled its commitment to personal identity and privacy in an increasingly polarized national landscape.
