49 of 2003) is a South African Act of Parliament which allows a person to change, under certain conditions, their sex recorded in the population registry.
The change in sex is valid for all purposes, but does not affect any rights or obligations the person had before it occurred.
The law was criticised by the Cape Town Transsexual/Transgender Support Group because it requires medical or surgical treatment before a change can be registered.
[1] Conversely, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) objected to the act based on the belief that sex is biologically determined at birth.
[2] In 2013 it was reported, in response to a question in Parliament, that 95 people had legally changed their gender under the law.