Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Raleigh, NC (WNN) - As of Thursday, January 1, a new set of laws in North Carolina will take effect. These include House Bill 805, which recognizes only male and female as the two sexes, modifies current laws regarding gender-affirming healthcare, and establishes guidelines for school sleeping arrangements. The bill also allows students to skip certain classroom discussions or activities if they have religious objections.
While some bills became law on December 1, 2025, about 16 new laws or changes to current laws will take effect on January 1, 2026.
One of the laws to take effect on January 1 will recognize two sexes in North Carolina. The law states that sex will be defined only as male or female. It's part of a law that's already in effect, but this specific rule takes effect on Thursday, marking the start of the new year.
House Bill 805 defines sex as being male or female. It states that these definitions must rely on biological sex instead of gender identity or expression. The bill also states that gender identity "shall not be treated as legally or biologically equivalent to sex."
The law creates new requirements for websites that host pornographic videos or images. These sites must verify that everyone depicted in the content is at least 18 years old and has provided written consent to be filmed and have the content posted online.
Websites must collect consent forms with names, birth dates, and signatures, as well as verify government-issued IDs, such as driver's licenses. People must give separate permission for participating in sexual activity and for having images distributed online.
Anyone shown in pornographic content can ask to have it removed at any time. Websites have 72 hours to take down content after receiving a removal request.
Companies that break these rules face fines of up to $10,000 per day for each image that stays online. Those who appear in videos without giving their consent can also sue for $10,000 per day or actual damages, whichever is higher.
These rules were implemented on December 1, 2025.
The law says North Carolina cannot spend state money on gender transition procedures for people in prison. This includes surgery, hormones, and puberty blockers.
The state already banned using state funds for minors seeking gender transition. The State Health Plan for teachers and state workers is currently exempt due to a court case, but this exemption will end if the court ruling changes.
This part of the law started on July 1, 2025.
Adults who receive gender transition procedures now have 10 years to file medical malpractice lawsuits after discovering an injury and connecting it to their treatment. This is longer than the normal time limit.
Doctors cannot make patients sign forms giving up their right to sue over gender transition procedures. The law says such agreements are invalid. This also applies to past procedures, which can bring back lawsuits that have expired due to time constraints.
School boards must allow students or parents to opt out of class discussions, activities, or reading assignments that conflict with their religious beliefs. Schools must provide a variety of assignments that still meet educational standards.
Schools must post online lists of all library books so parents can see what's available. Parents can then block their own children from checking out specific books they don't want them to read.
Students of different biological sexes cannot share sleeping rooms on school trips unless all parents give written permission or the students are siblings or close relatives.
These school rules began with the 2025-2026 school year.
When someone's sex is changed on a birth certificate, the state will now keep both the original and the new certificate together as one multi-page document. When someone requests a certified copy, they will receive both pages showing the change that was made.
This took effect on December 1, 2025.
For more detailed information on the new laws, click here.
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