Spanish firefighter trainee changes sex and applies for job reserved for women

The candidates have already completed much of the selection process, including the physical tests, and the 46-year-old applicant, who is married and has children, is currently among the highest-ranked candidates in the women's category. This means they have a strong chance of securing a permanent position as a career civil servant.

A number of candidates want the recruitment panel to investigate the case and potentially exclude the applicant if it establishes that the change was made fraudulently.

The recruitment process was launched by the provincial authority in November 2025. Four of the posts were reserved exclusively for women, in line with the law, which obliges public authorities in the Basque Country to introduce measures aimed at balancing the representation of women and men.

The quota system had already caused internal controversy. In addition to the different tests candidates must take depending on their legal sex, many male applicants say that the system gives them less chance of securing a public-sector job than female candidates.

The controversy intensified when that one applicant changed their legal sex before the recruitment process had begun. They did so under Spain's 2023 trans law, which allows people to change their registered sex without providing medical or psychological reports and without undergoing hormone treatment or surgery.

The case has caused particular resentment among other candidates, who have described the applicant as a long-standing figure in the profession. The person, who lives in the Las Encartaciones area, works as an interim firefighter in Gipuzkoa.

According to other candidates, the applicant had previously taken part in selection processes as a man but failed to secure a position. Other sources also said that the applicant had previously expressed dissatisfaction to several colleagues about the quotas for women in recruitment processes.

As a result, some candidates believe the change of legal sex was made solely to obtain a permanent job. They accuse the applicant of taking advantage of legislation intended to promote equal opportunities for men and women.

Many candidates are calling for the recruitment panel to investigate the case. They point to the recruitment rules, which give the provincial authority the power to exclude applicants who engage in "fraudulent conduct" or create "unfair competition" that breaches the principles of equality, merit and ability.

The same section explicitly refers to fraudulent conduct involving Spain's trans law. According to the rules, exclusion requires there to be "reasonable and well-founded indications" of fraud.

The candidates said that there are numerous such "indications" in this case. They pointed first to the fact that the change to the applicant's registered sex had come after they had failed previous recruitment processes while competing as a man.

They also stated that the applicant had not used women's changing rooms, including at their job as an interim firefighter in Gipuzkoa. They said that there have been no apparent changes in the applicant's life or in their "masculine appearance and gender expression".

They cited the athletics and swimming tests held in Bilbao, which the applicant completed alongside the female candidates.

In recent years, several cases have emerged involving people whose changes of registered sex have attracted suspicion. One of the most recent concerns a firefighter in Vitoria who was temporarily hired to work shifts.

In that case, several candidates complained that the authorities had taken "no action" to investigate possible fraud.

The legislation, which has faced criticism from feminist organisations, requires applicants to make two visits to the civil registry to complete the process. During the first appointment, they request the change of registered sex and, if they wish, a change of name. They are informed about the legal consequences of the change and, in principle, are asked a series of questions.

The applicant must then return to the registry within three months to "confirm" their request.

No medical or psychological reports are required, nor must applicants undergo hormone treatment or surgery beforehand.

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