In February 2012, HUD promulgated the Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity final rule, which required that HUD-assisted and HUD-insured housing be made available without regard to sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status, and generally prohibited inquiries into sexual orientation or gender identity. The February 2012 Equal Access final rule also provided a limited exception for inquiries about the sex of an individual to determine eligibility for temporary, emergency shelters with shared sleeping areas or bathrooms and provided that HUD was not mandating a national policy on placement of transgender persons in single-sex shelters. In addition, HUD stated that it would continue to review whether additional guidance was necessary to provide transgender individuals with equal access to temporary, emergency shelters and other housing. Since the publication of the Equal Access final rule, HUD has conducted further review on the issue of transgender individuals’ access to temporary, emergency shelters and other facilities with physical limitations or configurations that require shared sleeping quarters or bathing facilities. In addition, on February 20, 2015, HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development published guidance that encouraged providers to make eligibility and placement decisions based on the gender with which the person identifies, taking health and safety concerns into consideration. This final rule is consistent with this guidance and requires recipients, subrecipients, and providers of services covered by programs administered by the Office of Community Planning and Development to provide transgender persons and other persons who do not identify with the sex that they were assigned at birth with access to programs, benefits, services, and accommodations in accordance with their gender identity. This final rule also amends the definition of gender identity” in HUD’s existing Equal Access regulations and removes the current prohibition on inquiries related to sexual orientation or gender identity, while maintaining the prohibition against discrimination on those bases.