Moving out at 17

Thank you for writing to us here at National Runaway Safeline (NRS). It is very unfortunate that your parents try to keep your daughter away from her father. As a father he the right to see his child, if they continue to try to keep him from seeing her he has the right to take legal action. It sounds like you want to move out of your parents home. In most states, the legal age to move without getting parents permission is 18. Although you have a child, you are still considered a minor. Since you are a minor, your parents have the right to file a runaway report if you leave out without their consent. With a runaway report, if the police find you they would return you home. Although running away is not illegal, your boyfriend could get in trouble for harboring a runaway if you decided to stay with him. However since you are 17, some police do not accept runaway reports for 17 year old's. You could contact your local police department through their non-emergency number to ask about their runaway policy. If you do not feel comfortable calling, we could contact the police for you. The easiest way for you to move out is to get your parent's permission. You may also want to consider looking into emancipation options. We hope that this information helps, if you have any other questions please feel free to contact us directly via our 24 hour crisis hotline (1-800-786-2929), email, or live chat.

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