Can I leave my home at 16 without my parents' consent?

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Thanks for reaching out to us here at National Runaway Safeline. We know it takes a lot of courage to reach out for support, and we're glad you did. It sounds like you had a rough day with your mom and stepdad showing up to your job and arguing with you in front of your coworkers. Feeling like they took it way too far is understandable, especially if you were trying to do something nice for someone else. If you think moving out is the best option for you, but your mom won't let you leave, it might be a good idea to try and have a conversation with her about how you're feeling. If you find it challenging to talk with her one on one, it could help to have someone else there that you're comfortable with, like a family member, family friend, or even a therapist. If those aren't options for you, we can also help you plan that conversation and/or facilitate it with you.

In thinking about leaving home, it's important to spend some time thinking about a plan. Consider thinking about where you will go, how you will get there, and how you'll provide for yourself. If you have someone you'd like to stay with, it's a good idea to talk your plan over with them to make sure they're okay with it. If your mom's permission is important to you, having a plan spelled out might be useful. She may also be more willing to let you leave if you can both agree on another place for you to stay, even if it's just for a cooling off period.

Whatever you decide to do, we're here for you. Please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-RUNAWAY or chat with us through our website at 1800runaway.org. We're available 24/7, and are always happy to help.

I am 16 years old, and i'm living with my brother and sister in law. they have guardianship of me. can i leave the house to live with my mom? and what are my options if the police get involved or court?

i’m 16 and i live with my mom and step dad ive always thought my mom had changed since being with him i’m always told i’m not grown and they put me down even when i try to get them to listen to my reason why, they don’t and today i work at KFC and they showed up to my job because my car wasn’t there but it wasn’t there for a reason i was helping my boyfriends mom with washing her clothes and we took her car all my co workers was watching them arguing with me and i think they took it way to far and i want to move out seeing it’s the best option for me i hate living here but i don’t think my mom will let me leave what should i do?

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Hello There,

Thank you so much for reaching out to The National Runaway Safeline, it takes great courage to reach out and we are so glad that you have decided to reach out.
You are going through a difficult time and we want you to know that you are not alone. You do not deserve to be treated the way you have been treated. Because you are a minor it is considered neglect whenever your mother kicks you out. You do have a right to report the neglect and the abuse. You can make a report by calling Child Help at : 1800-422-4453. You can also call or chat with us and we can help you with making a report.
It is great that you have a job and that they are willing to help you. To find out more about the emancipation process you can call your local court house and they would be able to help you start the process. Keep in mind emancipation can take a few months and can sometimes be costly.
We know you mentioned suicide and we want you to know that you are worth living and your life is valuable. If you are ever feeling suicidal or need someone to talk to there is always someone willing to help and willing to listen. Please reach out to The National Suicide Prevention Hotline at: 800-273-8255.
We hope that this information will be helpful to you in your situation. If you have any other questions or would like to explore more options please give us a call. We are available 24/7 to listen and to provide support.
Stay Strong,
NRS

[ccsmod2]

Hello There,
Thank you so much for reaching out to The National Runaway Safeline, we are here to help and here to listen. It sounds like you are going through a difficult time right now, and we want you to know you are not alone.
We are not legal experts but we do have some information on what could happen if you were to leave. Because you are considered a minor if you left without permission your legal guardian could file a runaway report. Running away is a status offense what that means is if you were found you most likely would not be in any legal trouble but you would be returned home to your legal guardian.
We are sorry to hear that you have been abused, and you do not deserve to be abused. It is understandable to be afraid of telling people about the abuse, but we want you to know it is always an option. If you did want to report the abuse you can call Child Help at 1800-422-4453, you can also call us and we can help with an abuse report. Unfortunately, every case is different so it is hard to tell what would happen once you told CPS. In most cases they investigate within 72 hours of reporting. After that they can decide what services to provide such as counseling, parenting classes, or family supervision. If you are in danger they may find placement for you such as living with another family member. If you are in danger, please call 911.
We hope that this information will be helpful to you in your situation. If you have any other questions please give us a call. We are here 24/7 to listen and provide support to you. Best of luck!
NRS

[ccsmod2]

Hello There,
Thank you so much for reaching out to The National Runaway Safeline, we are here to help and here to listen. It sounds like you are going through a difficult time right now, and we want you to know you are not alone.
We are not legal experts but we do have some information on what could happen if you were to leave. Because you are considered a minor if you left without permission your legal guardian could file a runaway report. Running away is a status offense what that means is if you were found you most likely would not be in any legal trouble but you would be returned home to your legal guardian.
We are sorry to hear that you have been abused, and you do not deserve to be abused. It is understandable to be afraid of telling people about the abuse, but we want you to know it is always an option. If you did want to report the abuse you can call Child Help at 1800-422-4453, you can also call us and we can help with an abuse report. Unfortunately, every case is different so it is hard to tell what would happen once you told CPS. In most cases they investigate within 72 hours of reporting. After that they can decide what services to provide such as counseling, parenting classes, or family supervision. If you are in danger they may find placement for you such as living with another family member. If you are in danger, please call 911.
We hope that this information will be helpful to you in your situation. If you have any other questions please give us a call. We are here 24/7 to listen and provide support to you. Best of luck!
NRS

[ccsmod2]

Hello, thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline (NRS). We understand that it takes great courage to reach out, and we appreciate you sharing a little bit about what has been going on. We are so sorry to hear about your parents; our deepest condolences. Its seems as if you have endured a lot throughout the few years so we commend you for your strength and resilience. It must be hard dealing with your aunt being rude to you, as no one should have to experience that type of disrespect.

We are not legal experts however we do have a lot of experience working with youth. If you would like to live with your grandparents, the courts may need to get involved. You would also need to get consent from your current legal guardians. You may like to consider having a conversation with your grandparents during your next visit about potentially living with them permanently. If you grandparents were okay with the agreement, they would need to reach out to both your aunt and uncle. You may also like to consider having a conversation with your aunt and uncle about your current living arrangement. If you would feel more comfortable, you could also have a trusted individual to mediate the conversation.

We are here as support to help through this challenging time. We can best help you by telephone or chat as NRS is unable to respond more than twice on the forum to assist you. If you would like to talk more in detail, please call or chat us soon.

We can be reached at 1-800-RUNAWAY (786-2929); www.1800runaway.org (click on the chat button).

Hi im 16 years old and i live in texas. My stepmom has been kicking me out for years but calls me in as a runaway, She has been threatening to kill me and has been hurting me physically and emotionally. If im a 16 year old in college can i runaway? Im looking into getting emanicapted. I have a job and they are aware of whats going on at home. They are willing to help me get out of that home. Ive thought about suicide but i would love to live my life. I dont have any family but the closest person to me is my coworker and she has offered to help me runaway. her boyfriend is a police officer and he wants to help as well. What should i do? Im scared to go home. All they do is hit me and force me to do things.

I am 16 years old and I am currently at a camp that has helped me understand how much abuse my parents have put on me. I want to go move out and live with my close friend that lives about 2 hour away from me Is that legal? What if im to scared to tell people that I was abused then what will happen? If i tell CPS about the abuse what will happen to my family? I only have 2 weeks to figure this all out but I am really scared to go back home but I don't want to get a runaway file on my name. Please help me.

Hey, I don't know if this is still active or not, but I want to know how I could legally live with my grandparents. I turned 16 in July. When I was 7, my mother died of cancer, so I had to live with people who I've been calling my aunt and uncle. I used to have to visit my father every Sunday at my grandparents house, which I loved. My dad passed when I was 10, and my grandparents took my aunt and uncle to court to get full custody of me. I said I only wanted visitation at that time, so now I get visitations with them once a month. However, I really want to live with them now. It seems like after my father passed away, and after the whole court situation, my aunt in particular, has been very rude to me. She has been getting in my face over the simplest things, I have been shoved up to the closet, but nothing really too physical. I want to go live with my grandparents, but I want to know if I could legally move there. I haven't had my phone since like 7th grade, because I get grounded over almost anything. I just feel like my anxiety spikes every time my aunt walks in the room. She just talks to me disrespectfully. Nobody else but my half sister notices how she treats me. And, to be honest, I can't emotionally handle this any more. I want to move to my grandparents house so bad. I'm not looking to run away, because they would just call the police and I would be returned home. I want to know if I legally have the option to live somewhere else. I can e-mail, but not call. Thank you in advance.

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Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to us. It takes a lot of courage to ask for help especially with everything that is going on in your house. It is very stressful to be in a home where you are not getting your basic needs met. You deserve to be treated better and most certainly deserve to never be hit or threatened to be thrown out of the house. It makes sense that you want to be out on your own and setting up a safe place to live. Legally at 16 you are still a minor and your parents could file a runaway report if you left. If you had interactions with the police as a runaway, the police would be obligated to return you home if they felt you would be safe and cared for. Your boyfriend and his family probably would not get in trouble for giving you a place to stay, but harboring a runaway charges could always be a risk for them. If you call our 24/7 hotline at 1-800-RUNAWAY or start a chat on our website 1800runaway.org, we can discuss options and resources in your area.

We hope to hear from you soon so that we can help,

Good luck,
NRS

Hi my names Sammie
I wanted to know if im aloud to move out and in with people i trust because in my house its a very toxic place my parents are hippocritical assholes who flip me off ******** talk me 24/7 they deprive me and my sister of our needs like clothes that fit and basics like razors and deodorant there are times where there is no soaps in the shower but my mom has her own that she hides and buys her self all the time so when we are out she doesn’t care because she has her stuff my dad tells me to pack up and leave cusses me out hits me and my siblings and makes us feel as if we will never be good enough no matter how hard we try im 16 and my boyfriend said hes tired of me crying every night because of how ass my parents are and i should move in with him i want to know if i leave without asking my parents and move from ct to ri can i get me or my boyfriend into trouble im getting a job he is about to have a job hes waiting for a call back and his grampa is letting us live in his house till we can afford our own

[ccsmod6]

Hello and thank you for reaching out to the National Runaway Safeline. We’re sorry to hear that your parents are being inappropriately violent towards you. They should never physically harm or endanger you and it is awful that they have.

While we are not legal experts, we do have a great deal of experience working with runaways. It is not illegal to run away. Your parent/guardian could file a runaway report on you but this would NOT mean that you would get arrested or charged with anything. It typically does mean that the police could return you home if they encountered you and that would be that. Some police can be more understanding about what is going on at your home. In our experience, police will oftentimes return the youth back to their guardian almost no matter what. Police typically do not actively search for a runaway youth. However, they will go where the parent/guardian directs them if they know where you are staying. Additionally, police can sometimes be more lenient about runaway situations the closer you are to 18. You can attempt to calmly, respectfully, and persistently deny them consent to touch you or take you anywhere, and they may give up on trying to return you home. They also may not, in which case you should comply with what they tell you to do for your safety.

There can be risk of what is called “harboring a runaway” charges for the people you are staying with. While the risk of such charges are significantly lower given how close you are to 18, they are still a risk. It is typically considered a misdemeanor offense if it is successfully pursued. It might be wise to reach out to your local police to find out more about your girlfriend’s family’s risk.

If you want to talk more about what is going on, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-786-2929 or chat with us at 1800runaway.org.

Take care,
NRS

Hi I am 17 years old I turn 18 on november 25th my parents have been treated me badly yell at me and insult me alot 1 time my mom punched me in the face because I was protecting my face from her hits and she left me bleeding from my mouth what actions can I do and what can happen to my girlfriend family if her parents let me stay since I turn 18 in 2 weeks or so would j be forced to go back home and or what can my parents do to take me back

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Hi,

Thanks for reaching out to us at the National Runaway Safeline. We are so sorry that things are so tough at home, and we hope to be of some help to you in figuring out your next steps.
It sounds like you have endured some emotional abuse at home and in one instance it got physical. We want you to know that this is never okay, and you deserve to be in a home in which you feel safe and comfortable. You mention reservations about reporting the abuse, but we want you to know this is always an option. We can help you do it. There is also an amazing resource called Child Help, which can be reached at 1-800-422-4453 or www.childhelp.org. They can tell you more about how CPS could respond to your situation.

We are not legal experts, so we cannot answer exactly about your parents’ ability to take your phone away if you are paying for it. In regards to running away, we can say that 18 is the age at which a person can leave home without the consent of parents or guardians. If a person under 18 leaves home without this consent, they may be reported as a runaway youth and found and brought home by police. Police actions can vary from county to county, but it is also important to know that it is not illegal to run away, so you will not be charged in any way. You may consider enlisting your boyfriend’s parents for help in talking to your parents and procuring the consent. Sometimes adults will respond better to other adults.

We hope that some of this information is useful to you. We are so sorry to hear that things have been hard at home, and we hope that this empowers you to make the best decision for your mental health. We are always available to talk on the phone at 1-800-RUNAWAY or via instant message at 1800runaway.org. We will be here 24/7 to listen, and to help.

Stay safe and strong out there,
NRS