Advice and your rights if you want to leave home

When you can leave home

If you are 16 or over

When you are 16 years old you usually have the right to leave home and your parents, carers or anyone else you live with cannot stop you.

If you are reported missing, you can tell the police that you are safe and well, and we will not tell anyone where you are if you do not want us to.

This can be different if you have any court orders saying who you must live with.

Advice and support for missing people

If you are under 16

If you are under 16, your parents or carers have a duty to keep you safe, which means you cannot leave home.

If you run away from home and you are reported missing, we will usually take you home if we find you. But tell us if you do not feel safe at home and we will help you.

Support leaving home in a difficult situation

If you are over 16 and want to leave your home, but it is difficult for some reason (for example an abusive person is stopping you), you can ask us for help leaving home.

Call 999 if you are in danger and need immediate help.

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service 18000 or text us on 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.

Or call 101 if it is not an emergency.