Trans Youth Handbook

This Handbook was created to help you learn about your legal rights in different areas of your life.

The information in this Handbook should not be considered legal advice. This Handbook provides legal information but does not attempt to apply that information to any specific situation. This guide was fully updated in September 2024 and partially updated in April 2025 to indicate areas where the law may be changing or uncertain.

Over the past several years, there has been an influx of anti-LGBTQ+ action, including Federal Executive Orders under the Trump Administration and proposed and enacted state and federal legislation, which create legal uncertainty. This is especially true in the context of schools, health care, identity documents, and family rights. As such, the information in this Handbook may not be up-to-date at the time of reading; we encourage you to consult the latest state of the law in the state where you live. You can find comprehensive and up-to-date information about the law in your state at the Movement Advancement Project website.

You can click on the links below to access the different sections online. You can also access the entire handbook by clicking here

You can also review Resources and Definitions, which lists additional helpful resources and definitions for the terms used in this Handbook.

If you have a question about your specific legal situation, you should contact NCLR’s legal helpline by phone at (415) 392-6257 or (800) 528-6257. You can also contact the helpline by e-mail at info@nclrights.org.

• Section One: Law in Flux - provides important context on the changing state of the law and how it might affect the rights described in this handbook.
• Section Two: Identity Documents - provides information about changing your identity documents.
• ​​​​​​Section Three: School - Explains the rights you have at school.
• Section Four: Health Care - addresses getting access to transition-related health care.
• Section Five: Non-Affirming Care Environments - explains how your legal rights are affected if one or more of your parent(s) or guardian(s) does not affirm your gender identity or if you do not live with your parent(s) or guardian(s).
• Section Six: Jobs - explains the rights you have at work.