Parental Consent Laws in the United States
Parental consent rules apply across many areas affecting minors — including medical care, marriage, travel, social-media accounts, and judicial proceedings.
Medical care
Most states require parental consent for non-emergency medical treatment of minors, with exceptions for emancipated minors, mature-minor doctrine, and specific carve-outs (mental health, contraception, STI testing).
Marriage
Roughly half of U.S. states permit marriage of 16–17-year-olds with parental consent. Several require additional judicial approval.
Travel
The U.S. State Department requires both parents' consent for a minor's first passport. Many countries also require notarized travel-consent letters when a minor travels with one parent or another adult.
Digital and educational records
FERPA governs educational records; COPPA governs online services for children under 13. Both require verifiable parental consent before disclosure or data collection.