Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. Call us if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in a crisis or if you’re not sure you’re trans.
Oprime 2 para hablar con alguien en español.
Trans Lifeline’s hotline operating hours are Monday through Friday:
- 10 AM – 6 PM Pacific
- 11 AM – 7 PM Mountain
- 12 PM – 8 PM Central
- 1 PM – 9 PM Eastern
When volumes are high, it may take longer to get connected—please try calling or texting again.
Scheduled Hotline Closures
At Trans Lifeline, we know that ongoing, sustainable peer support requires care not only for our callers but also for our operators, who hold space for our community through deeply challenging times. As we navigate this political moment, we are making adjustments to better care for our team and ensure the long-term sustainability of our work. One of these changes is closing our hotline on certain holidays—days of cultural, political, and community significance that deserve space for reflection and rest.
Here are the dates when our hotline will be closed in 2025:
- (No More) Presidents Day – February 17
- Ramadan (observed) – March 3
- Passover (observed) – April 14
- International Workers’ Day – May 1
- Memorial Day – May 26
- Juneteenth – June 19
- Stonewall Anniversary – June 26
- Fourth of the Lie – July 4
- Labor Day – September 1
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day – October 13
- Trans Day of Remembrance – November 20
- National Day of Mourning – November 27
- Christmas Day – December 25
Línea directa in español
La línea directa de Trans Lifeline es un servicio telefónico de apoyo dirigido por personas transgénero para las personas transgénero y/o que están cuestionando su género. Creemos que el mejor apoyo que las personas Trans pueden recibir es el de los miembros de la comunidad Trans con experiencias de vida compartidas.
Llámanos si necesitas a alguien Trans con quien hablar, incluso si no estás en crisis o no sabes con certeza si eres transgénero.
Marca al (877) 565-8860 en los Estados Unidos o al (877) 330-6366 en Canadá y oprime el #2 para conectarte con operadorxs que hablan español.
Calling is Courageous
Here’s what we want you to know:
- We don’t define what a crisis is and isn’t, and you don’t need to be in a crisis to call.
- Call us for any reason. You deserve support.
- Your call will be answered by a trans person.
- There’s nothing you have to say or any intake questions you’ll have to answer. We can just talk to you, or we can just listen.
- If you experience vocal dysphoria, we won’t assume your gender identity.
- You won’t be asked for any identifying information.
- We do not call any emergency services or otherwise break your confidentiality without your explicit request.
Commitments
Trans Lifeline respects your gender identity, and we will provide you with support without judgment. We do not expect you to disclose specifics about your gender identity, transition, or pronouns. Still, we may ask questions about your needs to help connect you with the best possible resources.
Everyone who contacts us is treated with respect, regardless of age, nationality, race/ethnicity, religion, orientation, socioeconomic status, immigration status, mental or physical ability, or body type, including intersex status. We won’t judge you for your experiences, history, background, identity, where you are in your transition, if/how you choose to transition, or anything you choose or need to do to survive.
All of our operators are trans-identified, but we cannot guarantee that you will be able to speak to a specific individual or a person of a particular identity. But we will do our best to provide you with the support you need.
Our operators are here to provide peer support to anyone trans and questioning. Trans Lifeline is committed to combating racism, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, xenophobia, ableism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, classism, and other oppressive structures.
As a rule, operators will not share personal contact information of their own in order to preserve confidentiality.
Different operators may have different boundaries regarding self-disclosure and conversation topics. Both help-seekers and operators have the right to set boundaries around how much information to share about themselves and what topics they are comfortable discussing.
Both help-seekers and operators have the right to end a call when needed.
Trans Lifeline does not tolerate anyone using the line for sexual gratification or to prank, harass, or verbally abuse operators. Any person who abuses the line may be blocked from calling or texting again. The same applies to those making bigoted commentary or looking to debate issues affecting our communities. Blocks cannot be appealed. Telephone harassment is a prosecutable offense.
While we have a strict policy against non-consensual active rescue, we reserve the right to report any call or chat containing credible threats of violence to others and to comply with laws regarding suspected child abuse and neglect. See a description of state laws here.
FAQs
We do not put callers on hold when all our operators are busy because callers have let us know that doesn’t feel supportive. Visit here for next steps.
All calls and chat logs are recorded for quality assurance purposes, but the operator you speak with will only have access to the information you give them. These recordings are deleted after 90 days. We do not perform nonconsensual intervention and sharing of your information with law enforcement via our Hotline. You can learn more about our data protection and management by reading our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.
Our Hotline is anonymous for both help-seekers and operators. This means our operators are unable to see your phone number and you are unable to access our operators’ phone numbers. We will not require you to provide personally identifying information; including name, phone number, location, or demographic information; and our operators will not disclose personally identifying information of their own.
We don’t use caller ID, call tracing, or geolocation services. This also means we are not able to provide identifying information to emergency services or law enforcement. We don’t have access to any of your names or your country, state, town, or address unless you give that to us. Our operators will only know what you tell them and will not ask you for any of that information. If you are looking for resources, an operator may ask you what area you’d like us to look in.
Our Hotline is fully confidential, both for help-seekers and operators. This means an operator will not share the contents of your call with anyone inside or outside our organization but may reach out to other operators for resources in your area should you request that service. See here for a full explanation of our mandated reporting policy.
All calls are recorded for quality assurance purposes. The only people with open access to these recordings are our Tech and Hotline leadership staff. Recordings will never be shared outside the organization. We gather some general data on the needs and challenges our callers face for advocacy purposes, but it is anonymous and untraceable.
We are currently preparing to offer text-based chat support. Please check back soon for more information.
We do not offer call-back services at this time.
Trans Lifeline has a policy against nonconsensual active rescue. We will not call emergency services or law enforcement without your explicit request – even if you tell us you or someone else is in danger.
If you would like support requesting an ambulance or calling 911, we can assist you after informing you about that process and what may be triggered.
Any caller or operator can end any call for any reason. If you need support after your call, you can call back as often as you like, though you may not speak with the same operator each time.
To become a volunteer operator on our Hotline, you must identify as trans or nonbinary, be 18+, have access to reliable phone and internet service, and go through our 36 hr training program. Learn more here.
Microgrants provide trans and nonbinary people with low-barrier funds and support to correct names and/or gender markers on identifying legal documents and support our trans siblings behind bars. Learn more here.
Currently our Microgrants programs are paused until further notice, as we are unable to distribute Microgrants at this time. Click here to learn more about the circumstances that led to this decision.
Veronica (she/her), Hotline Operator
I bring the perspective of someone who transitioned later in life. I love it when I have the privilege of being the first trans person a caller has spoken to. I want to give trans people the tools to find and build community in their own area.
Karleigh (she/her), Hotline Operator
I want to go beyond the nuts and bolts to find out what drives you, what do you like to do, what do you enjoy. We have to define our lives beyond HRT and surgeries, we have to keep our passions and our focus as whole human beings.
Hotline Community Partners
