Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Hungary face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents, although the view of LGBTQ people and LGBTQ rights in Hungarian society has slightly improved in recent years. Homosexuality is legal in Hungary for both men and women. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and sex is banned in the country. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the same legal rights available to heterosexual married couples. Registered partnership for same-sex couples was legalised in 2009, but same-sex marriage remains banned.
Under the far-right government of Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian government began to enact a number of anti-LGBTQ policies in the 2020s, including a 2020 bill which ended legal recognition of gender identity, a resolution against the Istanbul Convention due to its alleged promotion of "gender ideology", a 2021 "child protection" law prohibiting the distribution of content promoting homosexuality or gender transitions to minors, a 2025 law banning public assemblies that violate the child protection law (such as parades), and an amendment to Fundamental Law codifying gender as a male-female binary. After being denied police permits due to the pride parade ban, Budapest Pride went on as a demonstration against the Orbán government, and Mayor Gergely Karácsony was charged with holding an illegal public assembly.
In April 2026, Orbán was defeated in the 2026 parliamentary election by Péter Magyar's Tisza Party. Shortly afterward, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the Orbán-era "child protection" laws violated the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Treaty of the European Union, as it infringed upon freedom of expression and fundamental rights. The Budapest police reversed its ban on Budapest Pride and dropped its charges against Mayor Karácsony, while Magyar announced the government's intent to amend the child protection law to remove its LGBTQ-related provisions.
Law regarding same-sex sexual activity The first Hungarian Penal Code by Károly Csemegi (1878) punished homosexuality between men ("természet elleni fajtalanság" – perversion against nature (nature's law)) with prison up to one year. Homosexual activity above the age of 20 was decriminalized in 1961, then above the age of 18 in 1978 by the new Penal Code. The age of consent, which is 14, has applied equally to heterosexual and homosexual activity since a Constitutional Court decision of 2002. Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are not banned from openly serving in the military service.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
Unregistered cohabitation has been recognised since 1996. It applies to any couple living together in an economic and sexual relationship (common-law marriage), including same-sex couples. No official registration is required. The law gives some specified rights and benefits to two persons living together. Unregistered cohabitation is defined in the Civil Code as "when two persons are living together outside of wedlock in an emotional and financial community in the same household, provided that neither of them is engaged in wedlock or partnership with another person, registered or otherwise, and that they are not related in direct line, and they are not siblings." Inheritance is possible only with testament, and widow-pension is available for couples cohabiting for more than 10 years.
On 17 December 2007, the Parliament adopted a registered partnership bill submitted by the Hungarian Socialist Party–Alliance of Free Democrats Government. The bill was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court because it duplicated the institution of marriage for opposite-sex couples. In February 2009, the Parliament approval a modified version of the bill. Since 1 July 2009, same-sex couples can enter into registered partnerships. The law gives the same rights to registered partners as to spouses except for adoption, assisted reproduction or taking a surname.
On 1 January 2012, a new constitution, enacted by the Parliament in 2011, came into effect, restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples and containing no guarantees of protection from discrimination on account of sexual orientation. Viktor Orbán, leader of the ruling Fidesz party, which recently came to power with a two-thirds majority in the parliament, has been dubbed “Viktator” by the crowds protesting the new constitution. However, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation remains banned through interpretation of the general non-discrimination provision in the Constitution, as well as by the Equal Treatment Act.
Adoption and family planning Although same-sex couples cannot adopt jointly, adoption by individuals is illegal regardless of sexual orientation or partnership status. Stepchild adoption is only available for married (different-sex) couples.
Access to IVF and donor insemination is available for single women regardless of sexual orientation, but not available for lesbians cohabiting or in a registered partnership with their same-sex partners.
In November 2017, the Hungarian Ombudsman found that the rejection of a lesbian couple's adoption application was "an infringement on the child's right to protection and care, and amounted to unlawful discrimination based on sexual orientation." As joint adoption for same-sex couples is not legal in Hungary, the couple decided that one of the partners would legally adopt the child. The couple was, however, very open about their relationship and were found suitable to adopt. During the following months, the couple took care of a 16-month-old girl, but child protection services later stopped the application procedure due to the couple's sexual orientation. This decision disrupted the life of the child, as she would not eat properly anymore and had to be taken to a child psychologist. The couple appealed to the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (the Ombudsman responsible for the rights of children, nationalities in Hungary, vulnerable social groups and the interests of future generations), who found the child protection service's rejection of the couple unlawful and discriminatory. The Commissioner said that "a person wishing to adopt has no right to adopt a particular child, but s/he does have the right to equal treatment and equality before the law in the procedure." The Commissioner based their decision on the 2008 E.B. v. France case, in which the European Court of Human Rights ruled that one's sexual orientation should not be a factor in adoption cases.
In October 2020, while discussing a children's book published by an LGBTQ organisation on Magyar Rádió, Prime Minister Orbán stated that, despite Hungary being "tolerant and patient" towards LGBTQ people, "there is a red line that cannot be crossed" and that "gays are to leave our children alone".
In November 2020, the Fidesz government proposed a constitutional amendment which would ban adoption by same-sex couples. Language in the amendment would ensure "education in accordance with the values based on Hungary's constitutional identity and Christian culture." The same amendment would also severely restrict the ability of single-parent families to adopt. On 16 December 2020 the amendment was passed by the National Assembly with 123 ayes, 45 nays and 5 abstentions.
In April 2023, Hungary's unicameral parliament passed a bill enabling and encouraging citizens to report same-sex couples which raise children to the state authorities - such as police and child protection. The President of Hungary Katalin Novák vetoed the bill - that formally prevented it from becoming enacted into law.
Discrimination protections In 2000, the Constitutional Court recognized that the constitutional ban on discrimination based on "other status" covers sexual orientation as well. The Act on Public Health has banned sexual orientation-related discrimination in health services since 1997 and gender identity-related discrimination since 2004. The 2003 Act on Equal Treatment and the Promotion of Equal Opportunities (), which took effect in January 2004, forbids discrimination based on factors that include sexual orientation and gender identity in the fields of employment, education, housing, health, and access to goods and services. Article 8 of the Act states as follows:
Gender identity and expression In December 2017, a government decree was published, establishing for the first time a legal basis for gender transitions. After 1 January 2018, transgender people living in Hungary were theoretically able to change their legal gender. They required a diagnosis from a medical professional, but did not have to undergo hormone therapy, sterilization or gender-affirming surgery. KATEGÓRIÁKBA ZÁRVA – TRANSZNEMŰ EMBEREK MAGYARORSZÁGON 20 November 2016 However, Transvanilla – an organization based in Budapest, which campaigns on behalf of transgender rights – reports that the government has refused to honor applications of the legal gender change since 2018. In 2019, a joint case of 23 people was created and submitted to the European Court of Human Rights.
In 2018, the Hungarian government removed accreditation from gender studies programs at Hungarian universities, arguing that there was no market for gender studies graduates. Bence Rétvári, the political undersecretary in the ministry of Human Resources justified the decision by claiming that, "Gender Studies - similarly to Marxism-Leninism - can be called an ideology rather than a science."
While Hungary, alongside the majority of EU countries, has signed the Istanbul Convention treaty that aims to combat and prevent violence against women, it has refused to take further action to ratify the Convention. In May 2020, the National Assembly adopted a resolution that rejected the Istanbul Convention, and supports the government declaration that claims that the measures of the treaty promote “destructive gender ideologies” and “illegal migration.” The declaration was adopted with 115 votes in favor, 35 against and three abstentions. The Hungarian government, including the Ministry of Justice, argued that the Hungarian law already contains a “comprehensive system for assisting and protecting victims.”
On 19 May 2020, the National Assembly voted 134–56 (with 4 abstaining) in favour of a bill that ended legal recognition of transgender and intersex persons; the bill enshrines a definition of sex (nem, which was previously interpreted as referring to both sex and gender) in federal law as an immutable male-female binary determined at birth which cannot be changed (születési nem). Dunja Mijatović, commissioner for human rights in the Council of Europe, stated it "contravenes human rights standards and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights". President János Áder signed the bill into law on 28 May 2020.