Homosexuality is legal in Sumatra Utara.

Article 1 of Law No. 1 of the Year 1974 on Marriage states unequivocally that marriage is "a physical and spiritual bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife, having the purpose of establishing a happy and lasting family founded on the Belief in God Almighty", effectively banning same-sex marriage in Indonesia.

Since 2008, Indonesia regularly censors LGBTIQ+ content. Laws against pornography prohibit content relating to "deviant intercourse", which has been interpreted to include homosexuality, even when there is no explicit imagery involved.

Some popular LGBT websites have also been banned. Nevertheless, LGBT movies are most times free to be broadcasted in Indonesian cinemas.

Since 2016, there has been an increase in persecution of LGBTIQ+ people in Indonesia with several people arrested under vague pornography laws and repeated attempts at criminalisation.

In 1973, Vivian Rubianti became the first person in Indonesia to have their legal gender recognised after surgery.

A court ruling in Indonesia in December 2009 stipulated that Indonesians who have undergone gender re-assignment surgery must be allowed to change their gender on identity documents.

In August 2023, Indonesia passed Undang-Undang Kesehatan Number 17, a new health law that includes passages that restrict plastic and reconstructive surgery related to changing appearances, including sex reassignment surgery.

Indonesia does not legally recognize non-binary identities, despite genderless identities being part of its culture and history.

There are no laws or legal provisions prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

There is no anti-discrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Theoretically there is a guarantee of protection against discriminatory practices based on any
ground in the Constitution and the Human Rights Law (No. 39/1999). Similarly, the Labor Law
(No. 13/2003) prohibits discrimination in employment. However, this is little known in LGBT
communities, and has not been used in court in a case to challenge discrimination against LGBT
people.

There are no protections from discrimination in housing provided to LGBTIQ+ people in Indonesia.

According to Government Regulation Number 54 of 2007 concerning the Implementation of Child Adoption, Article 16 stipulates as folllows:

(1) Adoption of children by single parents can only be carried out by Indonesian citizens after obtaining permission from the Minister.

The granting of permits as intended in paragraph (1) can be delegated to the head of a social agency in the province.

Under this technicality, a LGBT prospective parent may be able to adopt while single, no known case has been documented of minister approval.

Surgery on intersex infants is legal in Indonesia but not reported to be practiced.

In 2021, the Supreme Court affirmed that it was legal for police forces to dismiss LGBTIQ+ staff after an officer was fired for his "sexual orientation" by the Central Java Police in 2018 and attempted to appeal. Armed forces personnel are also subject to dismissal or jail time if found guilty of same-sex conduct per TNI telegrams ST/398/2009 and ST/1648/2019, which have been applied in numerous reported military court cases.

Under the ST/398/2009 telegram letter of the Indonesian Military, it is illegal for gays and lesbians to have same-sex acts with the same gender. The Indonesian Military aggressively hunts, cracks down, imprison, and dishonorably discharges LGBTQIA+ identifying members of the Indonesian Military. Numerous people inside the Military were imprisoned if vigilantes caught Military members having private, consensual, gay sex.

The former Commander of the National Armed Forces of Indonesia, Andika Perkasa stated there are no laws banning LGBT people to serve in Indonesian Military. However, he realized that the Indonesian military doesn’t allow “indecent sexual acts” to happen in the military.

The Indonesian Red Cross said that LGBTQIA+ identifying people are not recommended to donate blood because of their "risky sexual activities" including anal sex that can get them infected with HIV.

No law or regulation prohibited or otherwise restricted so-called conversion therapy practices. According to activists, transgender individuals were at times subjected to “therapy” such as exorcism practices, religious camps, and other traumatic practices.

In 2019, the age of consent was equalised for both homosexual and heterosexual relations in North Sumatra.