Female and male sterilization is an important and widely used method of contraception. While a safe and effective procedure, given its permanent nature care has to be taken when counselling men and women for this procedure to reduce the incidence of regret and reversal. Detailed discussion with both sexes regarding the risks of sterilization procedures and of alternative methods of contraception, such as long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), is vital to allow fully informed consent. Laparoscopic sterilization is a popular method of female sterilization and is associated with low complication rates. Minimally invasive vasectomy (MIV), performed under local anaesthetic in the outpatient setting, is becoming the gold standard technique for male sterilization and results in fewer operative complications and less postoperative pain than more traditional methods. Hopefully further research into hysteroscopic sterilization techniques will allow this to become a more accessible and safer method of permanent contraception for women.