Age of Consent in the US: State Ages, Exceptions, and Penalties

The age of consent in the US ranges from 16 to 18, depending on the state. Roughly 30 states set it at 16, about eight use 17, and around a dozen require 18. There is no single national number for private conduct: each state legislature picks its own threshold, and federal law layers on top for federal property and interstate situations. The practical result is that identical conduct can be legal in one state and a serious felony a short drive across the border.¹

Which States Use Which Age

States setting the age at 16 include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, among others. The group at 17 includes Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, and Texas. States at 18 include Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The age that counts is the age at the time of the act, calculated from the participants’ dates of birth. A relationship that was legal in one state doesn’t become retroactively legal if the couple moves to a state with a higher threshold, and a 17-year-old who is above the age of consent in Texas is still below it if the encounter happens on a trip to California. If you live near a state line or travel often, the safest assumption is that the law of the place where the conduct actually occurs is the law that governs.

Close-in-Age Exceptions

Many states carve out exceptions, often called Romeo and Juliet laws, for situations where the two people are close in age. Lawmakers recognize that a 17-year-old dating a 15-year-old is not the same thing as an adult targeting a child, and without these provisions ordinary teenage relationships could produce felony charges.

The permitted gap varies. Some states allow two years, others stretch to three or four. Most also require the younger person to have reached a floor age, often 13 or 14, before the exception applies. How the exception operates also varies:

In some states, meeting the age-gap and minimum-age requirements decriminalizes the conduct entirely.
In others, the act remains illegal but drops from a felony to a misdemeanor, which sharply reduces the possible sentence.
Some exceptions also shield the older person from sex offender registration, which is often the most life-altering consequence of a conviction.

The calculation typically runs on exact dates of birth, not calendar years. Two people born 14 months apart may fall inside an exception while two born 25 months apart do not, even if they are in the same grade at school.

When a Position of Trust Raises the Age

Even in a state where the general age of consent is 16, the threshold tightens when the older person holds authority over the younger one. Teachers, coaches, therapists, clergy, foster parents, and workplace supervisors commonly face a higher age, often 18, regardless of the state’s baseline. A 25-year-old teacher in a state whose general age of consent is 16 can still be prosecuted for a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.

The reasoning is that someone who controls grades, playing time, therapy, or housing has leverage that makes genuine consent hard to verify. Penalties for these offenses tend to be harsher than for general age-of-consent violations, and a conviction almost certainly means losing any professional license tied to working with children or vulnerable populations.

Federal Law on Federal Land

Federal age-of-consent law doesn’t displace state law in everyday life. It governs a defined set of places: military bases, national parks, federal prisons, Native American reservations, and other land under federal jurisdiction, as well as conduct aboard aircraft and vessels under U.S. control.

The key statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2243, makes it a crime to engage in a sexual act with someone at least 12 but under 16 and at least four years younger than the accused. The maximum penalty is 15 years.² That sets a federal floor of 16, but with a wrinkle: because of the four-year gap requirement, two people close in age won’t trigger the statute even if the younger is under 16.

For children under 12, the numbers change dramatically. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2241, a sexual act with a child under 12 on federal land carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life. A second federal conviction under the same provision requires a life sentence.³

Crossing State Lines Uses a Different Age

Federal law reaches well past federal property when travel is involved, and this is where people get caught out. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2423, knowingly transporting someone under 18 across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity that violates any law carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life.⁴

The age here is 18, not 16. Even if the destination state’s age of consent is 16, transporting a 17-year-old across a state line for sexual activity is a federal crime with a 10-year mandatory minimum. The same statute reaches U.S. citizens who travel abroad to engage in sexual conduct with someone under 18, with penalties up to 30 years, and anyone who arranges or facilitates such travel for profit faces the same exposure.⁴

Mistake of Age Is Almost Never a Defense

In nearly every state, statutory rape is a strict liability offense. “I thought they were 18” is not a defense. A fake ID, a lie about age, or an older-looking appearance changes nothing. Prosecutors don’t have to prove the accused knew the true age, only that the act happened and the younger person was underage.

Federal law is slightly more forgiving on this narrow point. Section 2243 allows a defendant to argue a reasonable belief that the other person was 16 or older, but the defendant carries the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, and the defense rarely succeeds in practice.² It is unavailable in most state courts. Relying on someone’s word about their age is legal risk of the most severe kind.

Penalties and Registration

State penalties run from misdemeanors carrying a year or less in jail to first-degree felonies with sentences up to life, depending on the ages involved, the age gap, whether a position of trust was present, and the jurisdiction.¹²³⁴

A conviction also triggers registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which requires offenders to register and keep that registration current in every jurisdiction where they live, work, or attend school.⁵ The duration depends on tier:

Tier I: 15 years on the registry.
Tier II: 25 years on the registry.
Tier III: lifetime registration.

These periods exclude time in custody or civil commitment; the clock runs only while the person is living in the community.⁶ Public databases list the registrant’s name, photograph, address, and employer. Failing to comply with registration is itself a separate felony.

Sexting Is a Separate Track

Age-of-consent laws govern physical sexual acts. Digital images involving minors run on a different and often harsher body of law. Explicit images of anyone under 18 can be prosecuted as child pornography under both federal and state statutes, even if the person depicted took the photo and sent it voluntarily. A 16-year-old who is above the age of consent for sexual activity in their state can still face felony charges for sending or receiving explicit images.

Some states have enacted reduced penalties for teen-to-teen sexting, similar in spirit to Romeo and Juliet laws, but the picture is inconsistent. Federal child pornography statutes carry mandatory minimums of 15 years for production offenses. Anyone under 18 involved in explicit images should understand that age-of-consent law and child pornography law operate independently.

Mandatory Reporting

Age-of-consent rules also reach professionals who learn about a relationship. Every state requires certain people, typically teachers, doctors, counselors, social workers, and coaches, to report suspected sexual abuse of a minor to law enforcement or child protective services. The list varies by state, but the obligation is nearly universal, and failing to report is a crime.

At the federal level, 18 U.S.C. § 2258 requires professionals working on federal land or in federally operated facilities who learn of facts suggesting child abuse to file a timely report, with a penalty of up to one year in prison for failing to do so.⁷ A teacher, school counselor, or doctor who becomes aware of a sexual relationship involving a minor generally cannot keep it confidential, even if the minor asks them to. The duty runs regardless of whether the minor considers the relationship consensual.

Civil Claims for Survivors

Criminal prosecution is not the only path. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse can also file civil suits for financial compensation from the person who harmed them and, in some cases, from institutions that failed to protect them. Civil cases operate independently of any criminal proceeding: a survivor can sue even if the perpetrator was never charged.

The main barrier has been the statute of limitations. Many states pause the clock while the victim is a minor and add years after the survivor reaches adulthood, and a growing number have extended these deadlines significantly or eliminated them for child sexual abuse claims. If you are weighing whether to bring a claim, the filing deadline in your state is the first thing to check.

1
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2243 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor, a Ward, or an Individual in Federal Custody
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2241 – Aggravated Sexual Abuse
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2423 – Transportation of Minors
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 20913 – Registry Requirements for Sex Offenders
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 20915 – Duration of Registration Requirement
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2258 – Failure to Report Child Abuse