In most of the United States, you can legally ask your child to leave your home once they turn 18, which is the age at which parental support obligations end. Alabama and Nebraska set that age at 19, and Mississippi sets it at 21. So the honest answer to the question of at what age you can kick your child out is: whenever they reach the age of majority in your state, provided no court order, disability, or ongoing high school enrollment extends your duty to support them. Even then, if your adult child has been living with you for any real length of time, you probably cannot just put them out. You have to evict them.
The Age of Majority and What It Actually Ends
Until your child reaches the age of majority, you are legally required to provide food, shelter, and clothing. That obligation applies regardless of your relationship or their behavior. In 47 states and Washington, D.C., the age is 18. In Alabama and Nebraska it is 19. In Mississippi it is 21.
Once that birthday passes and no other legal obligation applies, your duty to house your child ends. What ends is the obligation, not necessarily your ability to remove them from the property today. Those are different questions, and parents who conflate them tend to end up in court.
When the Duty to Support Runs Past 18
Reaching the age of majority does not always cut the cord. A few situations keep the support obligation alive.
Still Enrolled in High School
Many states require parents to keep supporting a child who turns 18 while still enrolled full-time in high school. The obligation usually lasts until graduation or the child’s 19th birthday, whichever comes first. If your senior turns 18 in February, plan on housing them at least through June.
A Child with a Disability
If your child has a physical or mental disability that prevents independent living, your support obligation can continue indefinitely. Courts in many states have held that a child with a disability that began before adulthood is never fully emancipated for support purposes. A handful of states have statutes expressly requiring parents to maintain a child of any age who cannot earn a living and has no other means of support. Ending the obligation generally requires showing the child has become self-sufficient.
A Court Support Order
Divorce decrees and child support orders can extend obligations past the age state law would otherwise set. If an order specifies support until 21 or through college graduation, the order controls. Roughly a dozen states let courts order divorced parents to contribute to college costs, though this is never automatic. Ignoring a support order is not just a civil matter; it can trigger contempt charges, wage garnishment, and other enforcement. If a support order applies to you, it, not the age of majority, dictates when you can ask your child to leave.
Your Adult Child Is Probably a Tenant
This is where parents get in the most trouble. Your 22-year-old refuses to leave, so you figure you’ll box up their things and set them on the porch. That will very likely backfire.
An adult child who has been living in your home for any significant stretch almost certainly has legal standing as a resident, even without paying rent and without a lease. Courts look at several factors when deciding whether someone is a guest or a tenant: how long they have lived there, whether they receive mail at the address, whether they have moved in personal belongings, whether they have a key, and whether they contribute to household expenses. An adult child who has lived at home for months and keeps their possessions there will almost always be treated as a tenant-at-will, meaning they have a legal right to remain until properly given notice.
The distinction is enormous. A short-term guest who refuses to leave may sometimes be removed by police as a trespasser. A tenant, even one who has never paid a cent, can only be removed through the court eviction process. Guess wrong and a judge can order you to let your child back in and pay damages for wrongful eviction.
How to Legally Evict an Adult Child
If your adult child qualifies as a tenant and won’t leave voluntarily, follow the formal eviction process. Skipping a step can invalidate the whole effort.
Serve a Written Notice
It starts with a written notice, often called a notice to quit, telling your child they must move out by a specific date. The required notice period for a tenant without a fixed lease ranges from 15 to 60 days depending on the state, with 30 days most common. Some states tie the notice period to how long the person has lived there.
Acceptable delivery methods vary. Hand-delivery and certified mail are widely accepted. Some states also allow posting on the front door combined with mailing a copy. Whatever method you use, keep proof. If it goes to court, you’ll need to show the notice was properly served.
File an Eviction Case
If your child doesn’t leave by the deadline, file an eviction case, sometimes called an unlawful detainer action, in your local court. Filing fees typically run between $50 and $500, with most jurisdictions in the $100 to $250 range. Expect a separate cost for a process server or sheriff to deliver the summons.
Attend the Hearing
The court schedules a hearing where both sides present their case. If the judge rules in your favor, the court issues an order setting a date by which your child must vacate.
Let Law Enforcement Handle Removal
Only law enforcement, typically a sheriff’s deputy, can physically remove someone under a court order. You cannot do it yourself no matter what the order says. From the first notice to actual removal, the process can take a few weeks to several months depending on the local court’s backlog and whether your child contests each step.
What Happens If You Skip the Process
The consequences differ sharply depending on whether your child is a minor or an adult.
Forcing a Minor Out
Putting a minor out of your home is child abandonment or neglect. Every state treats this as a criminal offense, with charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies depending on the child’s age and circumstances. Leaving a young child in a dangerous situation can bring serious felony charges and years in prison. Even in less extreme cases, penalties include jail time, fines, probation, mandatory parenting courses, and potentially the loss of custody or parental rights. There is no version of forcing a minor out that ends well legally.
Illegally Evicting an Adult Child
Changing the locks, cutting off utilities, or removing an adult child’s belongings without a court order is an illegal self-help eviction. Every state prohibits this for residential occupants. Your child can sue for wrongful eviction, and courts routinely award damages that cover temporary housing costs and attorney’s fees. Some states impose statutory penalties that multiply the actual damages, making self-help far more expensive than the courthouse route would have been.
Calling the police is not a shortcut either. If your child has established residency, officers will usually decline to remove them and direct you to file in court. In some cases they will order you to let your child back in on the spot.
Money and Benefits to Think Through First
Asking an adult child to leave has financial ripple effects. Work through these before you act.
Health Insurance to Age 26
Federal regulations require any health plan that offers dependent coverage to extend it until the child turns 26.1eCFR. 45 CFR 147.120 – Eligibility of Children Until at Least Age 26 This applies regardless of whether the child lives with you, is married, is a student, or has access to their own employer’s coverage. For Marketplace plans, coverage runs through December 31 of the year the child turns 26.2HealthCare.gov. Health Insurance Coverage for Children and Young Adults Under 26 Removing your child from your home does not automatically end coverage, but ask your insurer whether a change of address affects any terms.
Tax Filing and Dependents
If you claim your adult child as a dependent, removing them from your home can affect eligibility. To claim an adult child under 24 as a qualifying child, they must be a full-time student, live with you more than half the year, and not provide more than half their own support. An older child who is not a student can still qualify as a qualifying relative, but their gross income must fall below $5,200 (the most recently published threshold, which adjusts annually) and you must provide more than half their total support.3Internal Revenue Service. Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
Losing a dependent can also cost you head of household filing status, which offers a larger standard deduction and more favorable brackets than filing single.4Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status FAQs Watch the timing. A child who lives with you seven months before moving out in August may still qualify for that tax year.
SNAP Benefits
Federal rules require any child under 22 living with their parents to be counted as part of the same SNAP household, even if they buy and prepare food separately.5Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Eligibility Their income counts toward your household total when benefits are calculated. When the child moves out, both your household size and combined income change, which can raise or lower your benefits depending on what the child was earning.