Here in the US, at 18 you’re an adult and you can join the military (17 with parents consent), vote, and get a driver’s license. However, depending on the state, you can get your driver’s license at 16, but can’t rent a car until 21 (18 if military) and even then you have a “young rental fee.” (That fee drops off when you’re 25).
If you’re under 18, you’ll also need a permit to work as well and then you can work anywhere thats hazardous or dangerous until 21.
Also depending on the state, gambling is either 18 or 21. Smoking is now 21 (18 if military) and the drinking age is standard across the states at 21 (no military exception) with some states having exceptions if the parents are present on the premise and allow the minor to drink.
There might be other things but those are what I can think of right now.
Is there anything in your country that has similar age limits?
23 comments
* 13. Have a very light and easy job (very restricted).
* 15. Buy energy drinks, get a driver’s licence for EU-class mopeds and “[tractors](https://www.thelocal.se/20230323/why-swedish-teens-are-allowed-to-drive-cars-without-a-licence)”, also age of consent and age of criminal responsibility
* 16. Driver’s license for light motorcycles, snowmobiles and quadbikes. Have a normal job (with certain limitations before 18). Also being able to get a pilot license.
* 18. Vote, drink alcohol in bars, buy beer up to 3.5% in stores, smoke, gamble, get a driver’s license for cars and mid-heavy motorcycles, get a gun license, join the military.
* 20. Buy alcohol for home consumption in speciality stores, visit physical casinos.
* 21. Get a driver’s license for heavy trucks or taxis
* 24. Get a driver’s license for heavy motorcycles (20 if you’ve had a mid-heavy motorcycle license for 2 years) or buss.
England and Wales:
* 5. Drink alcohol in a private residence (with parent’s permission)
* 10: Age of responsibility
* 16. Age of consent, Driver’s license for light motorcycles. Have a normal job (with certain limitations before 18). Smoke tobacco.
* 17: Import alcohol or tobacco duty-free
* 18: Vote, Marry, Drink alcohol in bars or buy alcohol, Buy tobacco, Gamble and visit casinos. Get a driving licence for cars and mid-heavy motorcycles. Get a gun licence, can join the military, Enter a sex shop
* 21: Get a driving license for heavy trucks or carrying passengers
* 66: Apply for a state pension
Northern Ireland:
* 10: Age of responsibility
* 16: Driver’s license for light motorcycles. Have a normal job (with certain limitations before 18). Smoke tobacco
* 17: Age of consent, Marry, Import alcohol or tobacco duty-free
* 18: Vote, Drink alcohol in bars or buy alcohol, Buy tobacco, Gamble and visit casinos. Get a driving licence for cars and mid-heavy motorcycles. Get a gun licence, can join the military, Enter a sex shop
* 21: Get a driver’s license for heavy trucks or carrying passengers
* 60: Apply for a free travel pass for Northern Ireland
* 65: Apply for a state pension
* 66: Apply for free old age travel across Ireland
You get to vote at 18 although you can vote in the Church elections at age 16. Can’t join the military until you’re 18. Can’t get a drivers license for a car until you’re 18 but you can get a drivers license for a 50cc moped at age 15. To rent a car you generally have to be 19 years old OR have had your drivers license for 2 years.
You can work as young as 13 but as you’re still under “School Duty” you’re forbidden to sell any age regulated products (Say alcohol or tobacco products). Also you aren’t allowed to take a job that requires a lot of responsibility nor a job that would mean a lot of physical or mentally heavy work. If you want to be an actor under the age of 13 you also require a permit from the Work Environment Agency iirc. Although for all minors there are special rules regarding working hours, breaks, night rest and weekly rest no matter what.
Gambling/casino stuff is all 18 years old. Smoking is 18 and drinking is 18 although you can only buy at bars or restaurants when 18. You have to turn 20 to buy from the State owned Alcohol stores which have a monopoly on alcohol sales for private use.
Also at the moment you can only be charged for crimes if you’re 15 years of age, the current government wants to lower it to 12 because they’re a bit delulu but oh well. Age of consent to have sex is 15 too. You gotta be 18 to marry too.
Driving licence, particularly cathegories that allows you to drive motorbikes:
1. Cathegory A – all motorbikes, when you turn 24 (unless you already have had cathegory A2 for at least 2 years)
2. AM – you need to be at least 14 and it lets you drive morotbikes with the engine capacity =< 50ccm and max speed 45 km/h
3. A1 – you need to turn 16; engine capacity =< 125 ccm and an engine power in horsepower max 15 (11 kW)
4. A2; 18 years; max 47,59 horsepower (35 kW)
Then we have B cathegories.
1. B- all cars, 18years
2. B1 – 16 years. Car: 15 kW/20,4 horsepower.
You can hire someone who is 15, but till they turn 18 their work is highly regulated by law.
That’s all I can recall
*Age 7: allowed to purchase small things with your pocket money (before that age, any purchase is technically invalid and the parents could just ask merchants to give the money back)
*Age 14: age of responsibility for criminal charges (must be charged as a minor, max prison sentence 10 years), and once you’re 14 your opinion on many legal things matters, you need to consent (ie changing religion, donating organs, sex), drinking alcohol in public while legal guardians are present
*Age 16: Voting for municipal and European elections and some state elections, buy beer and wine, can stay alone /enter pubs and clubs until midnight, can get some licences (for scooters etc.), loss of some protections regarding children (e.g. if you get abused, it’s not child abuse anymore)
Age: 18: you’re an adult, so voting, drinking, sex whatever. You can still be tried as a minor until you are 21, if the court things you’re immature
There are some other / higher age restrictions mostly for some professions/getting elected.
At 16 you can drive a moped or a tractor. I believe soon you’ll also be able to vote at this age. You also may buy beer and wine at this age, but not hard liquors. Sixteen years old is also the de facto minimum age for student jobs (law says 15 but barely anyone will hire you).
At 18 you become an adult, and you can: vote, drive a car, drive, a light motorcycle (A1, < 125cc), and a host of other things that are implicit to being an adult. You may now also buy any sort of alcohol and tobacco.
At 20 you can drive a heavier motorcycle (A2, < 35 kW).
At 21 you can now enter casinos.
At 24 you can drive the heaviest motorcycles (22 if you,ve had your A2 for two years).
Italy:
13yo can consent to have sex, but only if the partner is less than 3 years older than the youngest one and isn’t a teacher, a trainer or a prominent figure in the youngest person’s life.
14yo can get the AM driving license for scooters, [ape car](https://images.app.goo.gl/YJzBTzVejJ1jH78m9), quads and micro cars, up to 50cc engine and 45km/h speed, that are allowed to circulate on urban and statal roads. Scooters can be with automatic shift, but if they have manual shift you need to pass the driving exam with a similar vehicle. It’s also the minimum age in which penal responsibility applies in a special court for minors.
15yo is the minimum required age to start a job, with parents’ permission and following special laws.
16yo can get the A1 license for scooters and ape cars up to 125cc, and B1 license for quads and cars up to 250cc. Same rules as above. They can buy light alcohol and cigarettes, but the seller can refuse to sell it until 18yo. With parents’ permission, they can drop out of high school. With tribunal’s permission they can marry. It’s the age of consent to have sex with an adult, unless the adult is a teacher, a priest, a trainer, or a prominent figure in your life.
18yo can get the ordinary A2 and B driving license that allows to drive every kind of scooter and car on pay toll roads and interregional roads, giving you so much freedom! They also can enlist in the army, buy a house, open a bank account without a co-signing parent. They can buy alcohol and cigarettes with no limits (unless they threaten public safety). They can vote and obtain an internal passport. They can gamble in a casino and buy scratch tickets or play lotto. They also can obtain a firearm possession permit and buy a gun or a rifle. It’s the minimum age to be tried as an adult in penal court and to be part of a civil trial. It’s the age of consent to have sex with every adult partner.
21yo can get C driving license for trucks.
24yo can get D driving license for buses.
-16 for energy drinks and otc painkillers, age of consent, can join the armed forces with parental consent, can get your own house and vote in Scottish elections
-17 to get your driving licence
-18 for alcohol, cigarettes/vapes, fireworks, knives, lottery and scratch cards, you can vote and you become legally an adult although you get a lot of responsibilities and control over things at 16.
You get your national insurance number just before you turn 16 which allows you to have formal employment but a lot of places don’t hire under 18 year olds bc there’s limits to working hours and they can’t do certain types of work.
Also with the alcohol laws you can legally drink from the age of 5 on private property if supervised by your parents (the idea is they can have like diluted wine with dinner). Obviously almost nobody is giving their 5 year olds alcohol but it makes sense for teens. You can also buy things like beer with a meal at 16 if you’re with your parents.
For the most part its just 18. Because if youre old enough to pay taxes, you’re an adult. Full stop.
Only exceptions i know off:
14 driving mopeds (and tractors i think?)
16 driving scooters, drinking beer and wine, in some cantons (state) smoking
18 vote, get elected to any office, pay taxes, buy a gun, drink hard alcohol, drive a car, sign binding contracts etc.
65 retire
Plus you can have a job at 13 i think. And starting an apprenticeship at 16 is the norm.
Edit: 65 is the official retirement age, when the full pension kicks in. There are also multiple layers of pension system and some can be started earlier, if you’re willing to take a pay cut. And you can of course retire at 25 as well if you have enough money.
* 6. Bike alone in traffik
* 13. Work limited hours, get MitID – national login for important stuff (government, insurance, banking etc).
* 15. Age of consent, criminal charges, own doctor, moped 30 km/h, Digital Mail – secure digital letters from government, insurance, banking etc.
* 16. Buy light alcohol under 16.5% in shops, own dentist, tractor license
* 17. Driver license – together with experienced driver (until 18).
* 18. Buy tobacco and strong alcohol over 16.5% in shops as well as buy/drink alcohol in restaurants/bars etc, moped 45 km/h and limited motorcycles, all the usual stuff.
* 20, 21, 22, 24. Driver license for truck, bus and unlimited motorcycles. Depends if you need it for work or education.
Denmark only have a drinking age (18) for public places like restaurants, bars, clubs etc.
Also no rules for smoking tobacco.
Denmark has
10 years:
-you must be heard in divorce proceedings of your parents (about what the arrangement will be for your address, school, how the days are split)
13 years:
-you may hold a job in your sparetime, hours and types are quite limited but rules gradually get more lax as you get older.
15 years:
– criminal minimum age, you can now be legally sanctioned in a court (Not like when the US tries people as adults).
-Sexual age of conscent (does not apply if it’s with someone in any position of authority with you).
– license for small moped (you may begin learning at 14½ years).
-purchase over the counter medicine that is not painkillers.
-full time work from the 31. Juli of the year you have finished 9th grade. (Most people will be 16 or 17 by then).
16 years:
– purchase alcoholic drinks with a content below 16.5%.
-acquire hunting license (other requirements still apply, like passing your shooting test and more)
-tractorlicense.
17 years:
-license to drive a car, but you must be accompanied by a valid license holder for minimum 10 years, at least 30 years old, must be fit to drive the car and be in the front seat, license for 17 year olds only valid in Denmark.
-donate blood.
18 years:
-age of majority everything that is not listed below is now legal if allowed.
20 years:
-license for a midsized motorbike.
21 years:
-license for small buses and full sized trucks.
-be a policeofficer.
22 years:
-license for a large motorbike if you have held a medium license for 2 years.
24 years:
-license for large motorbike.
-family reunification (this one exists solely to make forced marriages and luxury-immigration difficult, not it doesn’t really work, yes there is work underway to try and fix it, don’t expect changes soon).
23 years:
-liquor-license if you have completed an education within the hotel and restaurant area.
25 years:
-liquor license.
30 years:
– full unemployment benefits (below that age they will try to guide you into education).
you can get a driver’s license at age 16 and 9 months, but you can get a tractor license at 15.5 – one year earlier.
Is there an age restriction for smoking by itself in the US? here, there are rules against selling/serving tobacco products/alcohol to minors (<18y) but there’s no law that actually forbids them from consuming it…
* age 7: can have one’s own bank card
* age 12: can get bicycle driver’s licence (needed until age 14 to ride the bicycle on roads)
* age 14: can ride the bicycle on road; can officially work; can be subject to criminal code; signature on the passport/ID card
* age 15: can get moped driving licence (which looks like a proper driving licence)
* age 16: one can leave the school; full criminal justice applied; can get some category car and motocycle driving licence; compulsory to get passport or the ID card
* age 18: majority, voting rights, can stand for European and municipal elections, join the military; most of driving licences available; smoking and energy drinks age
* age 19: subject of military draft
* age 20: drinking age
* age 21: can stand as candidate to Seimas; can drive trolleybus
* age 23: one can purchase and carry firearms
* age 24: you are no longer financially counted as part of parent’s family, making one eligible for some social security payments [now getting it as a student]
* age 40: can stand as candidate for President
* age 65: retirement age
In Romania,
14 is the age for criminal responsability and freedom of religion
15 is the legal ege for employment
16 you can consent for intercourse
18 you can volunteer for the Army, can vote, can buy alcohol/tabacco
Some, but not all:
* 15: driving license for moped, microcar and tractor
* 16: voting in church elections; driving license for max 125cm3 motorbike
* 18: driving license for car (with some exceptions), 35kW motorbike and light truck (max 7500 kg); voting in other elections; getting married; buying cigarettes and alcohol (except hard liquor); can go to bars; liability to military service for men begins
* 20: buying hard liquor
* 21: pilot license
* 24: driving license for semi and over 35kW motorbike (with some exceptions)
* 25: possible to adopt from outside the family
* 30: sterilisation possible based on age
* 60: end of liability to military service
14 you are fully responsible for crimes commited
16 you can get driver license for motorcycle (yet can’t drive till 18)
18 you are adult
21 you can buy shotguns (with permission)
25 you can buy rifles (with permissions)
14 – age of responsibility for criminal charges
15 – age of consent, license for bike with engine up to 50 cm3
16 – license for bike with engine up to 125 cm3, **brigáda(part-time job)
18(full adult) – alcohol, cigarettes, voting, driver’s license, porn, job etc…
21 – truck license
24 – bus license
** You have to have 15 and have 10 years of school finished(mandatory) so since most kids start school at 6, than yeah it’s usually 16
6: The right and duty (don’t know how to really translate it) to go to school.
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7: Compensation compliance (?). Has to replace what they destroyed.
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12: It should be put a lot of wheight on what the child wants in matters of personal relationships. The child has consent to adoption. The parents lose the right to paid leave if the child is sick.
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13: Can take light work. Has to pay taxes on what they earn.
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14: Should be listened to by their guardian in cases egarding economy. Can take light work as part of school. Can take the hunting exam/license. The right to decide where to live if the parents are separated.
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15: Can be arrested and criminally charged. Can take work. Can join and leave faith communities and other associations. Can bring proceedings to overturn child protection decisions.
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16:the duty to go to school stops. Has the righ to go to Videregående (highschool). Age of consent: can have sex with poepole of a similar age. right to initiate private criminal proceedings for bodily insult and defamation. Can take a license for light motorcicles and mopeds.
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18: Legal age: self-determination in financial and personal matters. Can vote in national elections, county elections and municipal elections. Can purchase beer, wine and tobacco products. Can take a license for cars and heavy motorcicles. The right to know who your biological parents are. Parents’ right to child benefit ceases.
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19: duty to military service.
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20: Can buy liquor.
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21: The child welfare agency’s care ends.
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52: Age limit for ensign/quartermaster in the navy.
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60: Age limit for other officers.
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62: Contractual pension.
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67: Retirement pension.
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70: Age limit for public service positions.
12. Age of criminal responsibility. You can apply for an ID card without your parents’ consent. You can register as an organ donor. You get some medical autonomy.
13. You can start to do some light work
14. You can stand for election as long as you’ll turn 18 before the term you’re being elected for is over. So I guess that for European elections you can already do so at 13 since they’re the only elections we have for a 5 year term, the others are all 4 year. You become personally responsible for damages, unless it’s your parent’s fault that they didn’t stop you. You are required by law to be able to ID yourself if asked by the appropriate authorities.
15. You’re allowed to work a bit more like work in a shop or restaurant (not behind a register) as long as they don’t serve alcohol.
16. You can do most work except work in dangerous environments or work nights. You can get your scooter (AM) license, agricultural vehicle license (T) and at 16.5 you can start driving lessons for your car license. You become personally responsible for all damages. Age of medical majority. You may be judged under adult law of deemed appropriate. Age of consent for any age (below that only for people of a similar age). You no longer have compulsory education if you have obtained certain a certain level of degree.
17. You can take your car driving exam but if you pass you’re only allowed to drive under supervision
18. Age of financial majority. You can drive a car without supervision if you have your B license. You can get the B+, BE (car+trailer), C1, C1E license (light truck), A1 (light motorcycle) license. C/CE (heavy truck) and B1/B1E (light bus) license as well if you need it for a job. You can vote, take a seat in government if elected, drink alcohol, buy sigarettes, work all jobs and times. In most cases you’ll be judged under adult law. You can apply for a passport yourself. You no longer have to go to school regardless of what degree you may or may not have obtained.
20. You can get your A2 license (medium motorcycle)
21. Depending on which previous licenses you have: you can get your A license (heavy motorcycle), otherwise you can only get it at 22 or 24. You can get you C/CE and D1/D1E license for non-commercial purposes as well as your D/DE license. Age of financial responsibility. You’ll no longer be paid in youth wages for jobs where youth wage applies.
23. You can no longer be judged under youth law
Here are a few:
-Alcohol is 18 but hard liqour (over 20%), you have to be 20. You can get hard liqour at bars at 18 but have to be 20 to buy at liqour stores.
-Military is mandatory for men at 18 but can be postponed.
-Church elections are for church members 16 and older.
-Allowed to do official work at 15, or with a lot of asteriks at 13-14.
-Energy drinks are not legally age restricted, but practically all stores sell them only to those 16 and above.
-At 15 you can be fined or potentially imprisoned for a crime.
-At 15, a child has the right to do what they wish with their money, without their parent’s consent. If a child younger than this uses their money for something, their parents can legally demand the purchase to be cancelled if they see it so.
UK
Voting: You can vote in UK elections from 18.
Independence: A child 18 or over can leave home, there is leeway that younger can aswell.
Work: Part-time jobs as early as 13, you can have a full time job at 16.
Education: You can legally leave school at the final Friday at age 16. Must stay in some kind of education, whether it be college, sixth form etc.
Marriage: You can legally get married at 16 with parental consent. At 18 you can choose yourself.
Sexual Consent: At 16 you are able to give consent.
Alcohol: You have to be 18 to buy alcohol. At 16 you can buy drinks such as, Beer, Wine and Cider with a meal.
Driving: You can get a provisional licence at 15 9 months. To drive you have to be atleast 16 only in a vehicle such as a moped. You can start driving most cars at 17. You have to be 21 to drive large vehicles such as Trucks.
Military: You can join any branch without parental consent at 18. With parental consent you can start at 16.
Owning a gun is 16, driving is 17, pretty much everything else is 18. You can work before 18 and you’re exempt from income tax iirc but you’re also not subject to the full minimum wage.
In Poland the normal legal minimum age to marry is 18, but under special circumstances women can marry at 16 with permission from the court.
Special circumstances usually mean pregnancy (age of consent is 15).