At what age can I ...?

At any age
•At any ageYou can see a “U” or “PG” film with your parent’s permission.

At 5 years old:
• You have to go to school.
• You have to pay a child’s fare on buses or trains.

At 10 years old you can:
• Be convicted of a criminal offence between the ages of 10 and 14, if it can be proven that you knew what you were doing was seriously wrong.
• Be convicted of rape, assault with the intent to commit rape and unlawful sex with a girl if she is under 16, if it can be proven that you knew what you were doing was wrong.

At 12 years old you can:
• See a “12” film or video.
• Be given a Detention and Training Order (DTO), a two-part sentence, served partly in custody and partly under supervision in the community, with a strong emphasis on training and rehabilitation.

At 13 years old you can:
• Get a part time job with some restrictions (see section on “Employment”).

At 14 years old you can:
• Go into a pub with someone over 18, but you cannot buy or drink alcohol.
• You are considered to be fully responsible for your actions, so if you commit a criminal offence, you will be treated the same as an adult (except for sentencing).
• Between the ages of 10 and 14, a boy can be convicted of rape, assault with the intent to commit rape and unlawful sex with a girl if she is under 16, if it can be proven that he knew what he was doing was wrong.

At 15 years old you can:
• Be “remanded” to a Young Offenders Institute ((see section on “Remand” and “Secure Unit”).
• See a “15” film or video.

At 16 years old you can:
• Leave school on the designated school leaving date (the last Friday in June).
• You can have a full time job if you have officially left school. You need to remember that you can't work full time until the last Friday in June - even if you have turned 16 before this.
• You can live independently, subject to certain conditions being met.
• Marry, if you get consent from whoever has “parental consent”.
• Be given a Community Service Order as punishment, if you are convicted of an offence for which an adult would have had to go to prison.
• Join the armed forces (if you are a boy and you get parental consent).
• Have beer, wine or cider in a restaurant with a meal if an adult buys it for you.
• Pay full fare on trains or buses.
• Change your name by Deed Poll.
• Seek and receive medical treatment.
• You can ride a moped of up to 50ccs.
• You can pilot a glider.
• Legally have sex with a boy. (It is illegal for a boy or man to have sex with a girl under 16, even if she has agreed. )
• Consent to a homosexual act if you and your partner are both over 16.
• Have an abortion without your parents consent.
• Apply for your own passport.

At 17 years old you can:
• Get a driving licence (although of course you need to pass a driving test before you can drive on your own).
• No longer have a Care Order made about you.
• You can pilot a plane.
• You can emigrate.

At 18 years old you can:
• Legally be regarded as an adult.
• Be dealt with in adult court if you break the law.
• Vote in general and local elections.
• Get married.
• Serve on a jury.
• Buy alcohol and drink in a bar.
• Open a bank or Post Office account.
• Your care order will end.
• You can ask to see your birth certificate if you are adopted.
• You can change your name.
• You can change your name.
• You can sue or be sued.
• You can make a will.
• You can place a bet.
• You can have a tattoo.
• You can buy fireworks and sparklers.

At 21 years old you can:
• Become an MP.
• Hold a licence to drive a bus or lorry.
• Have a licence to sell alcohol.