Ages of consent in North America

Age of consent laws in North America. Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Saint Kitts and Nevis are federal states. Other North American countries are unitary states.

  Puberty

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

In North America, the legal age of consent relating to sexual activity varies by jurisdiction.

The age of consent in Canada is 16.

As of August 2018, each U.S. state has set its age of consent at age 16, age 17, or age 18, with some exceptions. In the case of the state of Washington, the age of consent rises to 21 for the specific instance student-teacher sex (the age of consent in the state of Washington is otherwise 16).^[1] In a number of U.S. states, the age of consent can drop to as low as 13, although this has associated specifications, usually regarding the age of those engaging in sexual acts not surpassing a specific age difference (known in the U.S. as "Romeo and Juliet laws" and elsewhere as close-in-age exceptions^[2]). As of April 2021, of the total fifty U.S. states, approximately thirty have an age of consent of 16 (with this being the most common age of consent in the country),^[3] a handful set the age of consent at 17, and in about eleven states the age is 18.^[4]

The age of consent in Mexico is complex. Typically, Mexican states have a "primary" age of consent (which may be as low as 12 or the onset of puberty), and sexual conduct with persons below that age is always illegal. Sexual relations which occur between adults and teenagers under 18 are legally ambiguous: laws against corruption of minors as well as estupro laws can be applied to such acts, at the discretion of the prosecution. These laws are situational and are subject to interpretation. The federal age of consent in Mexico is 15.

The ages of consent in the countries of Central America range from 14 to 18.

In four territories (Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands), as well as in the sovereign nation of the Bahamas, there is a higher age of consent for same-sex sexual relations than opposite-sex ones.

The list of jurisdictions in North America is per the list of sovereign states and dependent territories in North America.