Alabama Age of Consent Laws: Statutes, Penalties and Reporting

Alabama's general age-based criminal protections for minors run to age 16 under Ala. Code § 13A-6-70, and most of the structure is tiered by the child's age, the actor's age and the type of conduct. Separate school-employee, foster-parent and clergy-member offenses protect persons under 19.

To report a concern: if a child is in immediate danger, call 911. For Alabama, the Department of Human Resources page says: "Please call your County Department of Human Resources or local law enforcement agency to report suspected abuse or neglect." The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453, call or text) can help you figure out where and how to report. Online exploitation can be reported to the NCMEC CyberTipline at report.cybertip.org or 1-800-843-5678.

Information last verified on 2026-09-28. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer. It is legal-reference information, not legal advice.

This page covers Alabama's criminal statutes on sexual offenses involving minors. Federal law is summarized on the age of consent laws by state hub. The text of Alabama's Code is published on the state legislature's ALISON site, and each cite below links to it.

This page describes the main age-based sexual offense statutes. Other Alabama statutes, such as those on child sexual abuse material, also protect minors, and one of them can apply even where none of the offenses described here does.

How Alabama law protects minors by age

Alabama's Code deems a person incapable of consent if he or she is "Less than 16 years old" (Ala. Code § 13A-6-70). The general rape, sodomy and sexual-abuse offenses in Chapter 6 of Title 13A that turn on the child's age apply to persons under 16, and the tiers below depend on the child's age and the actor's age.

Under 12

Under Ala. Code § 13A-6-61, a person aged 16 or older who engages in sexual intercourse with a person less than 12 years old commits rape in the first degree. Ala. Code § 13A-6-63 sets the parallel offense of sodomy in the first degree. No age-difference condition applies to these offenses: the elements are the actor being 16 or older and the child being under 12.

Ala. Code § 13A-6-69.1 separately makes it sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old for an actor aged 16 or older to subject a person under 12 to sexual contact.

Ages 12 to 15

Ala. Code § 13A-6-62 makes it rape in the second degree for an actor aged 16 or older to engage in sexual intercourse with a person "12 years old or older, but less than 16 years old," and adds "provided, however, the actor is at least two years older than the other person." Ala. Code § 13A-6-64 follows the same structure for sodomy in the second degree.

For sexual contact, Ala. Code § 13A-6-67 defines sexual abuse in the second degree to include an actor aged 19 or older subjecting a person "who is less than 16 years old, but more than 12 years old" to sexual contact.

Summary table

Age-difference provisions

In the second-degree rape and sodomy offenses, the two-year age difference is written into the statute as an element of the offense: the statute describes the offense as requiring that the actor be 16 or older and at least two years older than the other person. The sexual-contact offense in Ala. Code § 13A-6-67 uses a different actor age (19 or older). No age-difference condition appears in the under-12 offenses. Separately, Ala. Code § 13A-6-65 defines sexual misconduct, a Class A misdemeanor, to include sexual intercourse, sodomy or sexual contact without consent "under circumstances other than those covered by" the rape, sodomy and sexual-abuse sections, and § 13A-6-70 deems a person under 16 incapable of consent. This page does not summarize how that provision is applied.

Positions of trust and authority

Alabama's school-employee offenses protect a "student," defined in Ala. Code § 13A-6-80 as "any person under the age of 19 years enrolled or attending classes in a licensed or accredited public, private, or church school that offers instruction in grades K-12." The offenses also cover a student under 22 who is a "protected person" as defined in Ala. Code § 15-25-1, which refers to a person with a qualifying developmental disability.

The covered school employees are named in the statute as "a teacher, school administrator, student teacher, safety or resource officer, coach, adult volunteer in a position of authority or any other school employee who has contact with a student in his or her official capacity." Under Ala. Code § 13A-6-81, the statute states that "Consent is not a defense to a charge under this section." Ala. Code § 13A-6-82 covers sexual contact and soliciting a sex act, and states that consent is not a defense to the sexual-contact charge.

A separate offense in Ala. Code § 13A-6-71 applies to a foster parent approved or licensed by the Department of Human Resources or another child placing agency. A sex act with a foster child under 19 who is under the foster parent's care or supervision is a Class B felony, sexual contact is a Class C felony, and soliciting a sex act or sexual contact is a Class A misdemeanor. The statute states: "Consent is not a defense to a charge under subsections (a), (b), or (c)."

Clergy members are covered by Ala. Code § 13A-6-85 through § 13A-6-88. For these offenses a "child" is "A person under 19 years of age or a protected person under 22 years of age, as defined in Section 15-25-1," and a clergy member is a duly ordained, licensed or commissioned minister, pastor, priest, rabbi or practitioner of a bona fide church or religious organization, or a person who regularly devotes a substantial portion of his or her time to its service as a vocation, who is "in a position of trust or authority over the child." Sexual intercourse or sodomy with the child is a Class B felony under § 13A-6-86, and sexual contact or soliciting a sex act is a Class C felony under § 13A-6-87. Each of those sections states: "Consent is not a defense to a charge under this section."

Penalties

Alabama grades each offense by felony or misdemeanor class. The authorized ranges below come from Ala. Code § 13A-5-6, § 13A-5-7, § 13A-5-11 and § 13A-5-12 (fines).

The Code also provides additional penalties for some first-degree offenses. A sentencing judge must impose "not less than 10 years of post-release supervision" for a Class A felony sex offense involving a child (a victim under 12, as defined in § 15-20A-4) where the offender is sentenced to a county jail or the Department of Corrections, and life imprisonment without parole applies where the defendant was 21 or older and the victim was six or younger (Ala. Code § 13A-5-6).

Other offenses with age elements

Some offenses outside the rape, sodomy and sexual-abuse sections also turn on a minor's age. Incest under Ala. Code § 13A-13-3, which covers sexual intercourse with listed relatives including a stepchild while the marriage creating the relationship exists, is a Class C felony, and a Class A felony "Where the victim is under 17 years of age on the date of the offense." Enticing a child under 16 into a vehicle, house or other place for the purpose of proposing a sexual act is a Class C felony (§ 13A-6-69). Electronic solicitation of a child under 16 who is "at least three years younger than the defendant" is a Class B felony (§ 13A-6-122; § 13A-6-120). Giving or attempting to give anything of value to engage in sexual conduct with a minor is human trafficking in the first degree, a Class A felony, and for that offense a minor is "A person under the age of 19" (§ 13A-6-151, § 13A-6-152).

Sex offender registration

Alabama's registration chapter lists first- and second-degree rape, first- and second-degree sodomy, second-degree sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child less than 12, and the school-employee offenses as sex offenses (Ala. Code § 15-20A-5). The statute also says a juvenile adjudicated delinquent of second-degree rape or sodomy "is presumed to be exempt from this chapter" after counseling, unless the sentencing court decides otherwise.

Changes taking effect October 1, 2026

Act 2026-55 (HB41) takes effect on October 1, 2026. The age elements are unchanged. From that date, first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and sexual torture (§ 13A-6-65.1, which includes penetration of a person less than 12 with an inanimate object by a person 16 or older) where the victim is less than 12 become capital offenses under § 13A-5-40, and § 13A-6-61(b) provides that the punishment for a violation of subdivision (a)(3) is "as determined and fixed as provided in Article 2 of Chapter 5." A defendant sentenced to life imprisonment on a capital offense must serve a minimum of 30 years before first consideration of parole.

Through September 30, 2026, first-degree rape is graded as a Class A felony as shown above. Act 2026-375 also amends the registration offense list in Ala. Code § 15-20A-5 from October 1, 2026, and the version effective on that date continues to list each offense named in the registration section above. The wording of the age elements also changes from "years old" to "years of age" without altering the ages.

Where to report

If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. Alabama's Department of Human Resources directs reporters to a county Department of Human Resources office or local law enforcement. The page lists no single statewide hotline number. The national Childhelp hotline and the NCMEC CyberTipline are listed in the box near the top of this page.

Disclaimer

This page is general legal information about Alabama criminal statutes as verified on 2026-09-28. It is not legal advice. Statutes change, summaries simplify, and the statute text controls. Anyone with a specific situation should consult a lawyer licensed in Alabama.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 'incapable of consent' mean in Alabama's Code?

Ala. Code § 13A-6-70 states that a person is deemed incapable of consent if he or she is less than 16 years old or is incapacitated. The offenses in Chapter 6 use that concept together with the age and age-difference elements described above.

Does Alabama's school-employee offense cover students who are 18?

Ala. Code § 13A-6-80 defines a student as a person under 19 enrolled in a licensed or accredited K-12 school, and the offenses also cover a student under 22 who is a 'protected person' with a qualifying developmental disability under Ala. Code § 15-25-1. The statutes say consent is not a defense to the sex-act and sexual-contact charges.

Where can the statute text be read?

Alabama's Code is published on the legislature's ALISON site. Each section cited on this page links to its ALISON entry, and the statute text controls over any summary.