What Can You Do at 18? Legal Rights by State

Turning 18 is the age when most of the law starts treating you as an adult. You can now vote in every election, and in most states you can also sign contracts in your own name, make a will, marry without anyone's permission and serve on a jury. You also take on new responsibilities, such as registering with the Selective Service System if you are a man.

That picture is mostly, but not entirely, uniform. The right to vote at 18 comes from the U.S. Constitution, so it is the same everywhere. Many other milestones are set by state law, and three states set the age of majority above 18: Alabama and Nebraska at 19, and Mississippi at 21. A few rules also wait until 21 in every state, and others arrive earlier, at 16 or 17.

This page covers US federal law and the laws of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is general legal information for teens and parents, not legal advice. To see every age for one state on a single card, use our Legal Age by State tool.

Legal ages by state

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What you can do at 18 under federal law

Federal law sets a handful of milestones at 18, and they apply the same way in every state.

Vote in every election

The 26th Amendment guarantees US citizens the right to vote at 18 (U.S. Const. amend. XXVI, § 1). The guarantee covers federal, state and local elections, so it applies the same way in every state.

Register with the Selective Service

Men 18 through 25 who are US citizens, and most other men living in the United States, must register with the Selective Service System (50 U.S.C. § 3802(a)). Men here on temporary nonimmigrant visas are exempt while they keep that status. This is a responsibility that arrives at 18, not a choice.

The FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, signed December 18, 2025, makes registration automatic. The Selective Service System says it will implement the change by December 2026.

Federal jury service

Federal courts can call US citizens who are 18 or older and have lived in the judicial district for a year (28 U.S.C. § 1865(b)(1)). State courts set their own jury ages, covered below.

Hazardous jobs

The federal ban on minors working in jobs the Labor Department declares hazardous ends at 18 for non-farm work (29 C.F.R. § 570.2(a)(1)).

Credit cards: you can apply, with a limit until 21

At 18 you can apply for a credit card, but federal law adds a condition until 21. A card issuer may open an account for someone under 21 only with a cosigner or with proof that the applicant can repay on their own (15 U.S.C. § 1637(c)(8)).

What changes at 18 under state law

Most of the rights people associate with adulthood come from state law. In most states they all arrive at 18, but not in every state.

Legal adulthood: contracts and lawsuits

The age of majority is the age at which state law treats you as an adult, with full rights to sign binding contracts and to sue in your own name. It is 18 in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

Three states set it higher. Alabama makes a person a legal adult at 19 (Ala. Code § 26-1-1), and so does Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2101(1)), where marriage before 19 also ends minority. Mississippi sets the general age of majority at 21 (Miss. Code Ann. § 1-3-27), although from 18 a person there can make contracts about personal property and sue in their own name (Miss. Code § 93-19-13). See the Alabama, Nebraska and Mississippi cards for the full lists.

Some teens reach adult legal status before 18 through emancipation, which works differently in each state. Our emancipation laws guide explains how it works state by state.

Make a will

A person of sound mind can make a valid will at 18 in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Two states allow it earlier: Georgia at 14 (O.C.G.A. § 53-4-10) and Louisiana at 16 (La. Civ. Code art. 1476). In Louisiana, a minor under 16 can make a will only in favor of a spouse or children.

For the formal requirements a will has to meet, see our wills and trusts guide.

Marry without anyone's consent

You can marry without a parent's or a court's consent at 18 in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Nebraska sets that age at 19 (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-105) and Mississippi at 21 (Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-5(1)); under 21 in Mississippi, both parties need their parents' consent.

Under 18, the rules split sharply. In all, 16 states and the District of Columbia bar marriage under 18 with no parental or court exception: Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Other states allow marriage at 15, 16 or 17 with a parent's or a judge's consent, and three (California, Mississippi and Oklahoma) set no fixed minimum age when the required consent or court approval is given, although Oklahoma allows a court to approve a marriage under 16 only in narrow cases, such as a pregnancy, the birth of a child or a paternity suit. Our marriage license requirements guide covers fees, waiting periods and ID rules.

Serve on a state jury

State courts can call you for jury service at 18 in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Alabama (Ala. Code § 12-16-60(a)(1)) and Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1650(1)) start at 19. Mississippi (Miss. Code Ann. § 13-5-1) and Missouri (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 494.425) start at 21. Missouri is the only one of these four states whose age of majority is 18. Our jury duty laws guide covers exemptions, pay and employer protections.

Get a tattoo on your own

From 18 you can get a tattoo without a parent's consent in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Massachusetts has no statewide tattoo age statute; local boards of health set the rule, and the state health department's model regulation, which many boards adopt, sets 18. Alabama's tattoo law defines a minor as under 18, so 18 applies there even though the general age of majority is 19 (Ala. Code § 22-17A-1(4)).

What you can do at 16 and 17

Several milestones arrive before 18. These vary more from state to state than the adult rights do, so the ages below are ranges, with your state's exact rule on its card in the tool.

Learner permits and a first license

The age for a first learner permit ranges from 14 to 16:

A first license for driving alone, usually a restricted or provisional one, comes at 16 in 35 states. Idaho, Kansas and Montana allow restricted solo driving at 15, and South Dakota issues a restricted minor's permit after 275 days on an instruction permit issued at 14, or 180 days with an approved driver education course (S.D. Codified Laws §§ 32-12-11, 32-12-12). New Mexico and South Carolina allow it at 15 and 6 months, Virginia at 16 and 3 months, and Connecticut at about 16 and 4 months (16 plus 120 days on a youth permit with driver training). At the other end, 6 states and the District of Columbia put it at 16 and 6 months, and New Jersey issues its probationary license at 17 after six months of supervised driving (N.J.S.A. 39:3-13.4).

Working and work permits

Federal law lets 14- and 15-year-olds work in permitted non-hazardous jobs outside school hours. In a week when school is in session they can work no more than 18 hours, and no more than 3 hours on a school day; when school is out, the limits are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. Work has to fall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day (29 C.F.R. §§ 570.2(a)(1), 570.35). At 16, the federal rule opens every job except those the Labor Department declares hazardous.

States decide whether a teen also needs a work permit, and 16 states require no general work permit (Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont still require one for younger teens who work during school hours): Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming. The requirement ends at 16 in 14 states and at 18 in 16 states and the District of Columbia; Alaska ends it at 17 and Nevada at 14. We could not confirm the rule for Mississippi and Tennessee at an official source.

Leaving school

Compulsory school attendance ends at 16 in 15 states, at 17 in 8 states (Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina and West Virginia) and at 18 in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Texas runs it to the 19th birthday, although graduation or a high school equivalency ends the duty earlier (Tex. Educ. Code § 25.085(b)). We could not confirm Arkansas's rule at an official source.

The end age is not the only way out in some states. Nebraska lets a parent withdraw a 16- or 17-year-old after an exit interview and a signed withdrawal form (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-201), and California lets a student 16 or older leave early by passing the state proficiency exam (Cal. Educ. Code § 48412). Each state card lists its conditions.

Pre-registering to vote and voting in a primary at 17

You must be 18 to vote in a general election, but many states let you register earlier. Colorado allows pre-registration at 15 (C.R.S. § 1-2-101(2)), 18 states and the District of Columbia at 16, and 7 states at 17. Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma accept registrations from 17 and 6 months, Alaska within 90 days before your 18th birthday, and Texas from 17 and 10 months.

Another 15 states set no fixed pre-registration age and instead let you register if you will be 18 by the next election, and North Dakota has no voter registration at all. We could not confirm the rule for New Mexico and Ohio.

In 22 states and the District of Columbia, a 17-year-old who will be 18 by the general election can vote in that year's primary: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. The other 27 states require voters to be 18 on primary day, and we could not confirm Michigan's rule.

Tattoos with a parent's consent

Under 18, 19 states bar tattooing even with a parent's consent. Another 26 states set no minimum age when a parent consents, and the form that consent must take varies by state. Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Florida and Kentucky allow it from 16 with consent, Idaho from 14 (Idaho Code § 18-1523), and Massachusetts leaves the rule to local boards of health.

What waits until 21

A short list of rules waits until 21 in every state.

• Alcohol. Federal highway funding law withholds highway funds from any state that lets anyone under 21 buy alcohol or possess it in public (23 U.S.C. § 158(a)), which is why the purchase age is 21 nationwide. Federal rules let states exempt possession, but not purchase, in limited settings such as for a religious purpose, with a parent, spouse or legal guardian who is 21 or older, for medical use, in private clubs, or in lawful employment (23 C.F.R. § 1208.3).
• Tobacco and vapes. Federal law bars any retailer from selling cigarettes, e-cigarettes or other tobacco products to anyone under 21, in every state (21 U.S.C. § 387f(d)(5)).
• Commercial driving across state lines. Drivers of commercial vehicles in interstate commerce must be at least 21 (49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(1)).
• A credit card on your own. From 21, the cosigner-or-proof-of-income condition in 15 U.S.C. § 1637(c)(8) no longer applies.

In Mississippi, 21 is also the age of majority, the age to marry without consent and the starting age for state jury service.

Ages that differ by state

Most adult milestones line up at 18, but these jurisdictions break the pattern:

• Alabama: legal adulthood and state jury service at 19, while wills, marriage without consent and tattoos follow 18. See the Alabama card.
• Nebraska: legal adulthood, marriage without consent and state jury service at 19, with wills at 18. See the Nebraska card.
• Mississippi: legal adulthood, marriage without consent and state jury service at 21, with wills and limited contract rights at 18. See the Mississippi card.
• Missouri: adulthood at 18, but state jury service from 21. See the Missouri card.
• Georgia and Louisiana: wills allowed earlier, at 14 and 16. See the Georgia and Louisiana cards.
• Texas: compulsory school attendance continues to the 19th birthday. See the Texas card.

One age often listed beside these is the age of consent. It is a criminal-law protection for minors rather than a milestone you reach, and it is covered separately in our age of consent laws guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you legally do at 18?

At 18 you can vote in every election under the 26th Amendment, and federal courts can call you for jury duty once you have lived in the district for a year. In 47 states and the District of Columbia, 18 is also the age of majority, so you can sign binding contracts and sue in your own name. In most states you can also make a will, marry without consent and serve on a state jury at 18, but Alabama, Nebraska and Mississippi set some of these ages higher.

Is 18 the legal age of adulthood in every state?

No. The age of majority is 18 in 47 states and the District of Columbia, 19 in Alabama and Nebraska, and 21 in Mississippi. In Mississippi, someone 18 or older can still make contracts about personal property and sue in their own name under Miss. Code § 93-19-13.

Can you get a credit card at 18?

You can apply, but federal law (15 U.S.C. § 1637(c)(8)) lets a card issuer open an account for someone under 21 only if there is a cosigner or proof that the applicant can repay independently. That limit ends at 21.

Do you have to register for the draft at 18?

Men 18 through 25 who are US citizens, and most other men living in the United States, must register with the Selective Service System under 50 U.S.C. § 3802(a); men on temporary nonimmigrant visas are exempt while they keep that status. The FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, signed December 18, 2025, makes registration automatic, and the Selective Service System says it will put that change in place by December 2026.

Can you get a tattoo at 18 without parental consent?

Yes in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Massachusetts has no statewide tattoo age statute; local boards of health set the rule, and the state health department's model regulation, which many boards adopt, sets 18. Under 18, 19 states bar tattooing even with a parent's consent.

What can you do at 17?

In 22 states and the District of Columbia, a 17-year-old who will be 18 by the general election can vote in the primary. Many states also let 17-year-olds pre-register to vote, and New Jersey issues its first probationary license at 17. Most adult rights, such as contracts and voting in the general election, still wait until 18.

What can you do at 16?

At 16, federal law lets you work any job the Labor Department has not declared hazardous. A first solo or provisional driver's license is available at 16 in 35 states, compulsory school attendance ends at 16 in 15 states, and 18 states and the District of Columbia let 16-year-olds pre-register to vote.

What can you do at 21 that you cannot do at 18?

At 21 you can buy alcohol and buy tobacco products, including vapes, from a retailer in any state. You can also drive a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce and get a credit card without a cosigner or proof of independent income. In Mississippi, 21 is also the age of majority, the age to marry without consent and the age for state jury service.