At 16, you can legally do a lot more than you could at 15, but you are still a minor until 18 in every state. The practical answer to what a 16-year-old can legally do: drive with restrictions in most states, hold almost any non-hazardous job without federal hour limits, consent to certain medical care, preregister to vote in some states, get a 10-year passport, and in most states consent to sexual activity. You still cannot vote, drink, buy tobacco, enlist, sign enforceable contracts on your own, or own a handgun. The specifics turn hard on state law, so the honest version of every answer below is “here is the general rule, now check your state.”
Driving
Every state uses a Graduated Driver Licensing system that phases in driving privileges in stages. The usual path starts with a learner’s permit, which requires passing a vision test and a written exam and usually a parent’s signature. A permit only lets you drive with a fully licensed adult in the passenger seat, and most states require you to hold it for several months and log a set number of supervised practice hours before you can take the road test.
Pass the road test and you get a provisional or intermediate license. You can drive alone, but two restrictions almost always apply. Nighttime curfews typically run from around 10 or 11 p.m. to 5 or 6 a.m., with carve-outs for driving to work or school. Passenger limits usually cap you at one non-family teen passenger for the first six to twelve months.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Graduated Driver Licensing These restrictions generally lift at 17 or 18 depending on the state.
Working and Earning
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 16- and 17-year-olds can work unlimited hours in non-agricultural jobs. That’s a real change from the tight limits on younger teens. State law often adds its own caps, though, especially daily hour limits on school nights and restrictions on late shifts. When federal and state rules differ, the stricter one controls.2U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations Many states also require a work permit, usually issued by your school or a local government office, with parental consent and proof of age.
Jobs You Cannot Take
The FLSA lists 17 categories of hazardous work banned for anyone under 18. The prohibited list is broader than most people guess: mining, roofing, demolition, operating forklifts or other powered hoisting equipment, running power-driven woodworking or metal-forming machines, and handling explosives or radioactive materials.3eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 – Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation Check the occupation orders before accepting any construction, manufacturing, or farm-equipment job.
Minimum Wage
Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour in 2026. The FLSA lets employers pay a youth minimum of $4.25 per hour to workers under 20 during their first 90 calendar days on the job.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #32: Youth Minimum Wage – Fair Labor Standards Act That clock runs on calendar days, not days worked, so it expires faster than it sounds. Many states set a higher minimum wage with no youth exception, in which case the higher state rate applies from day one.
Delivery and Ride-Share Apps
The gig economy is effectively closed. Uber Eats requires drivers to be at least 18 for bike or on-foot delivery and 19 for car or scooter. DoorDash and similar platforms set comparable floors. These are company policies rather than government rules, but they’re enforced at account signup. Traditional part-time jobs at restaurants, retail stores, and grocery chains are the realistic path at 16.
Taxes on What You Earn
A 16-year-old with a paycheck has federal income tax withheld like any other worker. For tax year 2026, a single dependent doesn’t have to file a federal return unless earned income exceeds $16,100 or unearned income from interest or investments crosses a much lower threshold.5Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 File anyway if you want withheld taxes refunded.
If your unearned income tops $2,700 in 2026, the “kiddie tax” can apply, taxing a portion of that income at your parent’s rate.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 553, Tax on a Child’s Investment and Other Unearned Income (Kiddie Tax) One useful break: if you work for a parent’s sole proprietorship or a partnership where both partners are your parents, your wages are exempt from Social Security and Medicare taxes until you turn 18, and from federal unemployment tax until you turn 21. The exemption disappears if the business is a corporation or has non-parent partners.7Internal Revenue Service. Family Employees
Medical Decisions You Can Make
The default is that a parent consents to a minor’s medical care. At 16, two sets of exceptions open up.
The first is the mature minor doctrine, recognized by case law or statute in a number of states. A provider can treat a 16-year-old without parental consent if the provider decides the teen understands the treatment and can make an informed decision. Providers tend to apply this cautiously, mostly for routine or low-risk care.
The second is category-specific statutes. Most states grant minors independent consent for reproductive health services like contraception and STI testing, for mental health counseling, and for substance abuse treatment. The qualifying age varies, as low as 12 in some states and up to 16 in others. In a genuine emergency, any provider can treat a minor without parental consent when waiting would threaten life or cause serious harm.
Contracts, Bank Accounts, and Phones
Being 16 cuts against you here. Under common law in every state, a contract signed by a minor is voidable, meaning you can walk away from it while still a minor or within a reasonable period after turning 18. You generally have to return what you received. The practical effect is that most businesses will not deal with you directly. Banks require a parent or guardian as joint account holder or co-signer. Cell phone carriers do the same. No mainstream company signs a solo contract with someone who can legally cancel it the next day.
The exception is contracts for necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Those are enforceable against a minor, but only for the reasonable value of what was provided.
If you have a custodial account under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, 16 is not when you take control. Depending on the state and how the account was set up, the custodian keeps control until you are somewhere between 18 and 25.8Social Security Administration. The Legal Age of Majority for Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA)
Age of Consent
This is one of the most consequential lines a 16-year-old crosses, and one of the most state-dependent. Roughly 32 states and the District of Columbia set the age of sexual consent at 16. The remaining states set it at 17 or 18. Getting the law wrong can mean felony charges, so your specific state’s rule matters.
Even where 16 is the age of consent, restrictions commonly apply based on the age gap between partners or on the older person’s role. A 16-year-old may be able to consent to a peer who is 18 but not to a teacher or coach, regardless of consent. Many states also have close-in-age exemptions, sometimes called Romeo and Juliet provisions, that reduce or eliminate penalties when both people are within two to four years of each other. These do not raise or lower the age of consent itself; they operate as a defense or a sentencing adjustment.
Voting Preregistration, Passports, and Organ Donation
You cannot vote at 16. The voting age is 18 under the 26th Amendment. Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., let you preregister at 16 through the regular voter registration system so you are automatically on the rolls when you turn 18.
Passports are different at 16. Applications filed at 16 or older are valid for 10 years, the same as adult passports, instead of the 5-year passport issued to younger children. You still apply in person using Form DS-11, and at least one parent or guardian must either appear with you, sign a statement, or pay the fees.9U.S. Department of State. Apply for Your Passport as a 16-17 Year Old For domestic flights, TSA does not require travelers under 18 to show identification at the checkpoint, though individual airlines may have their own policies for unaccompanied minors.10Transportation Security Administration. Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint
Some states let 16- and 17-year-olds sign up on the organ donor registry when they get a driver’s license, but a parent or legal guardian must still consent before any donation from a minor proceeds.11organdonor.gov. How To Sign Up Registering signals your wishes; it does not override parental authority.
Marriage, Emancipation, and Body Modifications
The general marriage age is 18 in every state, but a number of states still permit 16-year-olds to marry with parental consent, judicial approval, or both. The trend is sharply toward eliminating all exceptions and setting 18 as a hard minimum. Where minor marriage is still allowed, the process typically requires a court appearance and documented parental agreement.
Emancipation lets a minor gain legal independence before 18. Most states that permit it require the minor to be at least 16. You file a petition and have to demonstrate financial self-sufficiency, the ability to manage your own affairs, and that emancipation serves your best interests. Courts don’t grant these casually. If granted, you can sign contracts, lease an apartment, and keep your own earnings, but you also take on every adult responsibility: bills, insurance, taxes.
Most states prohibit tattoos on anyone under 18 outright. A smaller group allows them with written parental consent and the parent physically present. Piercings are generally more permissive, with many states allowing ear and some body piercings at 16 with parental consent. Intimate-area piercings on minors are typically banned regardless of consent.
School Attendance
Every state has compulsory attendance laws, and 16 is where they start to split. A handful of states end compulsory attendance at 16, meaning you can legally leave school without a diploma. Most states require attendance until 17 or 18.12National Center for Education Statistics. Table 5.1 – Compulsory School Attendance Laws Even where 16 is the cutoff, schools usually require parental permission or enrollment in a GED or similar program before they release you.
Criminal Responsibility
A 16-year-old can be held criminally responsible. Juvenile courts handle most cases, but every state has laws allowing or requiring certain serious offenses to be transferred to adult court, where adult sentences apply. In five states, juvenile court jurisdiction ends at 16, so a 16-year-old charged with any crime is processed in adult court by default. In the other states, adult-court transfer is reserved for serious violent offenses but remains available as a prosecutorial or judicial option.
What a 16-Year-Old Still Cannot Do
Some limits don’t bend for maturity or parental permission:
- Buy tobacco or vaping products. Federal law sets the minimum age at 21 with no exceptions.13U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Tobacco 21
- Purchase or consume alcohol. The minimum age is 21 in every state.
- Possess a handgun. Federal law prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing a handgun, with narrow exceptions for supervised activities like target shooting, hunting, or ranching with written parental consent. Long guns are not restricted at the federal level for 16-year-olds, though state laws vary.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Enlist in the military. The minimum enlistment age across all branches is 17 with parental consent.15Today’s Military. Military Requirements for Joining
- Vote. The voting age is 18, though preregistration at 16 is available in some states.
- Gamble. Casino gambling, sports betting, and lottery purchases require you to be at least 18 in most states and 21 in others.
Selective Service registration is also not something a 16-year-old does. Early information can be submitted at 17, and the actual registration is processed within 30 days of turning 18.16U.S. Department of Transportation. Selective Service Requirements