What Can You Do Legally at 16: Driving, Work, and Consent

Turning 16 unlocks a real but partial set of legal rights in the United States. You can drive with restrictions, take almost any non-hazardous job, consent to certain kinds of medical care on your own, apply for your first adult passport, and in most states ask a court to emancipate you. What you cannot do legally at 16 is also a long list: vote, sign binding contracts, enlist, open a credit card in your own name, or in many states leave school. Because most of these rules are state law, the exact lines shift depending on where you live. Here is what generally changes at 16, and what still has to wait.

Driving

Every state and Washington, D.C. uses graduated driver licensing, so your first license at 16 will not be a full one.¹ The sequence runs from a learner’s permit, which requires a licensed adult in the car, to a provisional or intermediate license after driver’s education and a set number of supervised hours. A full, unrestricted license usually comes at 17 or 18.

The provisional license is where most of the limits sit. Nearly every state imposes a nighttime driving curfew, starting as early as 9 p.m. in strict states and as late as midnight in lenient ones. Passenger limits are also standard: many states cap you at one non-family passenger, or none at all, for the first several months, loosening the rule as you build experience.² Breaking those conditions can mean fines, a suspended license, or a delayed path to full driving privileges.

Working

Federal law opens up the job market substantially at 16. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 16- and 17-year-olds can work unlimited hours in any job the Department of Labor hasn’t classified as hazardous.³ That is a significant expansion from the restrictions on 14- and 15-year-olds.

The jobs that remain closed are genuinely dangerous. The Department of Labor’s Hazardous Occupations Orders bar 16- and 17-year-olds from roofing, trenching and excavation, and work with power-driven equipment such as forklifts and woodworking machines.³ Mining and driving a motor vehicle as part of the job are also prohibited until 18.⁴

Federal law does not cap your hours, but most states do during the school year, with common limits of three to four hours on school days and earlier cutoffs on school nights.³ When federal and state rules both apply, the stricter one controls.⁵ Some states also require a work permit, usually issued through your school.

On pay, there is a wrinkle most new workers miss. An employer can legally pay anyone under 20 a youth subminimum wage of $4.25 per hour for the first 90 calendar days on the job.⁶ After that, you are owed the full federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher.

Money, Contracts, and Credit

Earning a paycheck is not the same as being treated as a financial adult, and the law draws a hard line here.

Any contract you sign at 16 is voidable. You can walk away from it before or shortly after turning 18, and the other side cannot. The protection runs one way because the law treats people under 18 as too young to be bound to long-term commitments. The practical consequence is that many businesses simply will not enter serious agreements with a minor. Once you turn 18, any contract you have not rejected becomes fully binding.

You cannot open a credit card in your own name. Federal law blocks card issuers from opening an account for anyone under 21 unless the applicant shows independent income sufficient to make the payments or has a cosigner over 21, and the floor for an independent card is 18 regardless. The realistic option at 16 is being added as an authorized user on a parent’s account; most major issuers permit that starting between ages 13 and 16.

Bank accounts work similarly. Most banks require a parent or guardian as a joint account holder for anyone under 18. Some will open an independent account for a 16- or 17-year-old with a documented income, but it varies by bank.

If you work, your employer withholds federal income tax just as it would for an adult. For 2026, a single dependent generally has to file a federal return if earned income exceeds $16,100.⁷ Even below that threshold, filing is usually worth it to get withheld taxes refunded.

Medical Consent and Privacy

Parents normally make medical decisions for their children, but every state carves out exceptions for teenagers seeking sensitive care. The exceptions exist because requiring parental involvement would deter some teens from seeking treatment they need.

The types of care a 16-year-old can typically access without parental consent include:

STI testing and treatment, available to minors in nearly every state
Contraception, accessible without parental consent in most states
Prenatal care, widely available to pregnant minors
Substance abuse treatment, which minors can consent to independently in most states
Mental health services, available in many states, with the minimum age and scope varying more widely than the other categories

The exact ages and conditions differ by state, but 16 is a common threshold. Some states also recognize the mature minor doctrine, a court-made principle that lets a teenager who shows sufficient understanding of a procedure consent to it even without a specific statute. Not every state applies it, and courts assess it case by case.

Privacy follows consent. Under HIPAA, parents generally have the right to access their child’s medical records, but when state law allows you to consent to a specific type of care on your own, the provider can deny your parent access to those particular records.⁸ If you see a doctor for STI treatment in a state where 16-year-olds can consent to that care, your parents may not be able to find out through the records.

School

A common belief is that 16 is when you can legally drop out. That used to be true almost everywhere; today, many states have raised the compulsory education age to 17 or 18, so a 16-year-old in much of the country is still required to attend.⁹

In states that still allow leaving at 16, it is not as simple as not showing up. Conditions usually apply, such as holding a job or enrolling in an alternative education program, and the school district typically has to approve the withdrawal formally.

Sex and the Age of Consent

In most states, 16 is the age of consent for sexual activity.¹⁰ The rest set it at 17 or 18. Knowing your state’s specific rule matters because the consequences of getting it wrong are severe.

Even where 16 is the age of consent, the rule is not blanket. Most states factor in the age difference between partners. Close-in-age exemptions protect teens of similar ages from charges while still criminalizing a sexual relationship between a 16-year-old and someone considerably older. The size of the permitted gap varies: some states set it at three years, others at four or five. In states where the age of consent is 17 or 18, a 16-year-old cannot legally consent regardless of circumstances, and violations are prosecuted as statutory rape. The fact that both parties agreed is not a defense.

Criminal Responsibility

At 16, you face real legal consequences for criminal conduct. In most states, 16-year-olds are handled in the juvenile justice system, which emphasizes rehabilitation. Every state, however, allows juvenile cases to be transferred to adult court for serious offenses.¹¹

Transfers happen in several ways. Some states automatically exclude certain offenses, most often murder and violent felonies, from juvenile court. In other cases a juvenile court judge decides whether to transfer after weighing the offense and the minor’s history. Some states let prosecutors file directly in adult court for specified categories of crime. Adult court means adult penalties, which can include decades in prison.

A small number of states set the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction below 18, so some 16-year-olds are automatically treated as adults regardless of the offense.¹¹ That approach is shrinking as more states raise the age, but it still affects teens in a handful of places.

Voting, Passports, Flying, and the Military

You cannot vote at 16, but you can often get on the rolls early. Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. allow 16-year-olds to pre-register, which turns into an active registration when you turn 18.¹² Other states set the pre-registration age at 17 or let you register if you will be 18 by the next election.

Sixteen is also when you can apply for your first adult U.S. passport, valid for ten years. The requirements are lighter than for younger children: instead of needing both parents present, you only have to show that at least one parent is aware you are applying, which can be done by having a parent apply alongside you, submit a signed note, or pay the application fees.¹³

Flying alone domestically is straightforward. Most airlines treat passengers 15 and older as young adult travelers, with no special unaccompanied minor procedures required for domestic flights.¹⁴ International flights can carry extra carrier-specific requirements, but 16-year-olds are generally free to fly without an escort.

Military enlistment is still off the table at 16. Federal law sets the minimum enlistment age at 17, and only with written parental consent; independent enlistment begins at 18.¹⁵

Emancipation

In most states, 16 is the earliest age at which you can petition a court for emancipation, the legal process that confers the rights and responsibilities of adulthood before 18. If a judge grants it, you can sign binding contracts, lease an apartment, make all your own medical decisions, and live independently from your parents.

Courts do not grant emancipation easily. You have to demonstrate financial self-sufficiency, a stable place to live, and the maturity to manage adult responsibilities. The judge weighs whether emancipation genuinely serves your best interests, and the burden of proof rests on you. In practice, most successful petitions come from teens who are already supporting themselves and living independently, often after a family breakdown. Wanting more freedom is not enough on its own.

Marriage

Whether a 16-year-old can legally marry depends entirely on state law, and the map has changed quickly. Where it is still allowed, marriage at 16 typically requires both parental consent and a judge’s approval, with the judge assessing the maturity of the parties, the reason for the marriage, and any sign of coercion before issuing a license.

A growing number of states have closed the door entirely. At least 14 states now set a firm minimum marriage age of 18 with no exceptions, and others have raised the floor to 17. In those states, a 16-year-old cannot marry under any circumstances.

1
NHTSA. Graduated Driver Licensing
2
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Graduated Licensing Laws
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
4
U.S. Department of Labor. Hazardous Occupations – FLSA Child Labor Rules
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Workers Under 18
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 32: Youth Minimum Wage
7
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
8
HHS.gov. The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Parental Access to Minor Children’s Medical Records
9
Education Commission of the States. 50-State Comparison: Free and Compulsory School Age Requirements
10
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Statutory Rape: A Guide to State Laws and Reporting Requirements
11
National Conference of State Legislatures. Juvenile Age of Jurisdiction and Transfer to Adult Court Laws
12
National Conference of State Legislatures. Preregistration for Young Voters
13
Travel.State.Gov. Apply for Your Passport as a 16-17 Year Old
14
U.S. Department of Transportation. When Kids Fly Alone
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 505 – Regular Components: Qualifications, Age, and Service Obligations