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There are laws that govern the sorts of things you can do at different ages. Here's just a small sample:

AGE 14

• You can go to the pub, but you cannot drink or buy alcohol.
• You are responsible for wearing a seat belt.
• In court, you will normally be expected to give evidence as a witness under oath.

AGE 15

• You can purchase/watch a category 15 film at cinema/on DVD.
• You can purchase a category 15 video game.

AGE 16

• You can leave school.
• You can choose your own doctor.
• You can claim social security benefit.
• You can work full-time provided you have left school.
• You can leave home with your parents’ consent.
• You can get married with one parent’s consent.
• You can be sent to a young offender’s institution.
• You can drink wine or beer with a meal in a restaurant.
• You can hold a licence to drive a moped – providing you have completed a CBT.
• You can buy a National Lottery ticket.
• You can consent to sexual intercourse – regardless of sexuality or gender.

AGE 17

• You can hold a licence to drive a car.
• You can engage in street trading with a licence.
• You can purchase an air rifle.
• You can leave home without your parents’ consent.

AGE 18

• You can buy cigarettes or tobacco.
• You can appear before adult courts.
• You can get married without your parents’ consent.
• You can vote.
• You can act as an executor of a person’s will.
• You can bet.
• You can buy fireworks.
• You can change your name.
• You can apply to see your birth certificate (if you are adopted).
• You can apply for a passport.
• You can buy houses and land.
• You can apply for a mortgage.
• You can apply for a loan or credit card.
• You can sit on a jury.
• You can purchase a category 18 film at cinema/on DVD.
• You can purchase a category 18 computer game.
• You can be a blood donor.
• You can buy alcohol.
• You can drink alcohol in a pub.
• You can hold a licence to sell alcohol.

Read our article on employment law for more information about hours that young people can work.

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