Minor (law)

In law, a minor is someone who hasn't yet reached a specific age—most often the age of majority—which marks the line between being underage and being a legal adult. Where that line falls depends on the jurisdiction and the situation, but it usually sits somewhere between 18 and 21. The word "minor" can also pop up in contexts that have nothing to do with the overall age of majority. For instance, in the United States, the legal drinking and smoking age is 21, so people under that age are sometimes called minors in those specific laws, even if they're 18 or older. The terms "underage" and "minor" typically refer to someone below the age of majority, but they can also apply to someone under other legal thresholds, like the age of consent, marriageable age, driving age, voting age, or working age. Those limits often differ from the age of majority itself.

In most places, the idea of a minor isn't sharply defined. The age at which someone can be held criminally responsible, legally consent to sex, leave school, or sign a binding contract can all be different from one another. How parents are held responsible for a minor's delinquent acts also varies by country and can include things like vicarious liability or status offenses.

Many countries set the age of majority at 18. In the United States, where each state sets its own age of majority, "minor" usually means someone under 18, but in certain areas—like alcohol, gambling, and handguns—it can mean under 21. In the criminal justice system, a minor might be tried and punished as a juvenile or as an adult.

In Thailand, a minor is anyone under 20, unless they are married. In South Korea, a minor is anyone under 19. In New Zealand, the age of majority is also 20, but most adult rights are granted at younger ages.

**Canada** – Provincial and territorial governments set the age of majority, which varies: it's 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island, and 19 in British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. In some territories, a person can become emancipated and take on full responsibility at 16. The legal drinking and gambling age is 19 in Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia, but 18 in Alberta, Quebec, and Manitoba. Under cannabis laws, a minor is anyone under 19 across Canada, except Quebec (where it's 21) and Alberta (where it's 18).

**Italy** – A minor is anyone under 18, according to a 1975 law. Citizens under 18 cannot vote, be elected, get a driver's license for cars, or sign legal documents. Crimes committed by minors are handled in a juvenile court.

**Mexico** – In all 31 states, a minor is someone under 18. Minors aged 16 or 17 charged with crimes can sometimes be treated as adults.

**India** – In all 28 states and 8 union territories, a minor is someone under 18. In rare cases, minors aged 16 or 17 charged with extremely heinous crimes can be treated as adults.

**Thailand** – The Civil and Commercial Code doesn't directly define "minor," but sections 19 and 20 state that a person stops being a minor and becomes legally independent at 20, or upon marriage if done according to the law. So a minor is anyone under 20 who isn't married. Minors can't do most legal acts—like signing contracts—without a legal representative's consent (usually a parent), or the act can be voided. Exceptions include acts that only give the minor a right or free them from a duty, acts that are strictly personal, and acts suitable to their situation and reasonable needs. A minor can make a will at 15.

**South Korea** – The legal definition of a minor here is a case of Galápagos syndrome. Under the civil code, anyone over 19 (by international age) is an adult, so an 18-year-old is legally a minor. However, once they reach January 1 of the year they turn 19, they can drink, smoke, and access adult content. Under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses, a child is anyone under 19 (international age, not Korean age). That means child sexual abuse material (child pornography) includes anything featuring someone under 19, so even content with an 18-year-old (including high school graduates) is classified as child pornography, making possession and viewing illegal—unlike other countries. In most other countries where 18 isn't the age of majority, child pornography is defined as featuring someone under 18.

**United Kingdom** – In England and Wales, the Family Law Reform Act 1969 set the age of majority at 18. In Northern Ireland, the Age of Majority Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 also set it at 18.