Rights and Responsibilities

Age	Rights and Responsibilities
10	A child can be convicted of a criminal offence if they know they were doing wrong
12	Buy an animal as a pet
13	Open a bank account
14	A person is fully responsible for any crime they commit and the police can take fingerprints Work part-time with the teenager’s school’s consent Go into a pub with an adult (but the teenager can’t drink alcohol) Be convicted of a crime Be convicted of rape (if a boy) and illegal sex with a girl under sixteen
16	Claim social security benefits in their own right Drink some alcohol with a meal in a pub (but not at the bar) Get married (with parents’ permission) Join a trade union Leave home to live independently. (Scottish law allows young people to leave home legally at sixteen years of age. In England and Wales sixteen year olds can leave home only with parental consent.) Leave school Take your driving test (if disabled) The age of consent for legal sex (including homosexual consent in England, Scotland and Wales; age of consent for homosexual sex in Northern Ireland is 17.) Work full-time
17	A person can drive a car and pilot an aeroplane Go into a betting shop (but not bet) Be tried before an adult court and sent to prison or fined up to £2,000
18	Leave home or marry without parental consent Vote Drink alcohol in a pub Own a house or land Sign contracts Apply for loans and credit cards Make a will Do jury service Donate blood or organs
21	A person can adopt a child Stand for election for parliament or local government

The following items are subject to age-restrictions, and supplying any of them to someone below the legal age is a criminal offence which can lead to fines or prosecution for the trader involved.

Liqueur chocolates16 Years
Lottery Tickets16 Years
Petrol16 Years
Scratch Cards16 Years
Party Poppers & Caps16 Years
Pay adult price for bus or train tickets 16 Years
Pay prescription charges (not if at school or on income support)16 Years
Air Guns & Pellets17 Years
Alcohol18 Years
Adult Magazines18 Years
Cigarettes & Tobacco18 Years
Fireworks18 Years
Knives18 Years
Solvents18 Years
Tattooing18 Years
Bet18 Years
Butane Gas Cigarette Lighter Refills18 Years
Videos and Cinema12, 15, & 18 Years