North Carolina Age of Consent Laws 2024

What is the North Carolina Age of Consent?

The North Carolina Age of Consent is 16 years old. In the United States, the age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 15 or younger in North Carolina are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape.

North Carolina statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age 16. A close in age exemption exists when the offender is less than 4 years older. No employee of a K-12(unless they are not a teacher, administrator, student teacher, safety officer, or coach) may engage in sexual activity with a student , unless they are married, regardless of age.

View list of sexual assault laws & punishments in North Carolina

North Carolina has a close-in-age exemption. A close in age exemption, also known as "Romeo and Juliet law", is designed to prevent the prosecution of underage couples who engage in consensual sex when both participants are significantly close in age to each other, and one or both are below the age of consent.

Depending on the situation, the North Carolina close-in-age exemption may completely exempt qualifying close-in-age couples from the age of consent law, or merely provide a legal defence that can be used in the event of prosecution.

Age of Consent across the United States

The Age of Consent ranges state-by-state from 16 to 18 years old across the United States. Click the map to view any state's age of consent laws.

Age Of Consent:

16 years old

17 years old

18 years old

The age of consent in North Carolina is based on the following statutes from the North Carolina criminal code:

North Carolina Age Of Consent Law:
§ 14?27.7A. Statutory rape or sexual offense of person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old.

(a) A defendant is guilty of a Class B1 felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is at least six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person.

(b) A defendant is guilty of a Class C felony if the defendant engages in vaginal intercourse or a sexual act with another person who is 13, 14, or 15 years old and the defendant is more than four but less than six years older than the person, except when the defendant is lawfully married to the person.

Punishments for Violating the Age Of Consent in North Carolina

North Carolina has nine statutory sexual abuse charges on the books which are used to prosecute age of consent and child abuse related crimes within the state. One or more of these charges may be used to prosecute violations of the North Carolina Age of Consent, as statutory rape or the North Carolina equivalent of that charge.

The severity of the criminal charge (felony, misdemeanor, etc) depends on the specifics of the acts committed and the relative ages of the perpetrator and victim. Click any charge for more detailed information.

Criminal Charge	Severity	Punishment
Incest	Class B1 felony; Class C felony	Minimum sentence of imprisonment is 25 years (defendant is give life w/o parole if victim under 12 or if defendant has prior B1 conviction ); 44 to 182 months in prison
Indecent liberties between children	Class 1 misdemeanor	Up to 120 days in prison
Intercourse and sexual offenses with certain victims	Class E felony	15 to 63 months in prison
Rape of a child (under 13)	Class B1 felony	Minimum sentence of imprisonment is 25 years (defendant is give life w/o parole if victim under 12 or if defendant has prior B1 conviction )
Rape- first degree	Class B1 felony	Minimum sentence of imprisonment is 25 years (defendant is give life w/o parole if victim under 12 or if defendant has prior B1 conviction )
Sexual offense with a child (under 13)	Class B1 felony	Minimum sentence of imprisonment is 25 years (defendant is give life w/o parole if victim under 12 or if defendant has prior B1 conviction )
Sexual Offense- first degree	Class B1 felony	Minimum sentence of imprisonment is 25 years (defendant is give life w/o parole if victim under 12 or if defendant has prior B1 conviction )
Statutory rape or sexual offense of a person who is 13-15 years old	Class B1 felony; Class C felony	Minimum sentence of imprisonment is 25 years (defendant is give life w/o parole if victim under 12 or if defendant has prior B1 conviction ); 44 to 182 months in prison
Taking indecent liberties with children	Class F felony	10 to 41 months in prison

Back to list of state ages of consent View international ages of consent