Age of Consent in Netherlands

What is the Netherlands Age of Consent?

The Age of Consent in Netherlands is 16 years old. 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 Netherlands are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape or the equivalent local law.

Netherlands statutory rape law is violated when an individual has consensual sexual contact with a person under age 16 out of wedlock. Close in age exemptions, at the descretion of the prosecution, exist for minors close in age in a relationship within ""social-ethical norms""(outside of these norms could be a group sex or even an unequal relationship, meaning that the offender was not in love with the victim)

Netherlands has two territories that have their own local age of consent laws. These territories are listed in the following table:

Territory of Netherlands	Region	Age Of Consent
Curacao	North America	15
Sint Maarten	North America	15

Netherlands has a close-in-age exemption. A close in age exemptions, commonly known as "Romeo and Juliet law" in the United States, is a law 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 Netherlands 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 world

The Age of Consent ranges from as low as 11 to as high as 20 years old across the world. Click any country for details, or view countries with the highest & lowest ages of consent.

Age of Consent Map:

Must be married

< 13 years old

14 years old

15 years old

16 years old

17 years old

18 years old

> 19 years old

Back to list of international ages of consent View state ages of consent in the USA