What is the 2013 Age of Consent in Maryland?

The Maryland legal Age of Consent for sexual contact is 16 years old. A total of thirty one states have set their age of consent at 16, the lowest age of consent in any state.

A close-in-age exception is made to the Maryland legal age of consent when the actor is less than four years older than the victim. If the victim is 14 or 15 and actor 21 or older, the actor is guilty of a sexual offense in the third degree if they engage in vaginal intercourse or other sex acts (including oral sex). If the actor is under 21 years old, but still more than 4 years older, the crime is lowered to sexual offense in the fourth degree.

Maryland Close-In-Age Exemption

What is the Age of Consent?

The Age of Consent is the age at which a person is deemed by Maryland law to be capable of consenting to, and engaging in, sexual acts. Anyone who engages in sexual activity of any type with a partner under the applicable Age of Consent is breaking the law and can be charged with crimes ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony (statutory rape) depending on the jurisdiction in which they are prosecuted. Maryland's specific laws on the Age of Consent can be found above.

Need more information? Find data on the age of consent in other states.