Laws of the Fifty States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico Governing the Emancipation of Minors
This page links to the laws of the states dealing with the "emancipation" of minors, that is, the provisions dealing with when and on what conditions children are released from parental authority and become "adults" for important legal purposes..
Related LII materials include:
- the LII Emancipation of minors and "Law about ..." children page
- the State Statutes by Topic page
- the LII State Law pages
| State and Link to Statute | Emancipation | Termination of Parental Rights | Age of Majority | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Title 26, Chapter 13 | Title 26, Chapter 18-7 | 19 (Title 26, Chapter 1-1) | - |
| Alaska | - | Title 47, Chapter 10, Section 88 | 18 (Title 25, Chapter 20, Section 10) | - |
| Arizona | - | Title 8, Chapter 5, Article 2 | 18 (Title 8, Chapter 2, Article 1) | - |
| Arkansas | - | Title 9, Subtitle 3, Chapter 27-341 | 18 (Title 9, Subtitle 3, Chapter 25-101) | - |
| California | Family Code Sections 7000-7002 | Family Code, Division 12, Part 4 | 18 (Family Code Appendix, Division 1, Part1, 25.1) | - |
| Colorado | Title 19, Article 1 | Title 19, Article 5-105 | 18 (Title 19, Article 1-103) | - |
| Connecticut | Title 46b-150 | Title 45, Chapter 778, Part 1 | 18 (Title 1, Chapter 1-1d) | - |
| Delaware | - | - | 18 (Title 1, Chapter 701) | - |
| District of Columbia | - | Title 16, Chapter 23, Subchapter 3 | 18 (Title 30, Chapter 4) | - |
| Florida | Title XLIII, Chapter 743 | Title V, Chapter 39, Part 9 | 18 (Title I, Chapter 1) | - |
| Georgia | - | Title 15, Chapter 11, Article 2 | 18 (Title 39, Chapter 1, Article 1) | - |
| Hawaii | Chapter 577-25 | Division 3, Title 31, Chapter 571, Part VI | - | - |
| Idaho | - | Title 16, Chapter 16-1615 | 18 (Title 32, Chapter 1) | - |
| Illinois | Chapter 750, ILCS 30 | Chapter 20, Act 505/35.2 | 18 (Chapter 750, ILCS 30) | - |
| Indiana | - | Title 31, Article 35 | - | - |
| Iowa | - | Title 6, Subtitle 5, Chapter 232, Division 4 | 18 (Title 6, Subtitle 5, Chapter 232.2) | - |
| Kansas | Chapter 38, Article 1-08 | - | 18 (Chapter 38, Article 1-01) | - |
| - | Title LI, Chapter 625 | 18 (Title 1, Chapter 2.015) | - | |
| Louisiana | Civil Code, Book I, Title 8, Chapter 2 | - | - | - |
| Maine | - | Title 22, Subtitle 3, Part 3. Chapter 1071, Subchapter VI | - | - |
| Maryland (Family Law) | - | - | 18 (Article- Rules of Interpretation, Section 24) | - |
| Massachusetts | Chapter 201, Section 5 | - | 18 (Part 1, Title 1, Chapter 4, Section 7-51) | - |
| Michigan | Chapter 722.4 | - | 18 (Chapter 722.4) | - |
| Minnesota | - | Chapter 260-221 thru 260-241 | - | - |
| Mississippi | - | 93-15-103, 93-15-105, 93-15-107, 93-15-109 | 21 | - |
| Missouri | - | Sections 211-442 thru 211-487 | 18 (Section 211.44) | - |
| Montana | Title 41, Chapter 3, Part 4 | - | 18 (Title 41, Chapter 1) | - |
| Nebraska | - | Chapter 43-291 thru 43-294 | 19 (Chapter 43-2101) | - |
| Nevada | Title 11, Chapter 129 | Title 11, Chapter 128 | 18 (Title 11, Chapter 129) | - |
| New Hampshire | Title 1, Chapter 21-B:2 | Title 12, Chapter 170C | 18 (Title 1, Chapter 21B) | - |
| New Jersey | - | Title 9:2-18 | - | - |
| New Mexico | Chapter 32A, Article 21 | Chapter 32A, Article 4-28 | 18 (Chapter 32A, Article 1-4) | - |
| New York | - | Family Court (Chapter 686), Article 6 | - | - |
| North Carolina | Chapter 7B, Subchapter 4, Article 35. | - | 18 [Chapter 7B, Subchapter 1 , Article 1, Definitions(14] | - |
| North Dakota | - | Title 27, Chapter 27-20 | - | - |
| Ohio | - | Title 31, Chapter 3103.03 (D) | - | - |
| Oklahoma | - | 10-7006-1.1 | 18 (43-551-102) |
Proceedings to Confer Rights of Majority- Title 10, Chapter 4 |
| Oregon | Chapter 419B | - | 18 (Chapter 109.510 thru 109.520) | - |
| Pennsylvania | - | Title 20, Chapter 7, Rule 15.4 | - | - |
| Rhode Island | Title 14, Chapter 1-59.1 | Title 7, Chapter 7-7 | 18 (Title 15, Chapter 12) | - |
| South Carolina | - | Title 20, Chapter 7, Article 11, Subarticle 3 | 18 (Title 20, Chapter 7, Article 1) | - |
| South Dakota | Title 25, Chapter 5 (25-5-18 thru 25-5-27) | Title 25, Chapter 25-5A | 18 (Title 25, Chapter 25-5-25) | - |
| Tennessee | - | Title 36, Chapter 1-113 | 18 (Title 37, Chapter 1 -102) | - |
| Texas | - | Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 161 | 18 (Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Title 5, Chapter 129) | - |
| Utah | - | Title 78, Part I, Chapter 3a | - | - |
| Vermont | Title 12, Part 10, Chapter 217 | - | 18 (Title 15, Article 3, Part 5) | - |
| Virginia | Title 16.1, Chapter 11, Article 15 | Title 16.1, Chapter 11, 16.1-283 | 18 (Title 1, Chapter 2, 1-13.42) | - |
| Washington | RCW 13.64 | RCW 13.34 | 18 (RCW 26.28) | - |
| West Virginia | Chapter 49, Article 7-27 | Chapter 49, Article 6-7 | 18 (Chapter 49, Article 1-2) | - |
| Wisconsin | - | Chapter 48.41-48.46 | 18 (Chapter 115.807) | - |
| Wyoming | Title 14, Chapter 1, Article 2 | - | 18 (Title 14, Chapter 1-101) | - |
- indicates the authors of this table were unable to locate information on that topic