At What Age Can a Child Be Prosecuted for a Crime in Texas?

In Texas, a child can be prosecuted for a crime starting at age 10, but what “prosecuted” means changes with age. No one under 10 can be charged with any offense. Children from 10 through 16 are handled in juvenile court, with narrow exceptions that allow transfer to adult court at 14 or 15 for serious felonies. At 17, Texas treats a person as an adult automatically, regardless of the offense.

No Prosecution Under Age 10

Texas Penal Code Section 8.07 sets the floor: a child younger than 10 cannot be prosecuted for or convicted of any offense.¹ There is no exception for the seriousness of the conduct. Law enforcement may get involved, and child welfare authorities may respond, but the criminal and juvenile courts have no jurisdiction to adjudicate the child.

Between 10 and 14, a special presumption applies to fine-only misdemeanors and local ordinance violations. The law presumes the child did not have the capacity to understand that the conduct was wrong. A prosecutor can rebut that presumption, but only by proving to the court that this particular child understood the wrongfulness of the behavior when it happened.¹

Ages 10 Through 16: Juvenile Court

For anything more serious than a fine-only offense, children under 15 generally cannot be prosecuted in criminal court at all. Their cases go to juvenile court under the Texas Family Code, which defines a “child” as someone at least 10 but under 17.² A 17-year-old whose alleged offense happened before turning 17 also falls within that definition.

Juvenile court divides conduct into two tracks. Delinquent conduct covers behavior that would be jailable if committed by an adult: felonies, jailable misdemeanors, DWI-related offenses, and certain repeat alcohol violations. A finding of delinquent conduct is the juvenile equivalent of a criminal conviction and can lead to secure placement or commitment to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.³

Conduct indicating a need for supervision (CINS) is the lighter track. It covers fine-only misdemeanors, ordinance violations, running away, inhaling paint or glue, and certain school-expulsion-related conduct. CINS cases cannot result in commitment to TJJD.³

Most juvenile cases resolve without a secure placement. Probation at home, probation with placement in a foster home or residential treatment facility, and indeterminate commitment to TJJD (which can run until the youth’s 19th birthday) are all options a judge can choose at disposition, depending on the offense and the child’s history.⁴

When a Juvenile Can Be Sent to Adult Court

Juvenile court can waive its jurisdiction and transfer a child to adult criminal court for certain serious felonies. This is called discretionary transfer, and it opens up in two age brackets:

Age 14 or older: capital felonies, first-degree felonies, and aggravated controlled substance felonies.
Age 15 or older: second-degree felonies, third-degree felonies, and state jail felonies.

Transfer is never automatic. The juvenile court must hold a hearing, order a full diagnostic study and social evaluation of the child, and find both probable cause that the child committed the offense and that the seriousness of the offense or the child’s background makes adult prosecution necessary for the community’s welfare.⁵ The court weighs whether the offense was against a person or property, the child’s maturity and prior record, and whether the juvenile system can still rehabilitate.

If the court transfers the case, the child then faces the same charges, procedures, and sentencing exposure as any adult defendant. Because the stakes are so high, Texas law makes the right to an attorney non-waivable at transfer hearings.⁶

17-Year-Olds Are Adults in Texas

This is where many families are caught off guard. The Family Code’s definition of “child” tops out at under 17, so a 17-year-old arrested for a new offense goes straight into the adult criminal system.² Adult jail, adult court, adult public records, and adult sentencing all apply. Shoplifting, drug possession, or a bar fight at 17 is treated the same as if the person were 30.

Texas is one of only a handful of states that draws the line here. Bills to raise the age of adult criminal jurisdiction to 18 have been introduced repeatedly in the Legislature, but as of 2026 none have passed. Most other states set 18 as the automatic threshold.

Determinate Sentencing: The In-Between

Texas has a middle path between a standard juvenile disposition and full adult certification. Under determinate sentencing, a juvenile receives a fixed prison term for a listed serious offense and begins serving it in the juvenile system. If progress in TJJD is poor, the court can transfer the youth to adult prison as early as age 16.⁷

The maximum term depends on the offense level:

Capital felonies, first-degree felonies, and aggravated controlled substance felonies: up to 40 years
Second-degree felonies: up to 20 years
Third-degree felonies: up to 10 years

A grand jury must approve the petition before the court can impose a determinate sentence.⁴ Eligible offenses include murder, capital murder, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery, and aggravated kidnapping, among about a dozen others.⁷

Constitutional Limits on Juvenile Punishment

Even when a juvenile is tried and sentenced as an adult, the federal Constitution caps how far the punishment can go. Texas Penal Code Section 8.07(c) directly prohibits the death penalty for any offense committed before age 18.¹ The Supreme Court reached the same result in Roper v. Simmons (2005) under the Eighth Amendment.

Life without parole is also restricted. In Graham v. Florida (2010), the Court held that life without parole for any non-homicide offense committed as a juvenile is unconstitutional, because juveniles must have a meaningful opportunity to rejoin society.⁸ And in Miller v. Alabama (2012), the Court struck down mandatory life-without-parole sentences even for juvenile homicide offenders, requiring courts to weigh the offender’s youth and individual circumstances first.⁹

What Happens to the Record Afterward

A juvenile record does not have to be permanent. For cases that ended in a finding of delinquent conduct or CINS, a person can apply to seal the records two years after final discharge from supervision, provided they have no felony conviction, no misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, and no further delinquency finding during that period.¹⁰

Felony-level adjudications are harder to seal. The person must be at least 19, must not have been transferred to adult court, and must have no felony convictions after turning 17. Determinate sentence records cannot be sealed at all. If a child is found not guilty at the adjudication hearing, the court must seal all related records immediately, without a separate application.¹⁰

Federal law adds another layer of protection. Juvenile record information generally cannot be released in response to employment, licensing, or civil rights inquiries, and agencies must respond as if no delinquency proceeding ever occurred. National security positions and law enforcement agency employment are the main exceptions.¹¹ A charge that lands in adult court at 17, by contrast, produces an adult record with none of these juvenile-specific protections.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 8.07 – Age Affecting Criminal Responsibility
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 51.02 – Definitions
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 51.03 – Delinquent Conduct; Conduct Indicating a Need for Supervision
4
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 54.04 – Disposition Hearing
5
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 54.02 – Waiver of Jurisdiction and Discretionary Transfer to Criminal Court
6
Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code Section 51.10 – Right to Assistance of Attorney
7
Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The Juvenile Justice System in Texas
8
Justia. Graham v. Florida
9
Justia. Miller v. Alabama
10
eLaws. Texas Family Code 58.003 – Sealing of Records
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 5038 – Use of Juvenile Records