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. Anyone younger than that is legally off-limits for any criminal charge or juvenile court case. From 10 through 16, offenses are generally handled in juvenile court. At 17, Texas treats you as an adult, and for the most serious felonies a child as young as 14 can be transferred out of the juvenile system and prosecuted as an adult.

No Prosecution Under Age 10

Texas Penal Code Section 8.07 sets an absolute floor. No child under 10 can be prosecuted for or convicted of any offense, regardless of what the conduct was or how serious the harm.¹ The Family Code matches this cutoff by defining a “child” for juvenile court purposes as someone who is at least 10 but under 17.² A child younger than 10 is outside the system entirely.

Ages 10 Through 13: A Presumption Against Capacity

Children in this bracket can be prosecuted, but the law builds in a protection. For a fine-only misdemeanor or a local ordinance violation, Texas presumes a child between 10 and 14 lacks the capacity to understand that the conduct was wrong. A prosecutor can rebut that presumption, but only by proving to the court that the child actually understood the wrongfulness of the behavior when it happened.¹

For anything more serious than a fine-only offense, children under 15 generally cannot be prosecuted in criminal court at all. Those cases go through the juvenile system. The one exception is narrow: a 14-year-old accused of a capital felony, first-degree felony, or aggravated controlled substance felony can be considered for transfer to adult court.¹

Ages 10 Through 16: Juvenile Court

Most cases involving a child between 10 and 16 stay in juvenile court. The Family Code splits what the court can address into two categories, and the distinction drives everything that follows.

Delinquent conduct covers behavior that would be punishable by jail or prison time if an adult did it. That includes felonies, jailable misdemeanors, DWI-related offenses, and certain repeat alcohol violations.³ A finding of delinquent conduct is the juvenile equivalent of a criminal conviction, and it opens the door to placement in a secure facility or commitment to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Conduct indicating a need for supervision, or CINS, is the lighter category. It covers fine-only misdemeanors, local ordinance violations, running away from home, inhaling paint or glue fumes, and certain school-expulsion-related conduct.³ A CINS finding cannot result in commitment to TJJD. The system treats these cases as calling for structure and services rather than confinement.

A juvenile adjudication is not a criminal conviction. The child is not a “defendant,” the proceeding is not a “trial,” and the outcome is not a “sentence” in the adult sense. The purpose of the juvenile system is weighted toward rehabilitation, with options ranging from in-home probation to secure placement.

Age 17: Automatically an Adult

This is the part that catches many Texas families off guard. The Family Code’s definition of “child” stops at under 17, so a 17-year-old arrested in Texas goes straight into the adult criminal system.² That means adult jail, adult court procedures, adult sentencing exposure, and a public criminal record. The only narrow exception is for a 17-year-old whose alleged offense happened before they turned 17; that case can still be handled as a juvenile matter.

Multiple bills have been introduced in the Texas Legislature to raise the age of adult criminal jurisdiction to 18, but as of 2026 none have passed. Texas remains one of a small number of states that automatically prosecutes 17-year-olds as adults.

When a Juvenile Can Be Tried as an Adult

Even when a case starts in juvenile court, the juvenile judge can waive jurisdiction and send the child to adult criminal court. This is called discretionary transfer, and it is tied to both age and offense level.

At age 14 or older, a child can be considered for transfer if accused of a capital felony, a first-degree felony, or an aggravated controlled substance felony.
At age 15 or older, a child can be considered for transfer if accused of a second-degree felony, a third-degree felony, or a state jail felony.

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.⁴ The court weighs factors including whether the offense was against a person or property, the child’s maturity, prior record, and the likelihood of rehabilitation in the juvenile system. If transfer is granted, the child faces the same charges, procedures, and potential sentences as any adult defendant.

Determinate Sentencing: Between Juvenile and Adult

Texas also offers a middle path for serious cases that stay in juvenile court. Under determinate sentencing, a juvenile can receive a fixed prison term for certain serious offenses, serve the early part of that sentence inside the juvenile system, and then be transferred to adult prison as early as age 16 if progress in TJJD programs does not go well.⁵

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 determinate sentence requires grand jury approval of the petition before the court can impose it.⁶ Eligible offenses include murder, capital murder, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and about a dozen other serious crimes.⁵

Constitutional Limits on Punishing Juveniles

Even when a juvenile is prosecuted as an adult, federal constitutional law caps the most severe punishments. Three limits apply across the board.

The death penalty is barred for anyone whose offense was committed before turning 18. Texas Penal Code Section 8.07(c) states this directly, and the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same conclusion in Roper v. Simmons (2005), finding that executing a person for a juvenile offense violates the Eighth Amendment.¹

Life without parole for a non-homicide offense committed as a juvenile is also unconstitutional. In Graham v. Florida (2010), the Court held that a juvenile sentenced for any crime short of homicide must have a meaningful opportunity to rejoin society.⁷

For juvenile homicide offenders, mandatory life without parole is barred. Miller v. Alabama (2012) requires sentencing courts to consider the offender’s youth and individual circumstances before imposing the harshest sentence, striking down any scheme that makes life without parole automatic.⁸

These rulings mean that even a Texas juvenile certified to adult court for the most serious charge still has protections an adult defendant does not.

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 54.02 – Waiver of Jurisdiction and Discretionary Transfer to Criminal Court
5
Texas Juvenile Justice Department. The Juvenile Justice System in Texas
6
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 54.04 – Disposition Hearing
7
Justia. Graham v. Florida
8
Justia. Miller v. Alabama