State Guide
Age of Consent in Utah
A plain-English guide to the age of consent in Utah, cited to Utah Code § 76-5-401 and § 76-5-401.2. Utah layers a registration-relief provision for 14-15 year olds with a separate, historically-lowered gap threshold protecting 16 and 17 year olds.
Registration relief under 4 years; reduced offense level if offender under 21Utah at a glance
The core figures from this guide, in one place.
| Age of consent | 18 |
|---|---|
| Governing statutes | Utah Code § 76-5-401 (14–15), § 76-5-401.2 (16–17) |
| Registration relief, 14–15 | Not required if offender is under 4 years older |
| Offense-level reduction | Lower level if offender is under 21 |
| Protection for 16–17 | Applies if offender is 7 or more years older (current) |
Overview
Utah’s age of consent is effectively 18. Utah Code Section 76-5-401 makes it unlawful sexual activity with a minor for anyone 18 or older to engage in sexual activity with someone 14 or 15, regardless of the age gap. This is not a close-in-age exemption in the sense of removing liability, but the law layers two close-in-age-related reliefs on top of it: a lower offense level if the offender is under 21, and no sex offender registration requirement if the offender is less than four years older.
A separate statute, Section 76-5-401.2, protects 16 and 17 year olds from much older partners, currently applying where the offender is seven or more years older, though this guide confirmed this threshold was lowered from an original 10-year requirement when the law was first enacted in 1998.
Age of consent in Utah
Section 76-5-401(2) applies to any offender 18 or older who engages in sexual intercourse or related conduct with someone 14 or 15. Section 76-5-401.2(2)(a) currently applies where the offender is seven or more years older, but under 10 years older, than a minor 16 or 17, and knew or reasonably should have known the minor’s age.
Close-in-age rules in Utah
For a victim 14 or 15, the age gap does not remove liability under Section 76-5-401, but it changes two things: the offense level is reduced if the offender is under 21, and sex offender registration is not required at all if the offender is less than four years older than the minor.
For a 16 or 17 year old, Section 76-5-401.2 works differently: it exists specifically to reach large age gaps with an already-legal-age-adjacent minor, rather than to exempt small ones. This guide confirmed that the threshold for this statute was originally set at 10 or more years older when first enacted in 1998, and current official text instead describes a lower threshold of seven or more years for at least one tier of the offense.
Exceptions and defenses
Section 76-5-401.2 requires that the actor knew or reasonably should have known the minor’s age, which functions as a form of mistake-of-age consideration specific to this statute. This guide did not confirm whether an equivalent standard applies to Section 76-5-401’s 14-15 tier.
Applicable statutes
The codified Utah law this guide is drawn from.
Practical examples
Example 1. A 20-year-old and a 15-year-old, a five-year gap. This is still unlawful sexual activity with a minor, but because the offender is under 21, a reduced offense level applies.
Example 2. A 19-year-old and a 15-year-old, a four-year gap. Because the offender is less than four years older, this specific conviction would not require sex offender registration, though the conduct remains a crime.
Example 3. A 17-year-old and a 25-year-old, an eight-year gap. Because the offender is seven or more years older, Section 76-5-401.2 applies even though the victim is otherwise near the general age of consent.
Frequently asked questions about Utah
What is the age of consent in Utah?
Effectively 18. Utah Code Section 76-5-401 makes it illegal for anyone 18 or older to engage in sexual activity with a 14-or-15-year-old, regardless of the gap.
Does Utah have a Romeo and Juliet law?
Not a full exemption. For a 14-or-15-year-old victim, a small gap reduces the offense level and removes the sex offender registration requirement, but the conduct remains a crime.
What about 16 and 17 year olds?
A separate statute protects them specifically from partners currently described as seven or more years older, a threshold this guide confirmed was lowered from an original 10-year requirement set in 1998.
Does a mistaken belief about age count as a defense?
For the 16-17 statute, the offender must have known or reasonably should have known the minor’s age. This guide did not confirm an equivalent standard for the 14-15 statute.
Does registration relief mean the conduct is legal?
No. It only removes the sex offender registration consequence for a conviction; the underlying conduct remains a crime.
Official sources
Primary and official sources this guide is built from.
Two statutes, two different purposes
One relieves severity for close-in-age teens; the other protects older teens from large gaps.
| Victim age | Purpose | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 14–15 | Reduce severity/registration for small gaps | Under 4 years (registration), under 21 (offense level) |
| 16–17 | Protect from very large gaps | 7+ years (current) |
About this guide
Who wrote it, who reviewed it, and when it was last checked.
RomeoAndJulietLaw.com Editorial Team
Drafted directly from the Utah Code via the official Utah Legislature website, cross-checked across multiple years of codification and original enacted bill text.
Pending attorney review
This guide has not yet been checked by a licensed Utah attorney. It is sourced and cited, but should not be treated as attorney-reviewed until this line is updated with a named reviewer.
Primary source for this guide
Editorial notes
This guide reflects Utah Code §§ 76-5-401 and 76-5-401.2 as of 27 July 2026, drawn directly from the official Utah Legislature website across five codification years plus the 1998 original enactment. It has not yet been reviewed by a licensed Utah attorney. One gap is noted: this guide could not confirm whether a mistake-of-age standard applies to the 14-15 tier under § 76-5-401, though one is confirmed for the 16-17 tier under § 76-5-401.2.