Arizona
Sex Laws 2026

The age of consent in Arizona is 18 as of May 2026, the same as in 10 other states. Arizona does not require schools to teach sex education; 28 states do. Districts that offer it follow abstinence-plus guidelines. Adult entertainment regulation is moderate, and the state scores 20/100 on this page's sex-ed progressiveness scale.

Arizona's age of consent is 18, one of the highest in the country. There is a narrow close-in-age exemption: persons who are 15 or older and within two years of age of a 17-year-old are not subject to criminal liability under certain sexual conduct statutes. Arizona Revised Statutes Section 13-1405 governs the primary offense.

Arizona has no statewide mandate requiring schools to offer sex education. Districts that choose to offer it must stress abstinence as the preferred and expected behavior for unmarried students. Instruction on contraception is permitted but must be presented in ways that do not undercut the abstinence message. There is no requirement for medical accuracy, no mandate for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and no requirement that consent be a curricular topic.

Adult entertainment in Arizona falls into a moderate category. Cities like Phoenix and Tucson have active adult entertainment industries regulated through municipal licensing and zoning ordinances. State obscenity law follows federal standards. Arizona passed a law in 2023 requiring age verification for pornographic websites, though enforcement has faced legal challenges.

Age of consent 18 — one of the highest. No state sex ed mandate. Districts that offer sex ed must stress abstinence.

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More on Arizona

Also on Arizona: the full Arizona profile covers taxes, cost of living, crime and schools, and the county map lets you compare every county in the state. For related rules, read the Arizona nudism guide and the Arizona gambling laws guide.