Rhode Island
Sex Laws 2026

The age of consent in Rhode Island is 16 as of May 2026, the same as in 29 other states. Rhode Island requires schools to teach sex education, one of 28 states that do, and the mandated approach is comprehensive, with a medical-accuracy requirement and LGBTQ+ inclusive content. Adult entertainment regulation is liberal, and the state scores 100/100 on this page's sex-ed progressiveness scale.

Rhode Island's age of consent is 16. There is a close-in-age exemption: sexual activity with a person aged 14 or 15 is not a felony if the defendant is less than three years older, under Rhode Island General Laws Section 11-37-6.

Rhode Island requires comprehensive sex education that is medically accurate and inclusive of LGBTQ+ topics. Consent education is a required component. The state's mandate is strong for its size, and Rhode Island has been among the Northeast states actively updating its sex education requirements to reflect current inclusive standards.

Rhode Island has a distinctive adult entertainment legal history. From 2003 to 2009, indoor prostitution was effectively decriminalized as a result of a 1980 statutory revision that inadvertently removed indoor commercial sex work from the criminal code. During that six-year window, indoor prostitution operated legally in the state. The legislature closed the loophole in 2009. Rhode Island's brief period of legal indoor prostitution remains a well-known anomaly in U.S. legal history.

Comprehensive sex ed mandate. Rhode Island decriminalized prostitution indoors briefly (2003-2009) — now illegal again.

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More on Rhode Island

Also on Rhode Island: the full Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island nudism guide and the Rhode Island gambling laws guide.