Age matters: rights and responsibilities for children aged 15 and over

Quick overview

At the age of 15, you are required to have an ID card if your child is a Czech citizen and a permanent resident of the Czech Republic. From this age, criminal liability also arises. A minor can work, usually after completing compulsory schooling, but the law protects him or her with stricter rules than an adult employee. On the other hand, full autonomy still does not come: most fundamental legal actions remain limited by age and intellectual maturity, and full autonomy does not come until the age of eighteen, or earlier only in exceptional legal situations.

What really changes at 15

The first major change is purely practical: from the age of 15, a Czech citizen with permanent residence in the Czech Republic is obliged to have an ID card. It is therefore not enough that you are entitled to one, but you must actually apply for one. This is usually the first moment when a teenager becomes more aware that the state is already counting on him more independently than a small child.

The second major change concerns responsibility. A child under the age of fifteen is not criminally responsible. However, from the fifteenth birthday onwards, the Juvenile Justice Act, a special regime for the criminal liability of juveniles, applies. It is not “adult” criminal law in its entirety, because the system still emphasises education and correction as well, but it is no longer just an educational solution in the family or at school.

And thirdly: the weight of the child’s opinion increases with increasing age. In family matters that concern him, the court must seek his opinion and take it seriously. This does not mean that a 15-year-old decides entirely for himself where to live or how his parents’ dispute will turn out, but his wishes are already a very important guide.

Temporary jobs and teenage work: what applies in May 2026

This is where the most visible change has occurred recently. From 1 June 2025, 14-year-olds can work during the main summer holidays under certain conditions. For 15-year-olds, this means that the old simplistic rule of “up to 15 and done” no longer applies, but that a distinction must be made between age and the end of compulsory schooling. A young person who has reached the age of 15 and has completed compulsory schooling can work in a more standard way than before, but still under the special protection of the Labour Code.

Stricter working time and safety rules apply to juvenile employees. Minors may not perform work that is prohibited or unreasonably risky for them and generally may not work at night. There is an exception only for minors over the age of 16, and even then only to a narrow extent and when it is necessary to prepare for a profession. The newer regulation also explicitly addresses light work during holidays for the younger group of minors and sets lower limits on working time for them, namely 7 hours per day and 35 hours per week.

In practice, this means only one thing: a 15-year-old can usually already find a part-time job, but not every “student job” will be legal for a minor. Great care must be taken when working with dangerous machinery, in hazardous traffic or at night. And if an employer says “this is how it is normally done”, it does not mean it is OK.

More rights but not full freedom

A 15-year-old minor still does not have full legal rights. The Czech Civil Code assumes that a minor can act legally on his or her own in matters appropriate to his or her intellectual and voluntary maturity. Full legal capacity does not come until the age of eighteen, or earlier only exceptionally, for example by a court granting legal capacity from the age of sixteen if the legal conditions are met.

This is also important for everyday life. A fifteen-year-old can already make many everyday decisions on his or her own, but still cannot enter into all contracts or bear all the consequences as an adult. Therefore, for bank accounts, loans, more complex contracts or major health and family decisions, it is always necessary to deal with the specific situation, rather than relying on simple “he can do everything himself from 15”. Banking practice also corresponds to this: banks normally allow a minor to open an account, but only fully independent opening without a legal guardian is normally linked to the age of majority.

The same is true for privacy. An adolescent has the right to respect for his or her own personality, and his or her opinion and privacy carry more weight than those of a young child. But at the same time, parents continue to have parental responsibility, so it is not a question of absolute “untouchability” vis-à-vis parents, but of finding a reasonable balance between control and respect for adolescence. This is where practice tends to be more complex than the law itself.

Responsibility for harm and for one’s own behaviour

In addition to criminal liability, it is worth mentioning civil liability. A minor can be held liable for damages if he or she has been able to control his or her actions and assess their consequences. In other words: even in civil law, it is not the case that a 15-year-old is ‘not at fault’. But it depends on the particular maturity and circumstances of the case. Even the courts have repeatedly emphasized that it is necessary to examine what the minor realistically understood and could control in the situation.

In practice, this applies, for example, to damage to other people’s property, debts incurred through careless behaviour or damage caused while riding a bicycle, scooter or working on a job. This is why it makes sense to think of the fifteenth birthday as the point at which it is no longer just about ‘childish misdemeanours’ but about behaviour with real legal consequences.

Persons who reach the age of 15 can also have sexual intercourse under Czech law. Of course, only with a person who is also over 15. If one of the people involved has not yet officially celebrated his or her 15th birthday, his or her counterpart will be prosecuted, even if the sexual intercourse was consensual. The paradox in our country is that although we can have sex from the age of 15, we are not allowed to watch erotic videos and consume other similar content until we reach the age of 18.

At 15, young people can get a driving licence for a scooter or a small motorcycle. They can start driving lessons earlier, but may only take the final test on their 15th birthday. Of course, people are only allowed to drive a car in the Czech Republic from the age of 18.

The law still protects minors

Despite all the new obligations, the law still views 15-year-olds as children. This can be seen in employment law, criminal law and family law. The protection of the health, education and moral development of minors is explicitly present in the Labour Code, for example. In family matters, it is again the case that the child’s opinion is to be heard, but the final decision is always judged according to the child’s best interests.

This can be seen clearly in sensitive health issues. For example, in the case of artificial termination of pregnancy, the law still distinguishes between a girl under 16 and a girl aged 16 to 18. This shows that while the 15-year age limit means a lot in law, it does not in itself open up full autonomy in all areas.

Summary

Fifteenth birthdays bring a significant shift, but not full adulthood. From the age of 15, ID is required, criminal responsibility begins, and the juvenile is more able to work and assert his or her own opinion. At the same time, however, they still do not have full legal capacity and in many areas remain under the special protection of the law and parental responsibility. The biggest practical change in recent times concerns temporary jobs: since June 2025, the rules are different than before, so it is always a good idea to check the specific conditions for working with minors, rather than relying on old articles or school “guaranteed advice”.