Title 18Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§5031 Definitions

Title 18 › Part PART IV— - CORRECTION OF YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS › Chapter CHAPTER 403— - JUVENILE DELINQUENCY › § 5031

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines "juvenile" as someone under 18, or for proceedings under this chapter someone under 21. "Juvenile delinquency" means breaking federal law before age 18 that would be a crime for an adult, or violating section 922(x).

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §5031

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

For the purposes of this chapter, a “juvenile” is a person who has not attained his eighteenth birthday, or for the purpose of proceedings and disposition under this chapter for an alleged act of juvenile delinquency, a person who has not attained his twenty-first birthday, and “juvenile delinquency” is the violation of a law of the United States committed by a person prior to his eighteenth birthday which would have been a crime if committed by an adult or a violation by such a person of section 922(x).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 921 (June 16, 1938, ch. 486, § 1, 52 Stat. 764). The phrase “who has not attained his eighteenth birthday” was substituted for “seventeen years of age or under” as more clearly reflecting congressional intent and administrative

Construction

. The necessity of a definite fixing of the age of the juvenile was emphasized by Hon. Arthur J. Tuttle, United States district judge, Detroit, Mich., in a letter to the Committee on Revision of the Laws dated June 24, 1944. Words “an offense against the” was changed to “the violation of a” without change of substance. Minor change was made in translation of section references to “this chapter”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1994—Pub. L. 103–322 inserted before period at end “or a violation by such a person of section 922(x)”. 1974—Pub. L. 93–415 amended section generally, inserting “or for the purpose of proceedings and disposition under this chapter for an alleged act of juvenile delinquency, a person who has not attained his twenty-first birthday” after “eighteenth birthday,” and substituting “committed by a person prior to his eighteenth birthday which would have been a crime if committed by an adult”, for “committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Repeals

Pub. L. 93–415, title V, § 501, Sept. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1133, cited as a credit to this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 115–385, title III, § 307, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5152.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 5031

Title 18Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73