At What Age Can You Add a Child as an Authorized User?
This guide covers the age rules, how it helps a child’s credit, and how to do it responsibly so it only ever helps.
The age rules vary by issuer
There is no single legal age; each issuer sets its own policy. Some allow an authorized user of any age with no minimum, while others require the child to be 13, 15, or 16. If building your child’s credit early is the goal, check the specific issuer’s minimum before adding them, since it differs from bank to bank.
How it helps your child
When you add a child to a card you manage well, that account history, its age, on-time payments, and low utilization, can report on the child’s credit file, giving them a head start most young adults do not have. Our guide on using authorized-user status to build credit explains the mechanics, and teaching teens about credit pairs the lesson with the tool.
Doing it responsibly
The benefit only works if the underlying card is managed well, since the child inherits its behavior, good or bad. Keep the balance low and always pay on time, and you can hand them a card without giving them free rein by holding onto it or setting a low limit. You remain fully in control and can remove them at any point.
- Minimum age varies by issuer, from none to about 16.
- Some major issuers set 13, 15, or 16; others have no minimum.
- The child is not liable for the debt as an authorized user.
- A well-managed account can build them a long, positive history.
- You control the card and can remove them anytime.
Frequently asked questions
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