Do You Have To Be 18 To Buy A Vibrator?

A: No — there is no federal law that prohibits the purchase of sex toys at any age and vibrators are for teens, however, local jurisdictions (township, county, city, or state) may have limitations in place.

For this reason, whether buying a vibrator has an age restriction or not depends entirely on where you live or shop — and that goes for buying lube if you’re under the age of 18, t00.

Many in-person adult vendors (sex toy shops) won’t allow anyone under the age of 18 to set foot inside their stores because of the adult nature of their products.

This is most common in sex shops that also sell pornographic materials out in the open, such as videos and magazines.

It’s nothing personal against teens; it’s just the rule of a given establishment.

And it makes sense, too. Sex toys are one thing — pornographic materials are quite another.

Plenty of other stores carry vibrators, including Target, Walgreens, CVS, Spencer’s, and even Urban Outfitters, among others.

In general merchandise stores, there may be age restrictions in individual establishments based on local laws.

In such locales, you might need to present valid identification at the register.

Again, it really depends where you live — and what kind of ruckus is being stirred up, courtesy of local concerned parents — that affects the laws and ordinances in your area.

In 2018, Spencer’s stated on Twitter that they have no corporate-wide age policy for purchasing sex toys, though specific stores might.

If you’re unsure about the age requirement at your local store — including Spencers, Target, Walgreens, or CVS — call them by phone and ask to speak to the manager to find out for certain.

Some local ordinances may have restrictions on the sale of “obscene” objects, and the age for access to such objects, even in a general store or pharmacy.

Better to know before you go.

If shopping in person is out of the question because of your age and location, purchasing a vibrator online will likely be much easier.

Some online sex shops want you to be 18 as well, although they won’t necessarily ask for your date of birth to confirm your age — or at the very least, won’t require proof of it.

At most, you may have to enter a fake birthdate — but it likely won’t need verification with an actual ID.

We’re not advocating that anyone lies about their age, but we do want to be completely honest here.

On most websites, the “age verification” process involves a simple pop-up window asking you to enter a birthdate or click yes/no to state that you’re over a certain age.

That’s it. They don’t require any further verification or proof of identification, the vast majority of the time.

So if you have a credit card or debit card, you can typically order vibrators and sex toys online with very few problems.

Places to buy a vibrator online include:

• Adam & Eve
• Lovehoney
• PinkCherry
• Best Vibe
• Eden Fantasys
• LELO
• Liberator
• Lovelife By OhMiBod

Amazon certainly doesn’t ask for ID when you purchase a vibrator from them.

(Still, you should be very wary of ordering toys from Amazon because it’s easy for fakes to be marketed as legitimate toys from reputable brands.)

And if you feel “gross” or “dirty” for being under 18 and interested in trying out sex toys, don’t. There is nothing wrong with exploring your sexuality on your own — at any age.

If it makes you feel better, Adam & Eve polled more than 1,000 adults a couple of years back and discovered that almost 12% of them bought their first sex toy before they turned 18.

So you’re in good company — plenty of teens use vibrators.

If you’re unable to purchase a vibrator for yourself, there are some DIY homemade vibrator options available, too!

Bottom Line: If you’re interested in buying a vibrator and you’re not 18 yet, you shouldn’t have much of a problem.

Whether you’re able to buy one in person or have to make your purchase online, however, will depend on where you live.

If you’re ready to purchase a vibrator, please check out our Everything Vibrators guide so you know what to look for, and take our vibrator quiz to find the best one for you!