I believe you have to be 16 or 17 years old.

i know for a fact that it is 16

According to this link it is 18: http://tinyurl.com/3y62bk

It's most definitely 18. There's always the wobbly line with the three-year-difference rule, but still.

California Criminal Code: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen.html Scroll down to Title 9, Chapter 1: RAPE, ABDUCTION, CARNAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN, AND SEDUCTION 261.5. (a) Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor. For the purposes of this section, a "minor" is a person under the age of 18 years and an "adult" is a person who is at least 18 years of age. (b) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is not more than three years older or three years younger than the perpetrator, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (c) Any person who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison. (d) Any person 21 years of age or older who engages in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is under 16 years of age is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years....