In the European Solidarity Corps, participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the activity. For participants in humanitarian aid related solidarity activities, the upper age limit at the start of the activity is 35 years old. In Youth Exchanges, eligible participants are young people aged between 13 and 30 residing in the countries of their sending and receiving organisations. In Mobility projects for youth workers, eligible participants are minimum 16 years old and must be resident in the country of their sending or receiving organisation. A sending organisation is a participating organisation sending one or more participants to an activity of an Erasmus+ project. A receiving organisation is a participating organisation receiving participants and organising activities of an Erasmus+ project. In Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, participants must have reached the minimum age at the start date of the activity, and participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age at the start date of the activity. Our guide on who can apply to Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps goes through the conditions case by case, and how the European Solidarity Corps differs from Erasmus+ compares the two programmes side by side.
Last updated: October 2026.
Which date counts for your age?
Participants must have reached the minimum age at the start date of the activity, and participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age at the start date of the activity. Organisations must follow the age rules of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide fully, but they can narrow the age range within a call, for example 18 to 25 for a Youth Exchange instead of 13 to 30, because project coordinators plan the activity around its aims and the target group. Our guide on the full timeline from application to departure shows where the start date sits in the process.
What is the age limit for European Solidarity Corps volunteering?
Registration on the European Solidarity Corps Portal is possible as of 17 years of age but participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the activity.
🤝 Third countries neighbouring the EU: Young people from third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) can apply to the European Solidarity Corps and the Erasmus+ youth projects, but there are fewer places and more competition, because projects give priority to participants from EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme. Our guide on what ESC Volunteering Teams are explains how a team is formed, and the list of eligible countries tells you whether your country can take part.
🎯 Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas: Participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the volunteering activity.
📝 Registered candidate: a registered candidate is an individual aged between 17 and 35 years who has registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal for the purposes of expressing interest in engaging in a solidarity activity but who is not yet participating in a solidarity activity. Our guide on how to register on the ESC Portal walks through the account itself, and what the European Solidarity Corps is introduces the programme behind it.
What is the age limit for ESC Solidarity Projects?
A Solidarity Project is implemented by a group of minimum 5 young people aged between 18 and 30 years who are legally residing in one and the same EU Member State or a third country associated to the Programme and have registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal. Participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the project. Our guide on projects young people run themselves covers how a group starts one, and how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where the open calls appear.
What is the age limit for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering?
Humanitarian Aid Volunteering gives the opportunity to young people aged 18 to 35 years old to contribute to society by short-term or long-term volunteering activities aimed at improving living conditions of people in need. Eligible participants are young people aged 18 to 35 who are legally residing in an EU Member State or in a third country associated to the Programme and who have registered in the European Solidarity Corps Portal to express their interest in engaging in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering. Candidates who apply for individual volunteering must not have yet participated in the European Solidarity Corps' Humanitarian Aid individual volunteering. The participant must also have successfully completed the mandatory trainings organised by the Commission. Participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 35 at the start date of the activity. Individual volunteering is an activity in the field of humanitarian aid of a duration of 2 to 12 months, excluding travel time. Our guide on Humanitarian Aid Volunteering explains where these projects run, and ESC project lengths explained sets out the durations per activity.
What are the age limits in Erasmus+ youth activities?
🤝 Youth Exchanges: eligible participants are young people aged between 13 and 30 residing in the countries of their sending and receiving organisations. Young people from countries that are not EU Member States, third countries associated to the Programme or third countries not associated to the Programme neighbouring the EU (regions 1 to 4) cannot take part in the European Solidarity Corps or in the Erasmus+ youth projects (Youth Exchanges, Mobility projects for youth workers, Youth participation activities); for them, Erasmus+ higher education mobility, Erasmus+ Virtual Exchanges (Region 9 only) and Erasmus Mundus are open. Our guide on what a Youth Exchange is explains how a group exchange runs, and opportunities for young people outside the European Union explains what is open to you if your country is not on the list.
🧑🏫 Mobility projects for youth workers: eligible participants are minimum 16 years old and must be resident in the country of their sending or receiving organisation. SALTO stands for 'Support for Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities'. Many training courses, seminars and study visits published on the SALTO European Training Calendar are Training and Cooperation Activities (TCAs): activities organised by National Agencies to cooperate across Europe and share good practice, and in these activities participants must be at least 18. Our guide on mobility of youth workers describes the activity, and what an Erasmus+ training course is covers the most common format.
🚆 DiscoverEU: DiscoverEU offers 18-year-olds the opportunity to have a short-term individual or group travel experience throughout Europe. Our guide on what #discoverEU is explains how the travel pass works.
🌟 DiscoverEU Inclusion Action: while DiscoverEU offers young people aged 18 this opportunity, the DiscoverEU Inclusion Action extends to young people between 18 and 21 years old. Eligible participants are young people with fewer opportunities aged between 18 and 21 years old and legally resident in the countries of their sending organisation. Participants must have reached the minimum age of 18 years at the start date of the activity, and participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age of 21 years at the start date of the activity. Our guide on inclusion support in Erasmus+ and ESC covers the extra support that comes with this action.
🗳️ Youth Participation Activities: eligible participants are young people aged between 13 and 30 residing in the country of the participating organisations and decision-makers relevant to the topics addressed by the project. Participants must have reached the minimum age at the start date of the activity, and participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age at the start of the activity. Our guide on Erasmus+ Youth Participation Activities sets out what these projects do.
What decides who is eligible for higher education and vocational mobility?
In Erasmus+ higher education mobility, eligible participants are students registered in a higher education institution (HEI) and enrolled in studies leading to a recognised degree, including double or joint degrees, or another recognised tertiary level qualification (up to and including the level of doctorate). Recent higher education graduates may participate in a mobility for traineeships, and recent graduates must be selected by their HEI during their last year of study and must carry out and complete their traineeship abroad within one year of obtaining their graduation. In vocational mobility, eligible participants include learners and apprentices in initial vocational education and training (iVET) and in continuing vocational education and training (cVET), and participants must be enrolled in an eligible iVET or cVET programme. Our guide on Erasmus+ versus regular study abroad compares the two routes, and what Erasmus Mundus is describes the joint master programmes.
Do group leaders, mentors and accompanying persons have an age limit?
👤 Accompanying person in the European Solidarity Corps: an adult of at least 18 years old who accompanies participants with fewer opportunities (particularly participants with disabilities) in an activity, in order to ensure their safety, provide support and extra assistance, as well as assist with the participant's effective learning during the experience.
🧑🤝🧑 Group leaders, facilitators and accompanying persons in Youth Exchanges: they are not to be considered as participants of the activity, and they must be at least 18 years old.
🌟 Accompanying persons in the DiscoverEU Inclusion Action: accompanying persons involved must be at least 18 years old. An accompanying person is an adult who joins the young people to ensure their effective learning, protection and safety.
🧭 Coaches, mentors and experts in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering: no age limit applies to coaches, mentors and experts, who are part of the learning and training component for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering.
Frequently asked questions
Can you register on the European Solidarity Corps Portal at 17?
Registration on the European Solidarity Corps Portal is possible as of 17 years of age but participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the activity. Our guide on how to register on the ESC Portal walks through the account itself.
Is your age checked at the start date of the activity?
Participants must have reached the minimum age at the start date of the activity, and participants must not be older than the indicated maximum age at the start date of the activity. In the European Solidarity Corps, participants must have reached 18 and must not be older than 30 at the start date of the activity.
I am 31. Is anything open to me?
For participants in humanitarian aid related solidarity activities, the upper age limit at the start of the activity is 35 years old. No age limit applies to coaches, mentors and experts, who are part of the learning and training component for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering. In Mobility projects for youth workers, eligible participants are minimum 16 years old. Our guide on Erasmus+ and ESC options for older applicants lists what stays open.
What is the total amount of time you can spend in European Solidarity Corps volunteering?
The total amount of time spent by a young person in European Solidarity Corps volunteering activities must not exceed 12 months and the activities carried out must not overlap. Solidarity Projects are not included in the 12-month time limit. Our guide on doing ESC more than once explains how a second activity fits inside the 12 month total.
Check the age range before you apply
Youth Works Hub has a Match page that finds projects suited to you: it asks 8 questions and shows the results as a swipeable deck of cards, and saved projects stay on your profile page. Using Match requires creating an account on the site; signing up with Google is available but not required. Our guide on who can apply to Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps sets out the residence and registration conditions that sit next to the age range.
Related pages: who can apply · which countries can take part · how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects · the full timeline from application to departure · how to apply for Erasmus+ or ESC
👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects
👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects
