It turns out that the public's perception of the age of majority is different from the age of majority in the eyes of the law. According to Marriage Law No. 1/1974 and the Civil Code, a person is considered an adult when they reach the age of 21 or are married. For years, this age of majority has been followed by all legal experts in Indonesia. Therefore, if there is land or a building registered in the name of a child who has not reached the age of 21, then the sale and purchase of the property requires permission or a determination from the local District Court.

The same also applies when establishing a PT/CV/FIRMA/YAYASAN, if one of the founders is still under 21 years old, then they must be represented by one of their parents.

However, since October 6, 2004 when Law No. 30 of 2004 concerning the Position of Notary was enacted, there has been a change in determining the age of majority. According to Article 39 paragraph 1, a person must meet the following requirements: (a) be at least 18 years old or married, and (b) be capable of performing legal acts. Therefore, it can be concluded that anyone who is 18 years of age or older or is married is considered an adult and has the right to act as a legal subject.

According to Zainuddin Ali, law is related to rights and obligations. Everyone as a legal subject has rights and obligations. However, not everyone is allowed to act on their own in exercising their rights, such as people who are not of legal age or have not reached the age of 18, people who are not mentally healthy, or are under guardianship. These incapable people must be represented or assisted by other people in carrying out legal actions.