Child Badge Policy
Comic-Con is proud to offer one of the most generous child badge policies in the industry. Children (age 12 and under) are free with a paying adult!
Children (age 12 and under) are free with a paying adult! You may register up to two (2) children per paid adult attendee on-site. Children do not need to (and should not) create a Comic-Con Member ID to receive a complimentary child badge. Children must be present to be registered for a badge, and adults will be required to provide emergency contact information for any child registrant.
Child badges are not registered in advance. Please visit the Registration area when you arrive on-site for more information.
Child-to-Junior Transition
To accommodate the transition from child (age 12 and under) to junior (age 13-17), we have set a static date to determine who is considered a child for Comic-Con 2026.
If they were at least 13 years old on July 31, 2025, they must have their own Comic-Con Member ID created in order to purchase a badge to attend Comic-Con 2026.
If they were age 12 or under on July 31, 2025, they do not need a purchased badge for Comic-Con 2026. They may attend as a child for free as long as they are accompanied by a paying adult.
COMIC-CON 2026 CHILD-TO-JUNIOR VALIDATION
For children who attended Comic-Con 2025 with a free child badge but are now considered a junior (age 13-17), they will need to have a Junior badge purchased to attend Comic-Con going forward. Completing the Child-To-Junior Validation process allows these juniors to become eligible to participate in Comic-Con 2026 Returning Registration!
If your child attended Comic-Con 2025 with a child badge but is now considered a junior, the instructions below are for you! For your now 13-year-old to qualify for Returning Registration, they must create their own Member ID account and validate their child badge number by September 5, 2025.
Step 1:
Visit our Comic-Con Member ID page and follow the instructions to create a Member ID account for your now-junior using an email of their own. They will need to use a unique email address and select “Junior” as their membership type. Please make sure you are completely logged out of your own account before helping them create their own Member ID.
Step 2:
Log in to the new junior Member ID account and click the “Child-to-Junior Validation” option in the top menu bar to head to the form.
Step 3:
Enter the child badge number that’s located on the back of the Comic-Con 2025 child badge, then click the “Validate” button.
Step 4:
If the child badge number is valid, a final set of instructions will appear on the same page. Verify the pre-populated account information is correct, then click “Add to Cart” and proceed to checkout.
The junior’s Member ID account will automatically become eligible for Comic-Con 2026 Returning Registration after submitting this form! The email address associated with the junior’s Member ID account will receive a confirmation email once their eligibility has been updated. Emails regarding eligibility updates will not be sent to the parent/guardian.
PLEASE NOTE: This is not a badge sale process, it is for eligibility validation. Filling out this form does not register you for a badge for Comic-Con 2026. It only allows you to participate in both the Returning Registration and Open Registration badge sales.