Marriage Age Requirements

• Author: Richard Leiter
• Pages: 463-468

Page 463

The laws regulating marriage are quite uniform. The right to marry is considered very personal, and once the “age of majority,” or when one can marry without the permission of a parent or guardian, is reached, it is the couple’s sole decision whether or not to marry. However, below this age, parental consent is required (though states do not require the consent of a parent or guardian who is not present in the country or who has abandoned his or her child). The age of majority is now universally eighteen, except in Mississippi, where the parties need to be twenty-one.

While only three states, California, Kansas, and Massachusetts, have no statutory minimum age under which marriage licenses will not be issued, many states with a minimum age requirement do permit marriages between minors under that age. Virtually all states allowing the marrying of minors require court approval in addition to parental consent. A growing number of states now require counseling for minors seeking to marry. Provisions for underage marriages exist in order to permit pregnant minor females and/or couples to marry, and prevailing code language still clearly reflects that bias. Ohio has the most explicit rule on this issue. In that state, the juvenile court is authorized to grant official consent to the marriage of underage persons, and the probate court issues the license. According to Ohio statutes, the probate court may delay issuing the license until the court is convinced that the female is pregnant and will carry the child to term or may even delay issuance of the license until the baby is born.

Page 464

Table 31: Marriage Age Requirements
State	Code Section	Minimum Legal Age With Parental Consent	Minimum Legal Age Without Parental Consent	Comments
ALABAMA	30-1-4, 5	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Marriage under 16 is voidable, not void. Marriage between 16 and 18 without parental consent is not grounds for annulment.
ALASKA	25.05.171	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Superior court judge may grant permission for person over 14 at hearing with parents and minor.
ARIZONA	25-102	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under 16 may be allowed to marry with parental consent and approval of superior court judge.
ARKANSAS	9-11-102 to 105	Male: 17; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under minimum age may obtain license in case of pregnancy or birth of child, with parental consent and judicial order.
CALIFORNIA	Family §300-303	Male: No age limit; Female: No age limit	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under 18 need parental consent and a court order obtained on the showing the court requires
COLORADO	14-2-106, 108	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under 16 may be allowed to marry with parental consent and/ or approval of juvenile court judge (if parents not living together).
CONNECTICUT	46b-30	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under 16 may be allowed to marry with parental consent and consent of probate judge.
DELAWARE	Tit. 13 §123	Male: 18; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under minimum age may obtain license in case of pregnancy or birth of child with medical certification.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	§46-403, 411	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Parental consent not required if minor was previously married.
FLORIDA	741.0405	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Parental consent not required if minor was previously married or parents are deceased. Under age 18, a county judge has discretion whether or not to give license if the couple has a child or is expecting one (upon sworn affidavits that they are the parents).
GEORGIA	19-3-2, 19-3-37	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Parents must appear before judge to consent to marriage.
HAWAII	§572-1 (2), 572-2	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	In certain circumstances, 15 year olds may obtain license, but never under 15.

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State	Code Section	Minimum Legal Age With Parental Consent	Minimum Legal Age Without Parental Consent	Comments
IDAHO	32-202	Male: 16; Female: 16	Male: 18; Female: 18	Minors under age 16 may

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