The legal age to get married in the US is 18 in every state without needing anyone else’s permission. Below 18, the answer depends on where you live: sixteen states and Washington, D.C. now prohibit marriage under 18 entirely, four states set no minimum age at all, and the rest let minors marry only with parental consent, a judge’s approval, or both.
At 18, You Can Marry on Your Own
Turn 18 and the rules collapse into something simple. You walk into a county clerk’s office, show a government-issued ID, pay the license fee, and apply. No parent signs. No judge weighs in. This is true in all fifty states, and it lines up with the age at which you can vote and sign binding contracts.
The only remaining requirements are the ones that apply to every adult applicant: identification, the fee, and in some places a short waiting period between the license and the ceremony.
States That Prohibit Marriage Under 18
A growing number of states have eliminated every exception that once let minors marry. These are hard floors: no parental consent, no judicial order, no pregnancy exception, and no military service changes the outcome. As of 2025, the following sixteen states plus Washington, D.C. set the minimum at 18 with no exceptions:
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted the same rule. Delaware and New Jersey were the first states to pass bans, both in 2018. Four more passed in 2025 alone, which is more than any previous single year. Nearly every remaining state has at least introduced a bill that would restrict or ban marriage under 18, so if you’re checking the law for your state, confirm what passed most recently.
States Where Minors Can Still Marry
In the other thirty-four states, a person under 18 can marry if certain conditions are met. The requirements fall into two categories, and some states require one, some require the other, and some require both.
Parental Consent
Where parental consent is the pathway, one or both parents (or a legal guardian) must formally agree. A verbal “yes” is not enough. You use a standardized form from the county clerk’s office, and many jurisdictions require the parent to sign it in front of a clerk or notary. If a parent can’t appear in person, a notarized affidavit is usually the substitute. Expect to produce the minor’s birth certificate to verify both age and the parent-child relationship.
Parental consent alone is most commonly available to 16- and 17-year-olds. In a shrinking number of states, that signature is all you need. In others, a judge still has to sign off even when the parents agree.
Judicial Authorization
Court approval is more involved. The minor, or a parent on their behalf, files a petition, and a judge decides whether the marriage serves the minor’s interests. Judges typically look at whether the minor has shown maturity beyond their years, whether they are financially self-supporting, and whether the age or circumstances of the proposed spouse raise concerns about exploitation.
Several states layer in procedural safeguards. Texas requires the court to appoint an attorney to represent the minor at the hearing. Ohio imposes a fourteen-day waiting period after a juvenile court files its consent before the marriage license can be issued.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code Section 3101.04 – Consent of Juvenile Court North Carolina appoints a guardian ad litem and bars refiling for one year if a judge denies the petition.
Age Gap Limits
Even where minors can marry, many states cap how much older the other spouse can be. The caps vary:
- Florida limits the gap to two years.
- Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, and Louisiana cap it at three years.
- Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia allow up to four years.
- Utah permits up to seven years, the widest cap of any state.
These limits apply on top of the consent and court requirements. A marriage that meets the age rule but violates the age-gap rule will be denied at the clerk’s window, and if a license somehow issues, the marriage can be challenged as invalid.
The Four States With No Minimum Age
California, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Oklahoma set no absolute minimum age. In these states, a minor of any age can in theory marry if parental consent and judicial approval are obtained. Marriages involving very young children are rare in practice, but the legal possibility exists, and bills to establish a minimum age have been introduced repeatedly in each of these states.
Emancipation as a Separate Pathway
A few states treat court-granted emancipation as its own route. In Arizona, Texas, and Virginia, an emancipated minor can marry without parental consent, because the emancipation order has already severed parental authority as a legal matter. Georgia recognizes emancipation “by operation of law” when a minor is already married or on active duty with the U.S. armed forces, and such minors do not need additional judicial approval to marry.
Emancipation itself is not easy to obtain. A minor typically has to show that they live independently, support themselves financially, and can manage their own affairs. This pathway is used less often than consent or court approval, but it matters for minors whose parents refuse to cooperate.
If an Underage Marriage Is Challenged
A marriage entered into by a minor without proper authorization is usually not erased automatically. In most states, these marriages are “voidable” rather than “void.” A void marriage is treated as if it never existed; a voidable marriage is presumed valid until a court annuls it. That means someone has to actually file for annulment.
Who can file, and by when, varies by state. The minor spouse, a parent, or a guardian can usually bring the petition. Many states tie the deadline to the minor’s 18th birthday. If the now-adult spouse keeps living with their partner after turning 18 without filing, some states treat that as ratification and close the door. Parents or guardians who want to challenge the marriage generally have to act before the minor turns 18.
This is a real trap. A minor who was pressured into the marriage may not have the resources, the information, or the legal capacity to file on their own before the clock runs out.
Check Your State Before You Assume
The law here has changed rapidly, and it keeps changing. A pathway that existed in your state two or three years ago may no longer be available, and age-gap caps or waiting periods may have been added since you last checked. If you or someone you know is under 18 and thinking about marriage, confirm the current rules with your county clerk’s office or your state’s statutes before planning anything.