U.S. child marriage laws: individual state legislation

In the United States, there is no federal law that specifically governs child marriage, leaving the regulation of this issue to individual states. Consequently, the laws surrounding child marriage vary widely from one state to another. Each state sets its own requirements regarding age, consent, and other conditions for marriage. As of July 2024, only thirteen states have completely banned child marriage.

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Below is an overview of the current status in each state, as well as any pending bills that promise positive change in the fight against forced child marriage by outlawing child marriage without exception.

Alabama

The current legal minimum age to get married in Alabama is 16. There has been no recent legislation that would ban child marriage.

Updated: July 2024

Alaska

Anyone 16 or older is legally allowed to get married in Alaska, which was set by HB 62 in 2022. Unfortunately, this leaves 16-and 17-year-olds open to forced child marriages, and there is no legislation pending that would change this.

Updated: July 2024

Arizona

Since 2018, after HB 2006 was passed, the legal minimum age in Arizona is 16. Currently, there is no law pending that would raise this to 18 and prohibit child marriage.

Updated: July 2024

Arkansas

In 2019 and 2021, lawmakers passed bills that established the marriage age at 17 while retaining an outdated exception that permits those “under 18 but older than 16” to marry if they are pregnant. With no pending legislation, there is no end to child marriages in sight.

Updated: July 2024

California

California currently has no minimum age to get married. Our latest hope, AB 2924, the bill to end all marriages before 18, is awaiting action in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Are you a California resident? Join our partners Unchained At Last and write to your state legislators.

Updated: July 2024

Colorado

With HB 19-1316 being passed in 2019, the legal minimum age to marry in Colorado is 16. There is currently no law pending that would raise this.

Updated: July 2024

Connecticut

Connecticut was the ninth state to ban child marriages in June 2023 when HB 6569 was passed and raised the age from 16 to 18.

Updated: July 2024

Delaware

The first U.S. state to ever ban child marriages without exception, Delaware’s governor signed HB 337 into law in May 2018.

Updated: July 2024

Florida

California currently has no minimum age to get married. Our latest hope, AB 2924, the bill to end all marriages before 18, is awaiting action in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Are you a California resident? Join our partners Unchained At Last and write to your state legislators.

Updated: July 2024

Hawaii

In Hawaii, anyone over the age of 15 can legally get married. Two bills that could have increased this to 18 were introduced in 2023 but unfortunately died at the end of the 2024 legislative period in May 2024: SB 46 and HB 206.

Updated: July 2024

Idaho

The youngest age to legally marry in Idaho is 16, established by HB 466 in 2020. There is no further legislation pending that would ban child marriage.

Updated: July 2024

Illinois

The minimum age to get married in Illinois is currently set at 16. Unfortunately, multiple bills that could have raised the age died in the legislature in 2024: HB 1252 and SB 2749 (awaiting action in the Senate Executive Committee) would have both ended child marriage completely, and HB 5056 and HB 5644 aimed to end child marriage but kept some loopholes open.

Updated: July 2024

Indiana

In 2020, Indiana passed HB 1006, which raised the age to get married to 16. Two attempts to ban child marriage completely failed in 2020, and no further legislation has been introduced since.

Updated: July 2024

Iowa

In Iowa, the legal minimum age to get married is 16. There is no pending legislation to raise it to 18 and ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: July 2024

Kansas

In Kansas, child marriage is still possible for children between the ages of 15 and 18. The latest promising bill, HB 2046, did not make it out of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, leaving Kansas without any pending bills.

Updated: July 2024

Kentucky

Anyone 17 or older is legally allowed to get married in Kentucky, which leaves 17-year-olds vulnerable to forced child marriages. There is currently no legislation pending that would protect them by raising the age to 18.

Updated: July 2024

Louisiana

In 2019, lawmakers passed SB 172, which was initially introduced to prohibit all marriages under 18. However, it was amended to set the marriage age at 16. Currently, no legislation to end child marriage is pending in Louisiana.

Updated: July 2024

Maine

In 2023, lawmakers passed LD 443, setting the marriage age at 17. Currently, no legislation to end child marriage is pending in Maine.

Updated: July 2024

Maryland

In 2022, lawmakers passed HB 83/SB 29, raising the marriage age from 15 to 17 but retaining the outdated pregnancy exception for 17-year-olds. This marked the seventh attempt to end child marriage in Maryland, with all previous bills having died in the legislature, and no pending ones.

Updated: July 2024

Massachusetts

Massachusetts became the seventh state to ban child marriage without exceptions in July 2022 when HB 1478 was passed into law.

Updated: July 2024

Michigan

Michigan became the tenth state in the United States to pass HB 4302 to end child marriage without any exceptions in September 2023, meaning marriage before the age of 18 is officially illegal.

Updated: July 2024

Minnesota

In 2020 Minnesota passed SF 1393/HF 745 which ended all marriages before age 18. This makes Minnesota the fourth state to pass crucial legislation.

Updated: July 2024

Mississippi

Mississippi is one of the few U.S. states that has no minimum legal age to get married, failing to offer protection to all children under 18. Unfortunately, there is no pending legislation that could change this.

Updated: July 2024

Missouri

Missouri currently allows children above 16 to get married. Just this year, in 2024, the bills SB 767 and HB 2709 to end all marriage before age 18 were introduced. Unfortunately, they did not make it far as they died at the end of the 2024 legislative session in May 2024.

Are you a Missouri resident? Join our partners Unchained At Last and write to your state legislators.

Updated: July 2024

Montana

The current legal minimum age to get married in Montana is 16. The latest bill to raise it to 18 died in 2019, and no more recent one has been introduced since.

Updated: July 2024

Nebraska

With no legislation pending, 17-year-old children can legally get married in the state of Nebraska, and there is no outlook on this changing.

Updated: July 2024

Nevada

Since 2019, the legal minimum age to marry in Nevada is 17, as set by AB 139. There is currently no law pending that would raise the age to 18 and prohibit child marriage.

Updated: July 2024

New Hampshire

In May 2024, New Hampshire became the thirteenth state to ban child marriages. SB 359 unanimously passed the Senate in March 2024, the House with 192-174 in May 2024, and was signed into law in June 2024.

Updated: July 2024

New Jersey

New Jersey became the second state to ban child marriage without exception in 2018 when bill A 865/S 427 was adopted into law, setting the minimum legal age to marry at 18.

Updated: July 2024

New Mexico

New Mexico currently has no legal minimum age to marry. Unfortunately, a promising bill, HB 242, died at the end of the 2024 legislative period, and no further bills are currently pending.

Updated: July 2024

New York

After Freedom United’s advocacy, New York became the sixth state to ban child marriage. The government passed A 3891/S 3086 in 2021, making the legal minimum age to marry 18, inspired by survivor Naila Amin.

Updated: July 2024

North Carolina

The current legal minimum age to marry in North Carolina is 16, which was raised from 14 by HB 41/SB 35 in 2021. However, child marriage is still allowed and there is currently no pending legislation that would prohibit it.

Updated: July 2024

North Dakota

The youngest age to legally marry in North Dakota is 16. There is currently no legislation in the works that would ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: July 2024

Ohio

Since 2019, with the passing of HB 511, anyone 17 and older is allowed to get married in Ohio. There is no discussion about raising the age to 18 and prohibiting child marriages.

Updated: July 2024

Oklahoma

There is no legal minimum age to marry in Oklahoma, failing to protect children in the state completely from forced child marriage. There is currently no legislation pending, and any efforts to ban child marriage failed in various legislative periods.

Updated: July 2024

Oregon

Oregon allows anyone 17 and older to legally get married. At the moment, there are no laws that could change this and end child marriage.

Updated: July 2024

Pennsylvania

The third state to prohibit child marriage, Pennsylvania passed HB 360/SB 81 in 2019, therefore, raising the minimum legal age to marry to 18.

Updated: July 2024

Rhode Island

Rhode Island became the fifth state to ban child marriages in 2021 when H 5387/S 398 raised the minimum legal age to marry to 18.

Updated: July 2024

South Carolina

Currently, the minimum age to get married in South Carolina is set at 16. After some previous attempts, bill SB 34 which promises to end child marriage in the state died at the end of the 2024 legislative session.

Updated: July 2024

South Dakota

The legal minimum age to marry in South Dakota is 16. In 2024, HB 1154 was introduced but defeated in the House State Affairs Committee. Currently, no legislation to end child marriage is pending in the state.

Updated: July 2024

Tennessee

17-year-old children can legally get married in Tennessee. Legislation that would protect them and ban child marriage is currently not underway.

Updated: July 2024

Texas

In Texas, the legal minimum age to marry is 16. Currently, there is no pending legislation to ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: July 2024

Utah

Since the passing of HB 234 in 2019, individuals aged 17 and older are permitted to marry in Utah. There is currently no discussion about raising the minimum age to 18 and prohibiting child marriages.

Updated: July 2024

Vermont

Vermont is the eighth state to ban child marriage without exception, with H 148, being passed in April 2023.

Updated: July 2024

Virginia

Virginia became the first Southern state to raise the minimum legal age for marriage to 18. In April 2024, HB 994 was signed into law, making it the twelfth state to ban child marriages.

Updated: July 2024

Washington

Washington joined the states that prohibit child marriage in March 2024, imposing a legal minimum age to marry of 18. It is the twelfth state to protect children against forced child marriage by banning child marriage with HB 1455.

Updated: July 2024

West Virginia

In 2023, lawmakers passed HB 3018, setting the marriage age in West Virginia at 16. The most recent bill addressing child marriage died at the end of the 2024 legislative session, and no further legislation is pending.

Updated: July 2024

Wisconsin

The minimum legal age to marry in Wisconsin is 16. Currently, there is no legislation in progress to ban child marriage in the state.

Updated: July 2024

Wyoming

The current legal minimum age to marry in Wyoming is 16, established by HB 7 in 2023. There are no pending laws that would raise it to 18 and ban child marriage.

Updated: July 2024