OVERVIEW OF STATE BY STATE MARRIAGE AGE OF CONSENT LAWS

The following chart provides a brief overview of the age of consent for marriage in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as well as links to relevant statutes. For more details on a state’s marriage age of consent laws, please read the statutes of that state.

Alabama The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Alaska The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. EXCEPTION: parties under the age of eighteen who are members of the U.S. armed forces are not required to provide parental consent (while on active duty). Also, marriage under the age of sixteen is possible if there’s a court order.
Arizona The age of consent is eighteen. A person can marry at sixteen, as long as one party isn’t more than three years older than the minor, and 1) their parent consents, or 2) they are emancipated.
Arkansas The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at seventeen.
California The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, there are no age limits regarding the minimum age for a couple to marry, but the partners and the minor’s parents have to meet with court officials who must rule out abuse or coercion. There is a 30-day waiting period for minors unless they are seventeen and have graduated high school or one of the partners is pregnant.
Colorado The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent and a court order based on “the best interest of the child,” and no more than a three year age gap, a child can marry at sixteen
Connecticut The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Delaware The age of consent is eighteen. Minors cannot get married.
Florida The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent and judicial, a person can marry at seventeen as long as one party isn’t more than two years older than the minor.
Georgia The age of consent is eighteen. Emancipated minors who are seventeen can marry after completing a premarital education course but not to someone more than four years older.
Hawaii The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person who is fifteen can marry with parental consent and judicial approval.
Idaho The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen or seventeen, but only if there is no more than a three-year age gap between the two parties.
Illinois The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Indiana The age of consent is eighteen. 16- or 17-year-olds can marry someone no more than four years older with approval from a juvenile court judge.
Iowa The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Kansas The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. With judicial approval, a person can marry at age fifteen.
Kentucky The age of consent is eighteen. With judicial approval, a person can marry at seventeen.
Louisiana The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent and judicial approval, a minor who is sixteen or seventeen can marry a person less than three years older. No one under sixteen can marry.
Maine The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person who is under sixteen cannot marry.
Maryland The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent or proof of pregnancy/birth of a child, parties can marry at sixteen. A person can marry at fifteen with parental consent and there’s proof the female is pregnant or has given birth to a child.
Massachusetts The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent and judicial approval, a person can marry under the age of eighteen.
Michigan The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Minnesota The age of consent is eighteen. Minors cannot get married.
Mississippi The age of consent is twenty-one. With parental consent, males can marry at seventeen and females can marry at fifteen.
Missouri The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person over twenty-one cannot marry someone under the age of eighteen.
Montana The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent and after at least two separate counseling sessions, a person can marry at sixteen.
Nebraska The age of consent is nineteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at seventeen.
Nevada The age of consent is eighteen. A person can marry at seventeen with: (1) parental or guardian consent; (2) proof of Nevada residence; (3) a court order.
New Hampshire The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent and the consent of the judge, a person can marry at sixteen.
New Jersey The age of consent is eighteen. Minors cannot get married.
New Mexico The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person under sixteen can marry by order of a children’s or family division of district court.
New York The age of consent is eighteen. With parental and judicial consent, a person can marry at seventeen.
North Carolina The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person can marry at fourteen with judicial consent, which is given if the person is pregnant or has given birth to a child.
North Dakota The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Ohio The age of consent is eighteen. With judicial consent, and so long as the parties are less than four years apart, minors can marry at age seventeen.
Oklahoma The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person under sixteen may marry if authorized by the court.
Oregon The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at seventeen.
Pennsylvania The age of consent is eighteen. Minors cannot legally marry.
Rhode Island The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person can marry under the age of sixteen if approved by the family court.
South Carolina The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
South Dakota The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Tennessee The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at seventeen; however, one party cannot be more than four years older than the minor.
Texas The age of consent is eighteen. Emancipated minors who are sixteen or seventeen can legally marry.
Utah The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person can marry at age fifteen with parental consent and judicial approval or court commissioner.
Vermont The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Virginia The age of consent is eighteen. Minors can marry at sixteen with court approval in special cases.
Washington The age of consent is eighteen. With judicial approval, a person can marry at seventeen.
West Virginia The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person under sixteen can marry with parental consent and judicial approval.
Wisconsin The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at age sixteen.
Wyoming The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen. A person under the age of sixteen can marry with judicial approval.
District of Columbia The age of consent is eighteen. With parental consent, a person can marry at sixteen.
Puerto Rico The age of consent is twenty-one. With parental approval (and under specific circumstances), females can marry at sixteen.

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