Yes, child marriage is legal in 38 states

On May 4, 2024 a political activist claimed in a post on X that child marriage is currently legal in 38 states and 20 states do not require any minimum age for marriage. The person made the claim after sharing a video of a New Hampshire state representative arguing against a bill that would ban child marriage in the state. 

A viral TikTok from April made a similar claim; in it, the creator says it is “100% legal for children to be married to adults in 38 states.”

THE QUESTION

Is child marriage legal in 38 states?

THE SOURCES

• Unchained At Last, a nonprofit dedicated to ending child marriage in the U.S.

• Tahirih Justice Center

• Equality Now, a nonprofit womens’ right organization

• MOST Policy Initiative, a Missouri-based nonprofit corporation that provides science policy research to policymakers

• The General Court of New Hampshire

• State laws

THE ANSWER

Yes, legal exceptions allow people under 18 to marry in 38 states as of May 7, 2024.

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WHAT WE FOUND

All 50 states have laws that say a person must be at least 18 to consent to marry. However, 38 states have legal exceptions that still allow children to marry in certain circumstances. The minimum age for marriage is set by each individual state, not the federal government.

These legal exceptions often require the consent of one or both parents and/or a judge. The exceptions may be for marriages between two minors, when one party is pregnant or has given birth, or when the child is an emancipated minor, according to an article from the MOST Policy Initiative, a Missouri-based nonprofit corporation that provides science policy research to policymakers.

Since 2018, 12 states have passed laws that eliminate all exceptions that made it legal for a child to marry, according to Unchained At Last, a nonprofit dedicated to ending child marriage in the United States.

Those states and the year they completely banned child marriage are:

• Delaware (2018)

• New Jersey (2018)

• Pennsylvania (2020)

• Minnesota (2020)

• Rhode Island (2021)

• New York (2021)

• Massachusetts (2022)

• Vermont (2023)

• Connecticut (2023)

• Michigan (2023)

• Washington (2024)

• Virginia (2024)

Virginia is the most recent state to completely ban child marriage, doing so on April 9, 2024, according to the Tahirih Justice Center. 

The New Hampshire General Court passed a bill that would prohibit child marriage without exceptions on May 2, 2024. If the bill is signed by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, New Hampshire would become the 13th state to completely eliminate child marriage.

Laws regarding child marriage are rapidly changing nationwide. 

For example, the viral X post claimed that 20 states do not require any minimum age for marriage. The figure comes from Equality Now, a nonprofit womens’ right organization, which said it was accurate as of July 12, 2023. That figure has since dropped dramatically.

Unchained At Last says there are now just four states that have no minimum age for marriage: California, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

There are currently 10 states that have exceptions allowing 17 year old's to marry, Unchained At Last says. 22 states and Washington, D.C. allow marriage to people as young as 16 in certain cases. There are two states, Kansas and Hawaii, that allow someone as young as 15 to marry under certain circumstances.

Aside from New Hampshire, Unchained At Last says there is pending legislation in four states that would completely ban marriage under the age of 18: California, Illinois, Missouri and South Carolina.

This story is also available in Spanish / Lee este artículo también en español: Sí, el matrimonio infantil es legal en 38 estados