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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Do most states allow minors under the age of 18 to get married?

By Austin Tannenbaum
YES

According to Unchained At Last, a nonprofit "dedicated to helping women leave arranged and forced marriages," only six states prohibit marriage prior to age 18: New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.

Among the remaining states:

  • Nine permit 17-year-olds to marry.
  • Twenty three permit 16-year-olds to marry.
  • Two permit 15-year-olds to marry.
  • One permits 14-year-olds to marry.
  • Nine have no minimum age limit for marriage.

In most cases, these states require parental and/or judicial consent for underage marriage.

Unchained At Last reported in 2021 that 300,000 minors were legally married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018. Ninety six percent were age 16 or older, while less than 1% were 14 or younger. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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