Skip to content

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024

Does Oklahoma have no minimum age of marriage if approved by a court?

Sue Bin Park, Oklahoma Watch
yes

Oklahoma state law permits marriage of minors under the age of 16 by authorization of the court for two circumstances: in settlement of a lawsuit formally determining the father of a child; or if a minor is pregnant or has had an illegitimate child, and no parent or guardian objects to the marriage. Minors aged 16-17 may be married in Oklahoma by parental approval of both partners.

Oklahoma joins four other states in having no minimum age of marriage in the case of parental consent, court approval, or both: California, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Washington.

See a full discussion of this at Oklahoma Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation that produces in-depth and investigative journalism as a public service for the benefit of all Oklahomans. Through investigative, fact-driven journalism, we dig deep and examine significant issues facing our state. Our work engages all Oklahomans, amplifies the discussion of important issues and leads to change. We help develop the journalists and journalism of the future.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.