Created by FindLaw's team of legal writers and editors | Last reviewed September 14, 2020
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Anyone who is of the age of majority (18 in most states), and who meets other criteria, is free to marry whomever they want. It is sometimes easy to get swept up in the celebrations and festivities associated with marriage, and forget that marriage is ultimately a legally binding contract. Each state, therefore, imposes legal requirements that must be met in order for a marriage to be valid. One such requirement is that both parties to the marriage be of a certain age.
Many states have marriage age limits that allow for minors to get married in certain circumstances. However, more states are banning child marriage. For instance, prior to 2018, New Jersey couples were permitted to get married as young as 16 with parental consent, while minors younger than 16 were permitted to get married with the approval of court.
In June 2018, New Jersey became one of the first states to ban child marriage and now there is a clear minimum age of 18 with no exceptions. The main provisions of New Jersey's marriage age requirement laws are listed in the chart below. See FindLaw's Getting Married section for additional articles and resources.
| State | New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Topic | Marriage age requirements |
| Definition | New Jersey's marriage age requirement law sets the minimum age to marry in the state at 18 with no exceptions. |
| Code Sections | 37:1-6 |
| Minimum Legal Age With Parental Consent | 18 |
| Minimum Legal Age Without Parental Consent | 18 |
| Other | Minors under the age of 18 cannot get married in New Jersey. |
Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact a New Jersey family law attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
If you’d like more information on New Jersey’s marriage requirements laws, feel free to check out the links listed below for related resources. For more general information on this area of law, you can refer to FindLaw’s section on marriage. If you have more specific questions or need individualized assistance, you may want to consider retaining a family law lawyer.
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