California bans child marriage, setting minimum age at 18

What Happened

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1267 on Sept. 30, establishing 18 as the minimum age to marry in the state without exception.

The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, repeals provisions that allowed minors to marry with parental consent and judicial approval. It also removes an exception that permitted minors to enter domestic partnerships, according to NPR.

Before the measure, California had no statutory minimum age for marriage. A child could marry if a parent consented and a judge approved the marriage.

Newsom called the legislation a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors," according to the BBC. He signed it alongside advocate Courtney Stodden, who was 16 when her parents permitted her to marry actor Doug Hutchison, then 50.

Why It Matters

California is the 18th state to ban child marriage without exception since 2018, according to the BBC and NPR. The two outlets report that child marriage remains legal under varying restrictions in 32 states.

That count is not entirely settled in public statements. NPR also reported that Rep. Gwen Moore, a Wisconsin Democrat, said in a statement that child marriage is legal in 34 states. The differing figures may reflect changing state laws or differing definitions, but the source material does not resolve the discrepancy.

Advocates argue that minors in marriages can face particular difficulty getting legal help, seeking divorce or leaving abusive circumstances. The BBC reported that California previously had no mechanism for people under 18 to get divorced.

Unchained At Last, an advocacy organization that sponsored the bill with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, said about 9,000 girls were married each year in California. The group said almost all of those child marriages involved girls marrying adult men.

Background

The measure was authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin and followed a nearly decade-long campaign by survivors and advocacy groups, NPR reported.

Stodden has become a prominent advocate against child marriage since marrying Hutchison in 2011. Following the signing, Stodden called the law a victory and said survivors should not have been expected to carry the burden of changing it, according to the BBC.

Other survivors also welcomed the law. Brittany Bee told the BBC that she married at 17 in an effort to escape an abusive home, then was allegedly abused by her adult husband. Sara Tasneem told the BBC that she was forced to marry a man nearly twice her age at 15, became a mother at 16 and left school.

What Happens Next

The California ban will take effect at the start of 2027. At the federal level, Moore and Sens. Dick Durbin, Brian Schatz and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Child Marriage Prevention Act on July 16. NPR reported that the proposal would encourage states to establish a nationwide minimum marriage age of 18.

The bill's sponsors cited advocacy-group data showing that more than 314,000 minors were legally married in the United States from 2000 through 2021, including girls as young as 10. Unchained At Last estimated that at least 66,415 of those marriages involved brides below the applicable age of sexual consent, and said marital exemptions shielded adult spouses from prosecution in roughly 90% of those cases.

Globally, the United Nations estimates that 12 million girls become child brides each year and has set a goal of ending child marriage by 2030.