The marriage age in the United States is set by each state and territory, either by statute or the common law applies. An individual can marry in the United States as of right, without parental consent or other authorization, on reaching 18 years of age in all states except in Nebraska, where the general marriage age is 19, and Mississippi where the general marriage age is 21. In Puerto Rico the general marriage age is also 21. In all these jurisdictions, these are also the ages of majority. In Alabama, however, the age of majority is 19, while the general marriage age is 18. When at least one of the marriage partners is under 18, the marriage is considered a child or underage marriage, and requires “exceptional circumstances” to be permitted. This may be parental consent or judicial authorisation, and there may be other requirements. In many states, a child's marriage automatically emancipates the minor, or increases his or her legal rights beyond allowing the minor to consent to certain medical treatments. In all but four states, couples are allowed to marry at a younger age with parental consent or with judicial authorisation, with the minimum marriage age, when all exemptions are taken into account, ranging from 14 to 17, while as of July 1, 2019, in 13 states there was no statutory minimum age when all exemptions were taken into account. These states were California, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The states which ban marriage under 18 completely are Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota and Pennsylvania which no longer allow "exceptional circumstances" that permit underage marriages. American Samoa also does not allow underage marriages. As of June 2020, 40 states have set an absolute minimum marriage age by statute, which vary between 14 and 18. In recent years, several states have increased their marriageable age, including in 2020, Idaho, Indiana and Minnesota. Although in 10 states there is no set minimum age by statute, the traditional common law minimum age is 14 for boys and 12 for girls - ages which have been confirmed by case law in some states. In 15 states, children under 16 can marry. Over the past 15 years, more than 200,000 minors married in US, and in Tennessee girls as young as 10 were married in 2001, before the state set a minimum age of 17 in 2018.
So, as of June 2020, in the 40 states that have set a marriage age by statute, the lower minimum marriage age when all exceptions are taken into account, are:
From 2017 to 2019 several states changed their law to set a minimum age, or to raise their minimum age. In Massachusetts the general marriage age is 18, but children may be married with judicial consent with no minimum age limit. In the absence of any statutory minimum age, one opinion is that the minimum common law marriageable age of 12 for girls and 14 for boys may still apply. Unlike many other states, in Massachusetts a child's marriage does not automatically emancipate the minor, or increase his or her legal rights beyond allowing the minor to consent to certain medical treatments.
In the territories and federal district
is a territory of the United States, and its people are American citizens. The general marriage age in Puerto Rico is 21, however males aged 18 and females aged 16 can marry with exceptions. In Guam, the general age is 18, but 16-year-olds can get married with the consent of at least one parent or guardian. In American Samoa, since September 2018, the marriage age has been 18 for both sexes. Previously, the marriage age for girls was 14. In the District of Columbia the general age is 18, but 16-year-olds may marry with exceptions. In the U.S. Virgin Islands the marriage age is 14 for females and 16 for males. In the Northern Mariana Islands males must be 18 to marry, while females can marry at 16 with parental consent.
