California Bans Marriage Under 18, Closing Legal Exceptions
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on September 30, 2026, prohibiting marriage for anyone under 18. The prohibition takes effect on 1 January.
The measure, AB 1267, sets 18 as the minimum age to marry without exception. It ends a prior system that set no minimum age and allowed minors to marry with parental consent and a judge's approval, according to BBC. The bill was authored by Pellerin, a Democrat from Santa Cruz, according to the governor's office.
Newsom signed the bill alongside Courtney Stodden. Stodden married actor Doug Hutchison in 2011 when Stodden was 16. Newsom called the ban a "long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors."
California is the 18th state to ban child marriage since 2018. Child marriage remains legal in 32 states. Advocacy group Unchained At Last said about 9,000 girls were wed each year in California. Earlier efforts to end the practice in California faced opposition from liberal civil rights organizations, according to CalMatters.
The broader context here is how American family law divides power. There is no federal minimum age for marriage. Each state sets its own rule, much like states set different driving ages. That leaves a patchwork where the age to marry does not always match the age to vote, sign contracts, or be treated as an adult. Parental consent and judicial approval were meant to act as safeguards. Critics argue those steps can instead formalize coercion.
Looking at what this means for enforcement and for other states, the shift to a clear age floor simplifies the legal question. Courts and clerks no longer assess maturity or parental agreement. They verify age. For policymakers elsewhere, California's size changes the political arithmetic. It weakens the claim that strict bans fit only smaller states. It does not settle the dispute over parental authority, judicial discretion and adolescent autonomy. That dispute cuts across usual party lines and will likely shape debates in the 32 states where marriage under 18 is still permitted.
