California Bans Child Marriage, Becoming 18th US State to End the Practice Since 2018
California has officially banned child marriage, ending a practice that remains legal under certain circumstances in 32 US states.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation establishing 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage in California, with the new law set to take effect on January 1, 2027.
Newsom described the legislation as a “long overdue measure” aimed at protecting young Californians and minors.
The governor signed the bill alongside Courtney Stodden, a prominent advocate for ending child marriage who was married at the age of 16 to actor Doug Hutchison, who was 50 at the time.
Stodden said the new law represented a significant victory for survivors and vowed to continue campaigning until child marriage is prohibited across all 50 states.
California Had No Minimum Marriage Age
Before the new legislation, California had no specific statutory minimum age for marriage.
Minors could marry if they obtained parental consent and judicial approval.
Critics and survivors argued that the system left children vulnerable to coercion, abuse and relationships with significantly older adults.
The state also lacked a straightforward mechanism for people who married as minors to obtain a divorce without encountering additional legal barriers.
According to Unchained At Last, an organisation campaigning against child marriage in the United States, thousands of girls were married in California each year, with most child marriages involving girls and adult men.
Survivors Welcome the Change
Child-marriage survivors who campaigned for the legislation welcomed California’s decision.
Brittany Bee, who married at 17 after seeking to escape an abusive home environment, told the BBC that she subsequently experienced alleged abuse in her marriage.
She said children should not be viewed as having freely consented to marriages involving adults.
Other survivors described the legislation as the culmination of years of campaigning.
Sara Tasneem, who says she was forced into marriage at 15 to a man nearly twice her age, said she first began lobbying for reform in 2017.
She recalled being introduced to her husband on the morning of their arranged marriage.
Tasneem later became a mother at 16 and left school.
Reflecting on the passage of the legislation, she described the campaign as a long journey and said she was grateful that children in California would no longer be able to marry after the law takes effect.
Child Marriage Remains Legal in Parts of the US
California becomes the 18th US state to ban child marriage since 2018, according to advocates.
However, child marriage remains legally possible under varying circumstances in 32 states, although the specific requirements differ from state to state.
Some states have introduced minimum ages while retaining exceptions involving parental consent, judicial approval, pregnancy or other circumstances.
Advocates argue that these exceptions can leave minors vulnerable to pressure or exploitation.
The movement to end child marriage in the United States has increasingly been led by survivors who say their experiences demonstrate the difficulties children can face when entering legally binding marriages with adults.
A Wider National Debate
The California legislation adds momentum to a broader national debate over the legal protections available to minors.
Supporters of nationwide bans argue that children lack the legal and developmental capacity to make the same decisions as adults and should not be placed in marriages that can create long-term legal and financial obligations.
Opponents of blanket restrictions in some states have historically raised questions around parental rights and exceptional circumstances, contributing to differences in marriage laws across the country.
California’s new law removes those exceptions by establishing 18 as the minimum age for marriage.
For survivors and campaigners, the change marks the end of a legal framework they say left children vulnerable.
But their campaign continues beyond California, with advocates calling for similar reforms in the remaining states where minors can still legally marry under certain conditions.
The new California law takes effect on January 1, 2027.
