California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law banning marriage for anyone under 18, ending a system that allowed minors to marry with parental consent and court approval.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1267 on Wednesday, September 30, making California the 18th state to prohibit child marriage without exceptions. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, and also sets 18 as the minimum age to enter a domestic partnership.
California had been one of only three states with no statutory minimum marriage age. Existing law allowed minors to obtain a marriage license with the written consent of at least one parent or guardian and approval from a judge.
Beginning January 1, 2027, marriage licenses and domestic partnerships in California will be limited to people 18 and older.
“This is a long overdue measure to protect young Californians and minors,” Newsom said in announcing the signing. “Today, California kids are safer than ever before.”
Earlier attempts to set an absolute minimum marriage age in California stalled over concerns about how a blanket ban would affect minors, including pregnant and parenting teenagers.
Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Santa Cruz Democrat, authored AB 1267. The measure ultimately reached Newsom without a vote in opposition.
California's statutory rape law exempts sexual intercourse between spouses. By setting the marriage age at 18, AB 1267 also prevents future marriages involving minors from falling within that spousal exemption.
Courtney Stodden joined Newsom for the bill signing. Stodden was 16 when her parents allowed her to marry actor Doug Hutchison, who was 50 at the time. Stodden has described the relationship as abusive and predatory and later became an advocate against child marriage.
“Governor Newsom’s action today made clear to me and to survivors of child marriage everywhere that we should never have been expected to carry this burden,” Stodden said.
California officials estimate approximately 35,000 minors were married in the state between 2000 and 2021, most of them girls. Nationally, nearly 315,000 minors were legally married during the same period, according to figures cited by the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
Newsom signed the child marriage ban alongside AB 2534, which allows children and adults facing forced marriage to seek court protection.
California is now the 18th state to adopt an absolute minimum marriage age of 18. Thirty-two states currently allow marriage before 18 under at least some circumstances, while Mississippi and New Mexico have no statutory minimum marriage age.
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