California Bans Child Marriage Without Parental or Judicial Approval

What changed

California has banned child marriage. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring people to be 18 to marry, effective 1 January 2027.

The change closes a pathway that previously allowed children to marry with parental consent and a judge’s approval. California becomes the 18th US state to ban the practice since 2018, while it remains legal in 32 states.

Why it matters

The old system treated a child’s marriage as a decision adults could authorize. Survivors say that could leave teenagers trapped in abusive relationships, with no mechanism to get divorced if they were under 18.

The scale cited by Unchained At Last is striking: about 9,000 girls were married each year in California, and almost all such marriages involved girls and adult men. The law therefore changes more than the age written on a form. It removes the parental and judicial sign-offs that could turn a minor’s vulnerability into a legal marriage.

Brittany Bee, who married at 17 to escape an abusive home and said she was later allegedly abused by her adult husband, described the experience as moving from “one prison to another.” Courtney Stodden, who married a 50-year-old actor at 16, called the legislation a victory.

California’s decision is also a clear dividing line: from 2027, the state will recognize 18 as the threshold for marriage without an exception route for children. How the law handles existing marriages and cases begun before 1 January 2027 remains unclear.