SACRAMENTO, United States – California has ended the legal exception that allowed people under 18 to marry after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation setting the minimum age for marriage at 18.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1267 on Wednesday, Sept. 30, making California one of the states that prohibit marriage involving minors without an exception.
The law also sets 18 as the minimum age for domestic partnerships.
California removes minor-marriage exception
Before the new law, California permitted a person under 18 to marry if a court granted permission and the required parental or guardian consent was obtained.
AB 1267 repeals those provisions and establishes 18 as the minimum age for marriage.
The legislation also removes related provisions governing marriages involving minors, including requirements concerning court approval and premarital counseling.
The bill was authored by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Democrat from Santa Cruz, and was supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Pellerin said the legislation was shaped by accounts from survivors who described difficulties associated with leaving marriages they entered as minors and seeking legal assistance.
Law applies to marriage and domestic partnership
The legislation does not only change California’s marriage law.
AB 1267 also establishes 18 as the minimum age for entering a domestic partnership, removing provisions that previously allowed minors to enter such arrangements under specified circumstances.
The measure therefore creates a uniform minimum age of 18 for both marriage and domestic partnership in California.
California previously had no statutory minimum age of 18
California’s previous law did not establish 18 as an absolute minimum marriage age.
Under the former system, an unmarried person under 18 could marry after obtaining a court order and written consent from at least one parent or guardian of each underage party.
The court could also require premarital counseling as part of the approval process.
The change follows years of legislative efforts to remove the exception.
A 2026 analysis by Stateline reported that, before California’s change, 17 states had completely prohibited marriage before age 18, while most states continued to allow some form of marriage involving minors under specified conditions.
Survivors helped drive the legislation
Newsom signed AB 1267 alongside advocates who had experienced marriage as minors.
Among them was Courtney Stodden, who has publicly described being married at 16 to actor Doug Hutchison, who was 50 at the time.
The governor’s office said the bill was sponsored by Unchained At Last and the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
Supporters of the legislation have argued that minors can face particular difficulties when attempting to leave a marriage or obtain independent legal assistance.
Those arguments were part of the legislative campaign that ultimately led to the removal of California’s minor-marriage exception.
What changes under the new law
AB 1267 makes several changes to California law:
- The minimum age for marriage is 18.
- Minors can no longer marry through parental or guardian consent and court approval.
- The minimum age for domestic partnership is also 18.
- Existing statutory provisions specifically governing marriages involving minors are repealed.
The measure was passed by the Legislature before being sent to Newsom for his signature.
California joins states with complete bans
The governor’s office said California became the latest state to prohibit child marriage without an exception.
According to the governor’s office, 17 other U.S. states had already completely banned marriage involving people under 18.
The change leaves California with a substantially different legal framework from the one that had allowed minors to marry with judicial and parental involvement.
The new law instead establishes a clear age threshold: 18.
The legal change takes effect under California law
With Newsom’s signature, AB 1267 became law and removes the statutory mechanisms that previously permitted minors to marry.
The measure represents the end of California’s exception allowing under-18 marriage through court authorization and parental or guardian consent.
Reporting Credit: California Governor’s Office; California State Legislature; Assemblymember Gail Pellerin; California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls.
