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Is child marriage legal in most states?
Wisconsin Watch partners withΒ GigafactΒ to produce fact briefs β bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Yes.
Thirty-four states, including Wisconsin, allow for the marriage of a child under age 18, and 16 states have bans, according to counts by groups seeking to ban the practice.
The 16 include Minnesota and Michigan.Β
The first bans were adopted in 2018.
Wisconsin allows a person who is at least 16 but under 18 to obtain a marriage license with permission of a parent or guardian.
A bill pending in the Legislature would eliminate that exception and require all people be 18 to marry. Co-sponsors have been added to the bill as recently as Feb. 9, but no hearings are scheduled.
Democrats sponsoring the bill say they want to stop men from marrying girls.Β
No groups have registered to lobby for or against the bill.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Equality Now: Child marriage in the United States
- Unchained At Last: United Statesβ Child Marriage Problem
- Freedom United: U.S. child marriage laws: individual state legislation
- UNICEF USA: Help End Child Marriage
- Wisconsin State Legislature: 2025 Assembly Bill 656
- Wisconsin State Legislature: 2025 Assembly Bill 656 History
- Wisconsin Ethics Commission: Assembly Bill 656
Is child marriage legal in most states? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
