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Are You Legally Able to Marry?
According to UK law, a man and a woman can legally marry if they are 16 years or over and are free to marry (i.e. single, widowed or divorced). This is subject to the following exceptions:
- Written parental consent is required if you are younger than 18 years old in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man & Guernsey or younger than 20 years in Jersey.
- You can’t be of the same sex - although you can register a civil partnership instead. If you are transsexual - your recognised gender will be that as per your current birth certificate.
- You can’t be related in such a way that is forbidden by law (the forbidden degrees of relationship).
Forbidden marriages
In the UK, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man the law forbids certain relatives from getting married. Such restrictions are referred to as the forbidden degrees of relationship. These are as follows:
| A man can't marry his... |
A woman can't marry her... |
| mother (incl. step-mother, former step-mother, mother-in-law, former mother-in-law, adoptive mother or former adoptive mother) |
father (incl. step-father, former step-father, father-in-law, former father-in law, adoptive father or former adoptive father) |
| daughter (incl. step-daughter, daughter-in-law or adoptive daughter) |
son (incl. step-son, son-in-law or adoptive son) |
| sister (incl. half sister) |
brother (incl. half brother) |
| grandmother (incl. step grandmother) |
grandfather (incl. step grandfather) |
| granddaughter (incl. step granddaughter) |
grandson |
| grandson's wife |
granddaughter's husband |
| aunt |
uncle |
| niece |
nephew |
In Scotland, great-grand parents are not allowed to marry their great-grand children.
There are exceptions to the above with regard to in-laws and step-relatives in England, Scotland and Wales under the Marriage Act of 1986. The following relatives can only marry in a civil ceremony under licence.
Relatives-in-law
A man may marry his sister-in-law and a woman can marry her brother-in-law. Other in-laws can marry only if:
- They are both at least 21 years old
- The family members who created the in-law relationship are both dead
Step-relatives - can marry provided:
- they are at least 21 years old
- the couple must not have lived in the same household together at any time before the youngest had reached the age of 18