Wyoming lawmakers might raise the legal age to marry in 2023

Published Tuesday, Dec. 6th, 2022

Pre-filed legislation in Wyoming could raise the legal age of consent to marry to 18 years old in 2023, with exceptions for 16 and 17 year olds with permission from a guardian and judge. Read about the proposed change to restrict child marriage, and other states that have recently limited underage marriages. (Wyoming House Bill 7)

Lawmakers in Wyoming consider raising the age of consent to marry in the state from 16 to 18

Update: This law passed and became effective February 2023. Full details here: Wyoming raises minimum age to marry to 18 with some exceptions

Lawmakers in Wyoming pre-filed legislation for 2023 last week that would raise the legal age to marry in the state to 18 years old, with some exceptions for 16 and 17 year olds.

Currently, children as young as 16 can consent to marriage in Wyoming, and children under 16 can marry with permission from a parent or guardian. There’s no minimum age requirement to marry, which means children of any age can marry with a guardian’s approval.

If the bill passes, the legal age of consent to marry would be raised to 18 years old. Children who are 16 or 17 years old would still be able to marry if they receive permission from both a guardian and a Wyoming judge. Clerks would not be able to issue a marriage license to underage applicants without an order from a judge, and any marriages entered into by someone under 16 years old would be automatically void.

Wyoming is one of several states to consider limiting or banning child marriage in recent years, including similar legislation that failed to pass there in 2019 and 2020.

New York and Rhode Island banned marriage for minors last year; Massachussets banned child marriage this year; Maryland raised the state’s minimum age to marry to 17 this April, and Alaska raised the state's minimum age to marry to 16 from 14 years old. Lawmakers in other states, including Kansas, Oregon, and West Virginia, have also attempted to pass laws restricting underage marriage in the past few years but were unsuccessful.

Wyoming’s General Session convenes on January 10, 2023. WY House Bill 7 was pre-filed for the 2023 General Session by Rep. Dan Zwonitzer (R), and co-sponsors Rep. Ember Oakley (R), Sen. Dan Furphy (R), and Sen. Cale Case (R).

Read Wyoming House Bill 7 here.

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Jessica Levey

Lead Staff Writer & Illustrator

Jessica loves exploring the history and magic of ritual, the connections between people and places, and sharing true stories about love and commitment. She's an advocate for marriage equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and individuality, and is an ordained Minister with AMM. When she’s not writing or illustrating for AMM, she enjoys city hikes, fantasy novels, comics, and traveling.

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