Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act

The Ministry of Justice has announced that the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 will come into force on 27th February 2023.

This Act passed through Parliament with very little opposition and received Royal Assent on 28th April 2022. From 27th February 2023, it will no longer be possible for 16 and 17-year-olds in England and Wales to marry or enter a civil partnership, even with parental or judicial consent. It will therefore not be possible for anyone under the age of 18 to marry or enter a civil partnership.

The current forced marriage laws only recognise an offence if a person uses a form of coercion, such as threats which consequently cause someone to marry, or if they lack capacity under the Mental Capacity Act. This new Act will expand the criminal offence of forced marriage to include doing anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18, without the need to prove that a form of coercion was used. The offence of forced marriage will continue to include ceremonies of marriage which are non-legally binding, such as community or traditional ceremonies.

The Act also makes it a criminal offence to simply be involved in arranging the marriage of someone under the age of 18, including taking children abroad to carry out the marriage. This is punishable with up to 7 years imprisonment.

This new change will not affect the validity of marriages or civil partnerships formed by 16 and 17-year-olds prior to the legislation coming into effect. This legislation does not apply to Northern Ireland and Scotland where the minimum age to marry remains 16.

For full details of the provisions of this Act, see Marriage And Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk).