Georgia Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 19-3-2. Who May Contract Marriage; Emancipation Requirement; Minimum Age for Marriage

History. Orig. Code 1863, § 1654; Code 1868, § 1698; Code 1873, § 1699; Code 1882, § 1699; Civil Code 1895, § 2412; Civil Code 1910, § 2931; Code 1933, § 53-102; Ga. L. 1957, p. 83, § 1; Ga. L. 1962, p. 138, § 1; Ga. L. 1963, p. 485, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 335, § 1; Ga. L. 1965, p. 500, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 1719, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 872, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 19; Ga. L. 2006, p. 141, § 6A/HB 847; Ga. L. 2019, p. 558, § 1-1/HB 228.
The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted the present provisions of subsection (b) for the former provisions, which read: “If either applicant for marriage is 16 or 17 years of age, parental consent as provided in Code Section 19-3-37 shall be required.”; and added subsection (c).
Cross references.
Bigamy and marrying a bigamist, §§ 16-6-20 , 16-6-21 .
Law reviews.
For article recommending more consistency in age requirements of laws pertaining to the welfare of minors, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 189 (1969).
For article advocating reamendment of this Code section to recognize the presumption favoring validity of subsequent marriages, see 21 Mercer L. Rev. 465 (1970).
For article on 2006 amendment of this Code section, see 23 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 79 (2006).
For article, “A Holy Secular Institution,” see 58 Emory L.J. 1123 (2009).
For article, “Conflict of Laws Structure and Vision: Updating a Venerable Discipline,” see 31 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 231 (2015).

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