How have state legislatures changed marriage‑age laws since 2018 — a state-by-state timeline of reforms?
Executive summary
Since 2018 state legislatures moved from inaction to a patchwork of reforms: some states banned child marriage entirely by setting the minimum age at 18 with no exceptions, while others enacted narrower changes—raising the floor a few years, limiting age gaps, or removing pregnancy exceptions—creating a varied state‑by‑state timeline of progress [1] [2] [3]. Precise counts differ across watchdogs and advocacy groups because reforms range from full bans to incremental statutory clarifications, and reporting uses different cutoffs and definitions of “ban” [4] [5] [2].
1. The 2018 opening salvo: first bans and quick amendments
Delaware and New Jersey were among the first states to close the door on child marriage in 2018, with Delaware often cited as the earliest state to ban marriage under 18 without exceptions in May 2018 [3] [6]. That same year multiple states pursued targeted reforms: Kentucky set a 17‑year minimum with judicial oversight in March 2018 [3], Missouri moved from having no minimum to raising the floor to 16 with parental permission and an upper spousal‑age limit in July 2018 [3] [7], and Florida revised its statute to a 17‑year minimum with parental and judicial approval and a two‑year spousal age difference limit effective July 1, 2018 [3].
2. 2019–2020: incremental tightening and the end of pregnancy exceptions
As the movement matured, states focused on closing specific loopholes: Indiana’s March 2020 reform raised its minimum from 15 to 16, added judicial oversight when the spouse is up to four years older, and explicitly removed the pregnancy exception that previously allowed some minors to marry [3]. Minnesota enacted a complete ban in May 2020, joining the growing list of states that now require both spouses be 18 to marry with no statutory exceptions [3] [1].
3. 2021–2023: a wave of full bans in diverse political contexts
Between 2021 and 2023 a cluster of states adopted full 18‑year minimums with no exceptions: Massachusetts included an 18‑only rule in its FY2023 budget in July 2022 [3], and Connecticut’s acting governor signed a law ending child marriage on June 23, 2023 [3]. By mid‑2023 and into 2024 advocates were able to point to a string of states—New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Michigan—having “closed the door” on child marriage by raising the legal age to 18 with no exceptions [1].
4. Reforms are not uniform: full bans vs layered protections
Not all legislative changes amounted to outright bans; many states adopted a menu of partial reforms—raising minimum ages to 16 or 17, imposing judicial review, capping spousal age differences, or creating civil remedies for forced marriage—measures that reduce but do not eliminate under‑18 marriages [8] [2]. Tahirih Justice Center documents both full bans and these incremental protections and stresses that many states improved laws without creating a bright‑line 18 rule [2].
5. Counting reforms: divergent tallies and why numbers vary
Different organizations report different totals: Tahirih and allied groups say dozens of states have “strengthened” laws since 2016 and list dozens of reforms through 2023 [2] [1], Newsweek and others cite figures such as “16 states plus D.C.” having ended child marriage since 2018 [4], while Equality Now reported 13 state bans as of mid‑2025—discrepancies that stem from whether one counts only statutes that set 18 with no exceptions, or broader legislative changes that limit but do not eliminate child marriage [4] [5] [2].
6. The road ahead: progress, political fault lines, and information gaps
Advocates report meaningful momentum—claiming dozens of states have taken steps to limit child marriage—yet significant variation remains across jurisdictions and many state‑level details are not centrally catalogued in a single authoritative timeline [2] [1]. Reporting and advocacy data make clear which states enacted high‑profile bans and which adopted incremental fixes [3] [1], but a complete, current, state‑by‑state legislative timeline requires compiling each statute’s effective date and exact exemptions from legislative records; the sources available here document many headline reforms but do not supply a definitive, exhaustive list for all 50 states [2] [8].