by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: July 04, 2008   Last Updated: July 24, 2008

"Let's run away to Gretna Green" is the saying that will be all too familiar with young people wanting to get married before the legal age within the United Kingdom. We all grow up too fast, and often want to do things without parental consent, simply because we think with our hearts rather than our heads.

The rules concerning marriage in the United Kingdom are very specific when it comes to young people and for good reason. The age of majority changed from 21 to 18 some years back, and under the age of 18, a teen is considered a minor, for whom parental consent is needed for major decisions within their lives which are considered as those which only an informed adult can make.

To protect these children from making mistakes within their lives, the law states that marriage between two youngsters below the age of 16 is illegal and not recognized by the law. However, at the age of 16 upwards, the law changes, and requires the consent of parents or guardians. Here, if the child is in the care of the parents, then they would be required by law to produce their permission for their child to wed, and with all the correct documentation and permissions in place, the marriage is considered legal and binding, regardless of age.

For a child in the care of the council, then permission would have to be jointly between the guardian of the child and one consenting parent. This is difficult in some cases, though what social workers tend to do is to advise the child in the event of non consent to wait until they are 18 and are able to make their own decisions. Marriage ceremonies performed with children below the age of 16 are not recognized as legal under any circumstances, and even if the child considers themselves wed, an official ceremony at a permitted age would have to be performed in order to make the union legal. Having had the permissions needed after the age of 16, a teen can marry but will need two witnesses to the ceremony.

It would be very difficult to become wed in the UK before the legal age, since the documentation required is such that Birth Certificates and/or passports need to be produced to clarify age issues.

Name issues.

A married teen in the United Kingdom has the choice to take the name of her husband or to keep her own surname. Many decide to use two names and this is acceptable making a young Miss Smith who married a Mr. Klein into a choice of Mrs. Klein, Ms Smith (i.e. not giving away marital status) or Mrs. Smith-Klein.

To register the intention to marry,

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>