Bill > HB174

This bill raises the minimum age for marriage in Kentucky to 18, prohibiting marriages where either party is under this age. It clarifies that existing marriages legally entered into before the bill's effective date, where both individuals were 18 or older, will remain valid, as will marriages entered into in other states or countries if both parties were 18 or older when they established residency in Kentucky. The bill also mandates that courts must declare any marriage void if a person was under 18 at the time of the marriage and a petition is filed, and specifically requires courts to void marriages where a person is still under 18 when the court petition is made. Furthermore, it prevents the issuance of marriage licenses to anyone under 18 and repeals a previous law that allowed 17-year-olds to seek court permission to marry.

Health and Social Services

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb174.html