At what age can you get married in Russia?

Marriage age in Russia

Full legal capacity appears in a person only upon reaching adulthood. Guided by this, it was established that a man and a woman can register an official marriage relationship only after 18 years of age, but there are exceptions.

According to statistics, 14% of all parents were minors at the time of the birth of the child. And since the mother and father are obliged to protect their children and defend their interests in state and municipal organizations, when married at the age of 16, partners receive full legal capacity as part of emancipation. Emancipation is confirmed by documents and does not require additional permission from self-government bodies or parents.

The established rules are relevant only for Russian citizens. Foreign nationals registering marriages in the Russian Federation can marry, guided by the age restrictions of their state.

Minimum age for marriage

On the territory of Russia, it is allowed to reduce the age limit by 2 years, i.e. up to 16 years old. There is no list of reasons for making such a decision, but participants wishing to formalize a union must comply with the following requirements:

• personal request from a girl and a guy to register a relationship;
• reaching 16 years of age;
• written consent of the LGU (local government bodies) to register the relationship;
• having valid reasons for getting married;
• emancipation, that is, obtaining full legal capacity (full-time employment, registration of individual entrepreneurs).

Legal basis:

• Federal Law No. 140 of November 15, 1997 “On introducing amendments to the Investigative Committee of Russia”;
• Family Code of the Russian Federation;
• United Nations Convention.

Permission to register marriage under 18 years of age

After reaching the age of majority, a man and a woman can register a marriage by mutual consent, regardless of the wishes of parents, relatives, and third parties. Reducing the age limit to 16 years is allowed only in the presence of special circumstances, as well as after obtaining permission from the municipality.

Regional authorities have the authority to reduce age restrictions, which they successfully use. At the age of 14, residents of the following regions can register a marriage:

• Tambovskaya;
• Kaluzhskaya;
• Tula;
• Sakhalinskaya;
• Chechen;
• Moscow;
• Vologda;
• Orlovskaya;
• EAO.

From the age of 15, persons registered on the territory of the constituent entities of the Federation can register a marriage:

• Murmanskaya;
• Kabardino-Balkaria;
• Ryazan;
• Chelyabinskaya.

How to find out if a person is married?

How to pay the state fee for registering a marriage?

Age limits

Based on the provisions of Article 13 of the RF IC, the age of both spouses at which marriage registration is permitted is directly related to the age of acquisition of full civil capacity. This is 18 years old. The average and maximum limit is not fixed at the regulatory level. If this condition is ignored without compelling reasons, in Russia, by law, such unions are recognized as invalid.

The coming of age as a condition for the permissibility of marriage is the most common condition in the world community. There are several reasons for this:

1. Achieving physiological and psychological maturity. An individual, due to the characteristics of his body, can become a parent without harm to his health. Subjects at this age become ready to take responsibility for themselves, their family, and value guidelines.
2. The ability to acquire and exercise a full range of civil rights.
3. The ability to give an adequate account of one’s actions, assign and fulfill responsibilities, be aware of the consequences and bear legal responsibility.

From a generalized perspective, the legislator proceeds from the fact that an 18-year-old person already has at least a secondary education and, due to mental and mental abilities, can understand and predict his actions and, as a result, show a voluntary intention and desire to become a husband or wife, which is mandatory condition for the legality of the union.

The state is interested in preserving the gene pool, improving the demographic situation, and development in all directions. That is, the primary task is to create conditions for registering marriage between childbearing, physically healthy and psychologically mature citizens.

Important! Civil marriage in the Russian legal field is not an unconditional basis for the emergence of mutual rights and obligations. The exception is alliances concluded before 1944.

Reasons for lowering the age of marriage

To reduce the age of marriage, it is necessary to confirm the existence of special conditions, guided by the provisions of the Family Code. These include:

• bride's pregnancy;
• military service (conscription of men, assignment to serve in another region);
• presence of a threat to life (medical documents confirming a serious illness);
• departure on a long business trip (confirmation by a certificate from the place of work);
• the birth of a child to a couple;
• emancipation (certificate from the place of work confirming official employment, a copy of the work record book, registration in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities as an individual entrepreneur).

Pregnancy must be confirmed by a gynecologist's certificate; the duration does not matter. Establishing paternity is not required if the guy independently recognizes the child.

When a child is born before 16 years of age, an entry is made in the birth certificate about the mother and father of the child from the words of the minor parents on the basis of a handwritten statement. But it will be possible to register a marriage union only after the 16th birthday of each participant and after providing a birth certificate of the joint child.

The law prohibits registration of marriage between close relatives, regardless of age.

Procedure for lowering the marriageable age

The legislation provides for the procedure for marriage before the age of majority:

• collection of documents necessary to confirm special conditions;
• applying to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities for permission to register the relationship;
• submitting an application to the civil registry office (in person, through the State Services website, through the MFC);
• payment of state duty (in 2021 the cost is 350 rubles);
• setting a wedding date.

Thus, you must first contact the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. After receiving permission, the couple applies to the registry office located at the place of registration of one of the future spouses.

In practice, situations occur when neither the guardianship authorities nor the parents categorically agree to give consent to register a marriage. In this case, it is necessary to apply to the court with a statement of claim. You can file a claim at the age of 14; during the meeting, the minor participant enjoys all the rights and responsibilities available to adults.

If an appropriate court decision is received, the couple can apply to the territorial registry office with an application to register the marriage.

Sample application for lowering the marriageable age

Each applicant prepares a handwritten application indicating:

• personal data;
• request to register the relationship;
• the reason for early marriage;
• the period for which the marriageable age has been reduced;
• Civil passport details.

To the head of the guardianship authorities

and guardianship of Arkhangelsk

Kletskin P. T.

Danilov Anton Romanovich, born March 14, 2002,

Resident: Arkhangelsk, st. Pavlova 14/7

Statement

I ask you to allow me to register an official marriage with Kalinova Yulia Vasilievna born on July 28, 2002. before reaching marriageable age, reducing it by 13 months. The decision is due to Yu. V. Kalinova’s pregnancy.

Copies of the attached documents: 1. Passport of Anton Romanovich Danilov 2. Passport of Yulia Vasilievna Kalinova 3. Parents’ consent to register the marriage 4. Permission from the guardianship authorities

02/14/2019A. R. Danilov

Required documents

The list of documents depends on the circumstances and reasons for registering the marriage. The list includes:

• applicant's passport;
• passport of the second partner;
• handwritten statement;
• written consent of the mother and father of the candidate for marriage registration;
• permission from guardianship and trusteeship authorities;
• certificates that confirm the basis for early marriage.

Obtaining parental permission is optional.

Reasons for early registration

Registrars, guided by the provisions of federal and local legislation, will not refuse to make a marriage record if the spouses expect:

• the imminent arrival of a child;
• the fact of the birth of a baby;
• upcoming emergency call;
• forced long-term absence for work reasons;
• death of the parents of one or both newlyweds who have reached their 16th birthday.

The basis for marriage will be a permitting document from the city administration. The opinion of the parents in this situation will not be decisive, but they have the right, simultaneously with their children, to submit documents applying for a reduction in age.

Divorce and annulment of marriage

Article 27 of the Family Code states that the marriage union of minor spouses may be declared invalid. Reasons:

• violation of the procedure for obtaining consent to marriage;
• forced registration of relationships;
• the absence of a law on the registration of relationships at a specific age on the territory of a constituent entity of the Federation;
• the presence of a previous marriage that has not been dissolved;
• establishing that the wife and husband are close relatives;
• partners treat each other as an adopted child and an adoptive parent;
• marriage to an incapacitated person;
• establishing the presence of a sexually transmitted disorder that was known before the wedding;
• fictitious marriage (without the purpose of formalizing family relations).

Only a court can declare a marriage invalid on the basis of a statement of claim:

• husband;
• wives;
• parents of spouses;
• partner trustees;
• adoptive parents of participants;
• board of trustees;
• prosecutor's office.

Getting permission

The main stage is obtaining permission from municipal authorities. This procedure is individual in nature.

The result of the appeal largely depends on the availability of local regulations defining the minimum age for marriage.

Usually, regulations are also developed that define the rules and procedure for obtaining permission in a separate constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

When applying for a permit, a number of conditions must be taken into account:

• applicants apply in person;
• other authorities do not have the right to issue such permits;
• The application is accompanied by a package of papers required in a particular case;
• sometimes permission from the minor's parents is required, etc.

The procedure itself for interested parties consists only of the correct submission of documents and applications. The rest of the time we will have to wait for a decision from local governments.

Statistics on the age of marriage in Russia

Table No. 1 “Basic statistical data in the Russian Federation”

Lawyer's answers to frequently asked questions

At what age can you get married if you have children?

The birth of a child is the basis for reducing the age limit to 16 years. Regardless of when the couple had children. To register a marriage relationship you will need:

• passports of applicants;
• the child’s birth certificate, which contains information about the future spouses.

In some regions of the Federation, the minimum age has been reduced to 14/15 years.

Is it possible to get married if the guy is 23 and the girl is 16?

Yes, the age difference does not affect the possibility of registering a relationship. If each of the candidates is over 16, you can begin the procedure for applying for marriage.

Let's sum it up

The establishment of a minimum marriageable age was not made for fun, but in order to protect those getting married themselves from wrong decisions and their consequences. As is known, hormones that are in an unstable state in young people do not contribute to their sanity. As a result, a love that will cool down in a month may be mistaken for one true and final love, and in the meantime the girl may already be pregnant, and then divorce will become impractical. It is the responsibility of parents to explain to their children that waiting until adulthood without marriage is an important process necessary in order to live their lives most effectively.

After marriage, a woman, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, can change her last name. However, she will also have to replace her own passport. Read more about this procedure in a special article.