Can I marry my 16-year-old girlfriend?

As your girlfriend is under 18 she needs permission from her parents for you to get married. However, this assumes that her parents were married when she was born. This would give her father automatic parental responsibility. If they weren’t married then she may only need her mother’s permission.

There are certain options open to you that don’t require parental permission, but it’s worth thinking about whether some of these options might cause family rifts.

A person aged 16 or 17 cannot marry without parental consent. Consent can be given in person or in writing to the Superintendent Registrar.

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), the following people are entitled to give parental consent:

A person who had a residence order for the young person immediately before their 16th birthday, if there is no residence or care order in force at the time they want to marry. This is instead of the consent of the parent or guardian.

If the young person is to be married in the Church of England, proof of parental consent is not required. The vicar can marry the person provided they are unaware of any dissent.

If consent to the marriage is refused, the couple can apply to a magistrates’ court, county court, or High Court for permission to marry. If the court considers the refusal of consent to be unreasonable, it can overrule this and grant consent to marry. Legal advice is necessary before applying to court.

Young people from England or Wales who are unable to obtain consent can marry in Scotland; this is why people sometimes go to Gretna Green to marry. They will have to inform a District Registrar in Scotland that they intend to marry. The General Registrar Office for Scotland has a website that provides lots of information about getting married in Scotland and you can find a directory of registrars (pdf) on the website.