MinnesotaLawyer.com
2025 Session Last amended: 2020 session

§ 517.03 — Prohibited Civil Marriages

Plain-Language Summary

Minnesota prohibits marriages where one party is still married, between close relatives (ancestors/descendants, siblings, uncle/aunt and niece/nephew, first cousins), and where both parties are under 18. Out-of-state underage marriages involving Minnesota residents are void.

517.03 PROHIBITED CIVIL MARRIAGES.

§

Subdivision 1.General.

(a) The following civil marriages are prohibited:

(1) a civil marriage entered into before the dissolution of an earlier civil marriage of one of the parties becomes final, as provided in section 518.145 or by the law of the jurisdiction where the dissolution was granted;

(2) a civil marriage between an ancestor and a descendant, or between siblings, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption;

(3) a civil marriage between an uncle or aunt and a niece or nephew, or between first cousins, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to civil marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal cultures; and

(4) a civil marriage entered into between persons when both have not attained the full age of 18 years.

(b) A civil marriage prohibited under paragraph (a), clause (4), that is recognized by another state or foreign jurisdiction under common law or statute, is void and against the public policy of this state unless neither party was a resident of this state at the time the marriage was entered into. §

Developmentally disabled persons committed to the guardianship of the commissioner of human services and developmentally disabled persons committed to the conservatorship of the commissioner of human services in which the terms of the conservatorship limit the right to marry, may marry on receipt of written consent of the commissioner. The commissioner shall grant consent unless it appears from the commissioner’s investigation that the civil marriage is not in the best interest of the ward or conservatee and the public. The local registrar in the county where the application for a license is made by the ward or conservatee shall not issue the license unless the local registrar has received a signed copy of the consent of the commissioner of human services.

History:

(8564) RL s 3554; 1911 c 222 s 1; 1937 c 407 s 1; 1945 c 12 s 1; 1947 c 623 s 1; 1959 c 638 s 1; 1963 c 795 s 2; 1974 c 406 s 52; 1975 c 208 s 34; 1978 c 772 s 2; 1979 c 259 s 1; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 58; 1985 c 21 s 67; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1997 c 203 art 10 s 2; 2005 c 56 s 1; 2009 c 129 s 2; 2013 c 74 s 3,9; 2020 c 76 s 2

History: History: (8564) RL s 3554; 1911 c 222 s 1; 1937 c 407 s 1; 1945 c 12 s 1; 1947 c 623 s 1; 1959 c 638 s 1; 1963 c 795 s 2; 1974 c 406 s 52; 1975 c 208 s 34; 1978 c 772 s 2; 1979 c 259 s 1; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 58; 1985 c 21 s 67; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1997 c 203 art 10 s 2; 2005 c 56 s 1; 2009 c 129 s 2; 2013 c 74 s 3,9; 2020 c 76 s 2

Practical Notes
A prohibited marriage is not merely voidable – it can be declared void entirely. If you are still legally married, you must finalize the dissolution before remarrying or the new marriage is prohibited.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes