Marriage in Russia: at what age can you get married?

Process Features

Relations in the field of marriage are regulated by the Family Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with Art. 13 establishes the age at which citizens can freely marry. According to the law, this is the achievement of full legal capacity, that is, 18 years.

Of course, this legal relationship has exceptions. The law clearly stipulates that, if there is a valid reason, persons can officially register a marriage before reaching the age of majority. According to legal practice, such situations include:

• Pregnancy or the birth of a baby.
• Serious illness of one of the partners.
• A clear threat to the health or life of one of the newlyweds.
• The groom is called up for military service.
• The partners have been living in a civil marriage for a long time.

All of the above situations must be documented. The fact of their presence is not enough to formalize a marriage between minors. A resolution from the local administration is also required.

Legal provisions

The Family Code of the Russian Federation clearly establishes that the age of marriage begins at 18 years. Then citizens can freely consolidate their relationships at the official level. They do not need parental or government consent to do this.

There is also a clarification that the age of marriage can be lowered for minors if there are good reasons. Their list is not established by law, but depends on the degree of seriousness. Examples include pregnancy and illness. In this case, it is possible to reduce the teenage age of marriage:

It should be noted that this issue is regulated by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Accordingly, the local administration can independently set the age and grounds for persons to get married early.

What is the age of consent

Marriage age is the minimum age for marriage.

Upon reaching this age, a person is free to independently decide on the issue of registering a relationship. The age of marriage depends on the legislation of the country. In different states it varies from 14 to 18 years, and sometimes the age limit is even lower.

What is the marriageable age in Russia according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation and other laws?

In Russia, the age for registering a relationship is 18 years of age (the age of majority). It is generally accepted that with coming of age comes complete psychological and physiological maturity, and the Family Code stipulates that persons under the age of majority do not have the right to marry.

Laws setting the age of marriage:

1. “Family Code of the Russian Federation” dated December 29, 1995 N 223-FZ (as amended on December 30, 2015).
2. Federal Law of November 15, 1997 N 140-FZ “On Amendments and Additions to the Family Code of the Russian Federation.”
3. UN Convention on Consent to Marriage, Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriage.
4. Administrative regulations at the level of the subjects of the Federation (each region/territory has its own).

Video: the issue of early marriages in Russia

At what age can you get married for valid reasons?

If there are good reasons, it is possible for persons over 16 years of age to enter into marriage:

• birth of a child;
• pregnancy;
• conscription service;
• the groom's departure on a long business trip;
• orphanhood of the future husband or wife and their lack of guardians (or orphanhood of both).

In such cases, you must obtain permission from the city administration. Minors themselves can apply for it, since parental consent is not required. Parents, guardians and trustees can only assist by submitting a petition to lower the age of consent to the same administration.

Minimum (limit) age for marriage

It is important to know that the age limit is the lower age limit. Due to the fact that Russia is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country, legislators have given the privilege of lowering the marriageable age to regional authorities. For example, in Tatarstan there is no age limit, but having a passport is mandatory for getting married. And since a passport is issued at 14 years old, this becomes the maximum age for marriage.

In some regions of Russia, the age of marriage has been lowered to 14 years

Basic Concepts

This legal relationship is regulated by the Family and Civil Codes of the Russian Federation. For a complete understanding, it is worth clarifying the terminology. The main concepts include:

It is worth mentioning such a legal consequence of early marriage as emancipation. This is the name of the process when a person, having married his partner under 18 years of age and receiving the status of husband or wife, has the same rights and responsibilities as an adult citizen. For example, you can open your own enterprise, as well as dispose of property in any form.

Emancipation (recognition of full legal capacity) of a married minor

Emancipation of a minor is the recognition of a person as fully capable by a decision of the guardianship and trusteeship authority or the court upon reaching the age of sixteen.

Art. 27, Civil Code

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of recognizing persons over 16 years of age as legally capable. The emancipation law covers minors who earn their own money and have documents confirming their employment relationship. Marriage by a minor is a reason for recognizing him as emancipated. However, if the divorce occurs before reaching the age of majority, legal capacity is retained.

Video: why minors are allowed to register marriage, legislation and reality

Coming of age is a sign of readiness for independent life. An adult is ready to serve in the army, start a family, and have children. The age of marriage is not in vain connected with the age of majority. No one can force a person to act against the dictates of his heart when it comes to feelings. But you should always remember that no matter how the circumstances develop, there are norms and laws that cannot be crossed.

• Author: ozakone
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During pregnancy

Pregnancy is one of the common and compelling reasons to get married at 17 or even earlier. To register a marriage, you must write an application to the local administration of the municipality or district, indicating the basis for lowering the marriageable age.

Adolescents must provide evidence along with their application. You can confirm your special situation with a certificate from the hospital. If the couple already has a child together, then their birth certificate should be shown.

If there are no good reasons

Federal law does not establish a list of valid reasons when minor citizens can enter into a marriage. The last word remains with the local administration of the city or district. By their decision, the civil registry office can accept an application for a marriage.

It is worth noting that a number of grounds can be listed in the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. Then, when submitting an application for marriage, you should refer to this legal norm.

Important! If one of the minor partners is an orphan or a foreign national, then they should contact the local administration and document their status.

Document structure

All applications are written in the presence of a specialist from the guardianship authorities. There are two forms:

• statement of a minor about the desire to enter into a marriage union;
• application of a person wishing to enter into a marriage with a minor partner.

Both forms have a similar structure:

• header of the document (addressed to the local Head);
• personal data;
• request for permission to marry indicating the reason;
• date, signature;
• consent to the processing of personal data.

For entering into a fictitious marriage for money, you can incur criminal liability. How to obtain a divorce certificate after the court has made an official decision? You can find out about it here. Don't know how to correctly tell your husband about divorce? There are useful tips in our article.

Procedure, step-by-step instructions

Registering a marriage is a significant but rather lengthy process. It includes several stages, the completion of which is mandatory. In addition, early marriage entails legal consequences. Below is a detailed description of each item.

1. Step one. Receiving a positive response to an early union.

The initial stage, the implementation of which is necessary. Approval to lower the marriageable age can be obtained from the administration of the subject: city or district.

Documents are submitted along with the application. This confirms the special position of the newlyweds. Such papers include:

• Passports or birth certificate.
• Medical confirmation of a girl’s pregnancy.
• Upon request, permission from parents or official representatives of young persons in writing.
• A certificate from the place of employment, as well as a reference, if required by the administration staff.
• Certificate of income for the last year.
• Certificate from educational institution.

Important! The application is considered individually. If both partners are minors, then two petitions are required to lower the marriageable age. Accordingly, if only one citizen is under 18 years of age, then the application will be accepted only from him.

Grounds for refusal may include:

• unreadable text;
• non-compliance with the requirements of the regulations;
• the required documents are not attached along with the application;
• other violations of the filing procedure.

The deadlines for consideration of the application are set individually for each region. This is prescribed in local acts of the city administration or in a special law of a subject of the Russian Federation.

Important! If the application is submitted by parents or official representatives (guardians), then the written consent of minor citizens to the marriage union must also be provided.

1. Step two. Submitting an application to the Civil Registry Office.

An application to the Civil Registry Office is submitted in the standard manner. It should be noted that persons have the right to submit documents to any branch of the wedding house, regardless of region and district. The law does not limit the location of a government agency where citizens can sign. Along with the application, basic information about the newlyweds is submitted:

• Passports of the parties (or birth certificates).
• Consent of the local administration to lower the age of marriage.
• Receipt of payment of the state fee (the cost is 200 rubles, no benefits are provided to minors).
• The registry office may require written parental consent.

Next, the newlyweds just have to wait for the actual wedding date. As a rule, this is one month, maximum two. However, the law defines situations when young people can be discharged on the same day or the next. These include:

• bride's pregnancy;
• the couple already has a child together;
• one of the newlyweds is in danger of life or health.

It is important that all documents are up to date!

1. Step three. Conclusion of a marriage union, painting of the newlyweds.

Direct visit to the registry office to sign. After this, the couple officially becomes husband and wife.

Every action has consequences. This also applies to early marriage. Marriage at the age of 16 leads to the emancipation of a citizen. This means that he becomes absolutely capable at an early age.

As a rule, absolute legal capacity begins at the age of 18. But marriage is an exception to the general rules. What does emancipation give:

• Freely dispose of your own property: sell, donate, pledge.
• Open your own private enterprise, for example, register a Limited Liability Company in your name.
• Other rights and obligations that a person acquires upon reaching the age of majority.

It is worth saying that Art. 27 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation establishes situations when a marriage is declared invalid. Then it can be terminated by one of the parties in court. This may happen in the following cases:

1. The marriage was not concluded by mutual voluntary agreement.
2. The procedure for obtaining a marriage license from the local administration was violated.
3. There is no legislation in the region allowing early marriage.
4. One of the spouses is already married.
5. The newlyweds are relatives.
6. One of the partners is declared incompetent by a court decision.
7. One of the newlyweds has a sexually transmitted disease and deliberately hid it from his partner.

Thus, marriage of minors is permitted under the Family Code. You just need to collect the necessary documents and issue a permit.

In what cases is a marriage license required?

In legal terms, permission to enter into a marriage means the approval of guardianship authorities and trusteeship to lower the marriageable age for specific individuals.

Without the official consent of the authorized government agency, marriage registration is impossible. Civil registry office employees have the right to refuse minor newlyweds due to the lack of such permission.

In this case, the opinion of parents and legal representatives is taken into account by officials, but it is not decisive in this matter. The guardianship authorities can give the go-ahead even without the approval of the guardians of the bride or groom. If one of the “young” representatives disagrees with the decision of the department’s employees, he has the right to express his protest in court.

The established age limit is of key importance in the concept of early marriage. As mentioned above, each Russian region has its own. The earliest age is 14 years (Chechnya, Adygea, Jewish Autonomous Okrug, Moscow Region, etc.).

To enter into marriage at a young age, according to the letter of the law, compelling reasons are required:

• pregnancy;
• already born common child;
• conscription of the groom for military service;
• a real threat to the life of the bride or groom;
• actual cohabitation (legal concept of civil marriage).

Each region has its own list of valid reasons for early marriage, established by local governments.

Officials in this matter are guided by the cultural and national characteristics of the region. A striking example of this is the Chechen Republic, on whose territory it is customary to marry girls off early.

Summarizing the provisions of the law, we can distinguish 3 main conditions for registering the marriage of minors (under 18 years of age):

• A respectful reason.
• Voluntary consent of the parties.
• Permission from guardianship authorities.

Samples of required documents

An important stage in registering a marriage is documents. These include statements and certificates that confirm a certain status. Below are examples of the required papers:

• Sample application to the local administration to lower the age of marriage:

• Sample application for registration of a marriage union to get married at 16 years old:

• Filled-in form:

Important! You can fill out the application at home, the main thing is to sign. This will greatly reduce the time when submitting documents to the administration or the registry office.

Thus, the law allows persons under 18 years of age to register relationships. To do this, you just need to obtain permission from the city or district administration to marry minors.

In what cases is it possible to reduce the age of marriage?

If the bride and groom are both 16 years old, but there are no valid reasons for early marriage, then they will not be able to sign. In matters where the couple has a person under 16 years of age, everything will depend on local laws. After all, different regions, territories and republics have different rules and regulations.

Which regions of the Russian Federation have the lowest marriageable age?

Local legislation allows marriage from the following ages:

• Oryol region - 14 years;
• Moscow region - 14 years;
• Tyumen region - 14 years;
• Kaluga region - 14 years;
• Tula region - 14 years;
• Vologda region - 14 years;
• Nizhny Novgorod region - 14 years;
• Tambov region - 14 years;
• Jewish Autonomous Region - 14 years
• Republic of Adygea - 14 years;
• Sakhalin region - 14 years;
• Chechen Republic - 14 years;
• Kabardino-Balkaria - 15 years;
• Chelyabinsk region - 15 years;
• Murmansk region - 15 years;
• Ryazan region - 15 years.

Regional characteristics do not negate the main condition. It should be remembered that in order to allow marriage at this age in any of the areas, there must be a valid reason, as for 16-year-olds.

In Chechnya, marriage is legally allowed from the age of 14, although this causes outrage among human rights activists

Grounds and procedure for lowering the marriageable age

So, the young couple decided (with good reasons) to get married early. Algorithm of actions:

• submit an application to local authorities (you can find the form on the municipality’s website, for example, by following the link);
• attach documents confirming a valid reason (for example, a certificate of pregnancy);
• obtain permission (or refusal) from the administration after considering the circumstances;
• permission from the administration, an application for marriage registration and the necessary documents to submit to the registry office.

How to submit an application to the registry office

It is important that statements from parents, bride and groom are written directly in the presence of an administration (municipal) employee.

It is important that applications must be written in the presence of a specialist; other documents must be attached to the application immediately

Documents to be attached to the application:

• a photocopy of the minor’s birth certificate (sometimes both, if both are under 18 years of age);
• extract from the house register;
• a copy of the personal account at the minor’s place of residence;
• certificates from the place of study (or work) of the bride and groom;
• certificate of good cause.

Judicial practice of early marriage

Sometimes the administration does not give permission to lower the marriageable age. Then you have to go to court (the same documents), and only with a court order for permission. But the court does not always approve of early marriages. For example, if a girl became pregnant and gave birth at the age of 13, and a 17-year-old boy insisted on getting married. In the case where the girl’s parents are categorically against the marriage, the option with the administration disappears, and the court, taking into account all the circumstances, refuses to satisfy the claim.

Video: parents do not give consent to early marriage, so the girl faces a prison sentence for seducing a minor

https://youtube.com/watch?v=WfNJO8_QUGo