Marriage under 18 is a valid reason. I can’t bear to get married: early marriages in Russia and the nuances of their conclusion. What rights and responsibilities are assigned to minor spouses?

Family Code of the Russian Federation as general rule fixes the age of marriage - 18 years. However, this does not mean that you cannot get married earlier.

Paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the RF IC reads:

For good reasons, guardianship and trusteeship authorities have the right to allow starting a family from the age of 16.

Is it possible to get married before the age of 16?

In some regions you can get married before the age of 16:

• from 15 years old - Ryazan, Murmansk, Tver, Chelyabinsk regions, etc.;
• from 14 years old - Moscow, Tyumen, Samara, Vologda, Vladimir regions, etc.;
• without establishing a minimum age threshold - the Republic of Tatarstan.

Important! Despite the fact that the Family Code of the Republic of Tatarstan does not say anything about the minimum age of marriage, it is impossible to get married before 14 years of age. This is due to the obligation of those getting married to present a passport to the Civil Registry Office, which is not issued before the age of 14.

Reasons for getting married before 18 years of age

Marriage before the age of 18 is an exception to the rule, and like any exception, it must have good reasons.

The reasons why guardianship authorities may give consent to early marriage include:

• birth of a child;
• heavy life situation mothers;
• threat to the life of the bride or groom;
• conscription;

These reasons are regulated in detail only in regional legislation and, strictly speaking, these norms relate only to early marriages (before 16 years of age), but by analogy they can be applied to older ages.

Pregnancy

Often the law of the subject establishes a requirement for the gestational age, for example:

• at least 22 weeks of gestation (Murmansk region),
• at least 12 weeks (Vladimir region).

In any case, this condition must be confirmed by a certificate issued by an obstetrician-gynecologist when registering a pregnant woman. In antenatal clinics they usually register after 8 weeks, because Before this period, there is a risk of an ectopic or frozen pregnancy.

Birth of a child

Sometimes regional law stipulates that the child must be shared, but even if such a condition is not contained, it is implied. The legislation of the Murmansk region uses a peculiar formulation - “the actual presence of the child with the mother.”

Difficult life situation

“When a pregnant minor woman, being in difficult financial or other extreme conditions (orphan, single-parent family, dysfunctional family situation, etc.), by getting married, improves living conditions for herself and the unborn child.”

Threat to the life of the bride or groom

The reality of the threat is assessed by the guardianship authorities individually. This category includes:

• the need for a complex operation;
• service in a “hot spot”;
• being near military operations, etc.

Typically, the list possible reasons is open - this allows the guardianship authorities to resolve such an important personal issue with each couple individually.

Conditions for marriage under 18 years of age

Marriage is possible only if the following conditions are met:

• desire and consent of the bride and groom;
• the absence of a valid legal marriage between both of them;
• lack of close blood relationship;
• lack of status as an adoptive parent or adopted child;
• absence of mental disorder.

Important! Marriage under 16 years of age is possible only when neither the groom nor the bride has reached this age threshold. Marital relations between an adult and a child under 16 years of age entail criminal liability.

Is a marriage license required for people under 18 years of age?

If the age is from 16 to 18 years

In this case, parental permission for marriage is not required, but the consent of the guardianship authorities is required.

If under 16 years of age

Rules may vary by region. For example, in the Moscow region, a positive decision of a specially authorized member of the Government is required, which is based on the application of the spouses, their parents or guardians. If the parents do not agree to the wedding, the issue is resolved by the guardianship authorities.

How to register a marriage?

To obtain the coveted stamp in your passport, you need to take the following steps:

• prepare evidence of valid reasons for lowering the marriageable age;
• obtain permission from the guardianship authority at the place of residence or other body, if required by the law of the relevant subject;
• pay a state fee of 350 rubles. in Sberbank;
• submit an application to the Civil Registry Office - by hand or through the State Services portal. This can be any Civil Registry Office in Russia, even located in another region. The application must be accompanied by: a passport, evidence of the termination of a previous marriage (if there was one), permission from the guardianship authorities and other authorities, a receipt for payment of the fee;
• when submitting an application, a wedding date is set - usually no earlier than 1 month, but in exceptional cases the deadlines can be reduced down to the day of filing the application;
• on the wedding day you will receive a certificate (one is issued for two).

Important! If one of the future spouses cannot appear in person to submit a joint application, it can be submitted in two separate documents. In this case, one document is drawn up at the Civil Registry Office, and the second at a notary.

Consequences of early marriage by minors

After the ceremony official registration newlyweds automatically become fully capable. This means that the law imposes exactly the same requirements on them as on adults. And even if the marriage is suddenly dissolved, full legal capacity remains. In legal language, the acquisition of full legal capacity by a minor is called emancipation.

Important! Emancipation does not apply to the age of conscription for military service and criminal liability.

Minor parents have full equal rights with adults.

Can minors enter into a marriage contract?

A prenuptial agreement is a transaction that can be completed before or after the registration of a marriage. Since after official registration minors become emancipated, they have the right to conclude marriage contract on a general basis.

But do the bride and groom have the right to sign a marriage contract before the marriage ceremony?

• If the spouses are over 16 years old, they have the right to sign the contract on their own after submitting an application to the Civil Registry Office.
• If the bride and groom are between 14 and 16 years old, then they can complete this transaction only with the written consent of their parents (guardians).

Divorce and invalidation of early marriage

Everyone has the right to divorce, even minors. Since at the time of marriage the minor acquired full legal capacity, divorce is carried out in accordance with the general procedure.

Declaring a marriage void means recognizing it as non-existent. This is how nullity differs from divorce. For example, a subsequent marriage after a divorce will be considered the second, and if the marriage is invalid, the first. The differences between an invalid and a dissolved marriage are summarized in the table.

A special basis for invalidating an early marriage is the lack of permission from the guardianship authority to start a family. In addition, a marriage is invalid:

• between close relatives;
• imprisoned against the will of the spouse;
• concluded without dissolution of the previous marriage union;
• with incapacity due to mental illness;
• between the adoptive parent and the adopted child;
• when one of the spouses deliberately conceals HIV or a sexually transmitted disease.

Important! The rights of parents and children are not affected by the invalidation of a marriage.

Anna Vertinskaya, lawyer, especially for the site

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Getting married is one of the most important decisions a person makes in his life. Many people put it off until they have the appropriate financial opportunities, their own apartment, good job etc., and some even abandon their family for the sake of a career. This trend is observed in different countries, and Russia is no exception.

However, there is and the opposite trend: Increasingly, teenagers who have not yet reached the age of majority are actually getting married, although according to the law of the Russian Federation, the age of marriage begins at 18 years. So at what age can you get married?

According to the law, you can get married at the age of 18 - this is how the marriageable age is established in the Russian Federation according to the law

This is due to the need compliance with the following conditions:

• persons seeking to marry must achieve physiological maturity to reproduce offspring without creating a danger to their own health and life;
• they must also have a certain level of psychological maturity to be responsible for the family being created and the unborn child.

That is why 18 years is considered the age sufficient for marriage: by this time future the spouses have already completed secondary education and can work to provide for the family financially, and young men can be drafted into the army.

This is the answer to the question, from what age is marriage permitted under the laws of Russia, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, and what is the minimum age for this.

However, there are often cases when marriages of persons who have not reached the age of majority are registered

In a number of regions and regions of Russia, a resolution on lowering the marriageable age, that is, at what age marriage can be registered, has been adopted regional authoritiesspecial legislative acts.

As of 2019, the marriage age table in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for persons under 18 years of age is as follows:

It should be noted that although in Russian law those entering into marriage are called citizens, we can only talk about persons of opposite sexes - same-sex marriage prohibited.

Early marriage in the registry office

In addition, an obstacle to marriage, regardless of age, is:

• undissolved previous marriage;
• close relationship;
• mental disorder resulting in judicial recognition of the citizen’s incapacity;
• It is prohibited for guardians to marry their pupils, as well as adoptive parents with their adopted children.

It is probably unnecessary to remind that a prerequisite for registering a marriage is the mutual consent of the parties.

Early marriages at 16 years old, and even more so at 14 years old Civil Registry Office has no right to register without consent representatives of local administration and guardianship authorities at the place of residence of minors.

Marriage as a minor

There are the following conditions under which the local administration and guardianship authorities can authorize marriage officially through the registry office:

• pregnancy of a minor girl;
• the birth of a child when the mother has not yet reached adulthood;
• cohabitation of minors in actual civil marriage, which implies maintaining a common household;
• absence of parents, adoptive parents, guardians or trustees among orphan teenagers;
• marriage between 16-17 year old citizens is possible upon their personal application.

Others may come forward good reasons, provided for by law, although the Family Code sets the lower age limit for marriage, which is 14 years.

Young people and their parents (adoptive parents, guardians, trustees) should know that if permission to register a marriage is not received from the relevant authorities, they have the right to appeal this illegal, in their opinion, decision in court.

Since teenagers are minors, it is necessary to obtain permission to register marriage from the guardianship authorities, which must make a decision within 10 days according to their application. It should be accompanied by an official certificate justifying the need for official registration of marriage (pregnancy certificate from antenatal clinic, and if the child has already been born, then his birth certificate).

It is advisable that, together with minors, their parents (adoptive parents, guardians, trustees) submit such an application.

After receiving permission from the guardianship authorities, you can contact the registry office, which is obliged to register the marriage if the appropriate documents are available. However The registry office may require other documents, so it’s better to first find out what exactly you might need.

Submitting documents to the registry office for minors

Marriage entails important changes in the lives of minors: starting from the age of 16 they are recognized as legally capable and receive the same rights as upon reaching legal adulthood at 18 years of age, that is:

• start labor activity with official registration of labor relations;
• the right to conclude civil contracts;
• running your own business by registering with the tax authorities.

However, if the marriage is dissolved before the age of 18, then the minor is deprived of all these rights.

Marriage age is the minimum number of years for official registration at the registry office. Russian The law establishes 18 years of age- when a person becomes an adult.

The issue of lowering the age for marriage is not idle. In multinational Russia There are republics where earlier marriage is national tradition . Therefore legislators addressing the issue of lowering the age of marriage handed over to the regional governments.

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Marriage age in Russia and attempts to change it

requires reaching a certain age. Back in the USSR, the Supreme Council established in the law on family and marriage that at what age can you get married– 18 years old. Since then, this figure has not changed to this day.

Since marriage requires the physical and mental maturity of a person, Russian legislation is also clear regulates the age of marriage to 18 years.

Article 13 of the RF IC: “If there are valid reasons, local government bodies at the place of residence of persons wishing to get married have the right to allow persons who have reached the age of sixteen to get married.”

The acceleration of the 21st century has led to the fact that marriages are getting younger every year. And now the question arises: what to do with those who are “under 16”? Federal law did not prescribe such options, but left the decision of this issue to the regional government.

Currently already 18 regions have included amendments to local legislation. Now in these regions children 16 years old can also get married. A “special” case is already being considered for those under 16 years of age. The list of innovators includes the Tyumen and Murmansk regions, Rostov, Samara, Tambov regions.

The fact that the legislators of Kabardino-Balkaria and Tatarstan decided to amend the republican legislation about the age at which one can get married is quite understandable.

After all, there early marriages are a national tradition, and girls were already considered brides at the age of 14.

The Family Code of Tatarstan does not indicate a lower limit, at what age can you get married?. But The bride and groom must have passports. And passports are issued from the age of 14! So, marriage can become younger in the republic already at the legislative level.

Will he decide? question of lowering the age of marriage at the federal level is still unknown. After all, psychologists, doctors, and public figures approach this topic very carefully.

Early marriages do not benefit a young, fragile body. Also, young people burdened with family problems have difficulty getting an education, making a career and achieving success in life.

The State Duma is currently considering the issue of further lowering the age of entry into adult life . In this case they put necessary conditions, to at least one of the young people was over 16 years old.

What age do marriages take place on average?

Throughout the 20th century, changes on a global scale and two world wars at once should have affected the statistics of marriage rates.

But if you look at the numbers, then middle age marriage rates have remained virtually unchanged for a long time. At the end of the 20th century, men and women married at the age of 23 and 20, respectively..

According to statistics, for the period since 1979, the average age of entry into marriage in Russia has been 24.5 years for men and 22.5 for women. Until the early nineties, these figures remained virtually unchanged.

During from 1990 to 1993 there is a decrease in age young people getting married for 2–3 years. Many girls at that time they were married at 18 and 19 years old. Most of the female population of Russia was already married by the age of 21..

This is due state policy to strengthen the family. Cohabitation without registration was not only not welcomed, but also condemned and brought a lot of inconvenience in life.

An unregistered couple was not placed in the same hotel room. A woman living without registration with a man, public opinion considered frivolous and indiscriminate. She rarely managed to make a career out of her work.

At the same time, young families aged 21-22 years old, as a rule, completed their studies at universities and went on assignment together. The family enjoyed an advantage in obtaining an apartment, a married man was easier to get promoted, since he was considered more reliable and serious.

When do young people get married on average, according to statistics?

Currently, since 2011, statistics on the average marriageable age in Russia have remained confidently at around 27 years for men.

Chart of age at marriage for men in Russia in 2011

Young people are in no hurry to tie the knot. Young men are aimed at high results, and the family, in their understanding, can be a burden in achieving these goals.

In general, the statistics reflect enough stable marriage threshold, which ranges from 22 to 24 years for girls. There have been no specific changes in rates over such a long period of time for women.

Chart of age at marriage of women in Russia in 2011

That 1% of marriages of girls under 18 years of age can hardly serve basis for discussing the issue of lowering the age of marriage. Isolated cases of marriage “by chance” can be considered rather an exception to the rule.

With such a stable tendency to maintain a regulated marriage age it is premature to talk about the advisability of reducing it in Russia.

In what cases can the maturity threshold be lowered?

For a number of circumstances, sometimes it is necessary lower the minimum age set by the state for marriage.

The reasons allowing this are spelled out in the Family Code of the Russian Federation. So Article 13 of the RF IC:

• lowering the minimum threshold for marriage cannot be more than two years;
• To register a marriage before reaching the age of majority, those wishing to do so must provide a number of good reasons;
• decision on marriage license before the required age considered at the place of registration of the young;
• relevant authorities accept decision without parental consent.

The issue of a marriage license is considered within a month. To do this, you must provide a package of documents and medical indications for early marriage.

Since the law does not clearly state the reasons for permission, local government considers each such application individually and makes a decision.

But, as a rule, a number of such reasons include:

1. pregnancy,
2. child,
3. conscription of a young man for military service,
4. going on a long business trip,
5. de facto established family life.

Minimum number of years for marriage

In the Russian state There are no specific standards for lowering the marriageable age. The reasons are not clearly stated, so regional subjects of the federation themselves set the minimum threshold.

In the regions, such a common reason as pregnancy is either limited to 12 to 22 weeks for marriage permission, or is prescribed without specifying the timing at all.

Practice shows that in in cases of emergency, those getting married are also prescribed at the age of 14. Such laws have been passed in some regional areas.

The presence of compelling reasons exempts minors from parental consent. But in some cases marriage license for minors from legal representatives has weight when it comes to lowering the minimum age threshold.

If there are no grounds for early marriage, parents have the right to prevent their children from making such a decision and appeal the decision in court.

Minors who have been denied permission to marry have the same right. Any appeals and disagreements are resolved only through court on time.

In Russia, the age of marriage is set at 18 years. However, the law allows for the possibility of marriage at 16 years of age or even earlier. According to Art. 13 Family Code In the Russian Federation, if there are valid reasons, local government bodies at the place of residence of persons wishing to get married have the right, at the request of these persons, to allow persons who have reached the age of sixteen to marry. The procedure and conditions under which marriage, as an exception and taking into account special circumstances, may be permitted before reaching the age of sixteen years, may be established by the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The lowest marriage age of 14 years is established in the Chechen Republic, the Republic of Adygea, Moscow, Tyumen, Kaluga, Tula, Vologda, Oryol, Nizhny Novgorod, Tambov regions, Jewish Autonomous Region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The marriageable age is 15 years old in the Chelyabinsk, Ryazan, and Murmansk regions. The procedure and conditions for obtaining permission for early marriage for persons over 16 years of age are established by local authorities; for persons under 16 years of age - by regional authorities.

Conditions and procedure for marriage of persons under 18 years of age:

• presence of valid reasons;
• availability of permission from local authorities;
• voluntary consent of persons entering into marriage.

So, the main condition is the presence of good reasons. But what do we mean by “good reasons”? In practice, the following are recognized as valid reasons:

• pregnancy,
• birth common child,
• immediate threat to the life of one of the parties,
• actually existing marital relations (civil marriage),
• conscription of the groom to serve in the Russian Armed Forces, etc.

However, there are other cases that may be recognized by local governments as valid. Each such issue is resolved individually. Each region, as a rule, has its own list of valid reasons, taking into account national, cultural and other characteristics. So, in Moscow and the region, according to Art. 2 of the Law of the Moscow Region “On the procedure and conditions for marriage in the Moscow region of persons under the age of sixteen” dated April 30, 2008 No. 61/2008-OZ, special circumstances giving the right to obtain a marriage license to a person (persons) , under the age of sixteen, are pregnancy, the birth of a common child (children) among citizens wishing to get married, an immediate threat to the life of one of the parties.

Minors wishing to get married must submit the following documents to the administration of the district, city, district in the city at the place of state registration of marriage:

• applications from persons wishing to get married;
• a document confirming the presence of valid reasons (medical certificate of pregnancy, birth certificate of a joint child, certificate from the military registration and enlistment office, etc.);
• original and copies of birth certificates;
• passports and copies of passports;
• statements of parental consent to marriage (not required, but desirable);
• certificates from the place of work (study) indicating the salary of persons wishing to get married (required in most cases).

Not only those getting married themselves, but also their parents, guardians, trustees, other persons and institutions who are raising minors can apply to lower the age of marriage (Part 2 of Article 123, Part 1 of Article 147 of the Family Code RF). However, in this case it will also be necessary to obtain the consent of the persons entering into marriage.

The period for consideration of applications in most cases, including in Moscow and the region, is 20 calendar days from the date of registration of applications after submission necessary documents. A marriage license is issued by a resolution of the Head of the Administration of a district, city, district in a city at the place of state registration of marriage. The specified resolution has a one-time value and is designed for a specific case. After receiving permission, the marriage is registered in the usual manner provided for by the Federal Law “On Acts of Civil Status”.

Is parental consent required for early marriage of children?

The consent of legal representatives is not a mandatory legal condition for registering an early marriage, although their opinion is taken into account. A parent (parents) who disagrees with the decision of the registry office has the right to appeal this decision to the court.

Legal consequences of early marriage

A person who marries before reaching the age of 18 automatically acquires full civil capacity, i.e. becomes emancipated (Article 21 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). This means that in his rights and responsibilities he is equal to an adult. It is important to understand that from the moment of marriage registration, yesterday’s children acquire not only a whole range of rights, but also a baggage of responsibility for all their actions - be it obligations from causing harm or administrative liability. The acquired legal capacity remains even in the event of divorce before the age of 18. The only thing that can return a teenager to his previous legal status is the recognition of the marriage as invalid by the court.

Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

However, there are exceptions to this general rule. In some cases, it is possible to marry before reaching adulthood.

Conditions under which marriage is possible for persons over 16 years of age

Family legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of reducing the age of marriage by two years, that is, to 16 years. At the same time, the law places the issue of lowering the marriageable age within the competence of local government bodies.

To reduce the age of marriage to 16 years, there must be valid reasons (Clause 2 of Article 13 of the RF IC). The legislation does not provide a list of such reasons, however, as a rule, these include pregnancy, the birth of a child, actual marital relations with a citizen who has not reached marriageable age, etc.

Permission to marry minor citizens is issued by the local government body at the place of residence of these citizens and on the basis of their written application (Clause 2 of Article 13 of the RF IC). The application must also be accompanied by documents confirming the presence of valid reasons for lowering the marriageable age: a certificate from the clinic about pregnancy, a child’s birth certificate, etc.

The consent of the parents of minors is not required for marriage.

Conditions under which marriage is possible for persons under 16 years of age

The laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation may establish the procedure and conditions under which marriage, as an exception, taking into account special circumstances, may be permitted before reaching the age of 16 years (Clause 2 of Article 13 of the RF IC).

At the same time, the concept and list of special circumstances allowing persons under the age of 16 to enter into marriage are not provided for by federal legislation. However, in accordance with the legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, such circumstances may include pregnancy, the birth of a common child (children) among citizens wishing to get married, an immediate threat to the life of one of the parties (Article 2 of the Law of the Moscow Region dated April 30, 2008 N 61/2008- OZ).

The decision on permission to marry a person under the age of 16, for example, in the Moscow region, is made by a member of the Government of the Moscow region, authorized by the Governor of the Moscow region, and is formalized by his order by the executive body of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation on the basis of a written application from the minor (minors) and his parents (adoptive parents, trustees).

When there are disagreements between parents (adoptive parents, trustees) and a citizen wishing to get married, an application for permission to marry is considered with the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authority at the place of his residence (Parts 1, 2, Article 3

To obtain permission to marry, simultaneously with the submission of applications, documents confirming special circumstances for marriage, passports of parents and persons wishing to marry are submitted.

If there are disagreements between a person wishing to get married and his parents (adoptive parents, trustees), it will also be necessary to provide a document from the guardianship and trusteeship authority on consent to marriage of a person under the age of 16 (Part 3 of Article 3 of Law of the Moscow Region No. 61/ 2008-OZ).

Procedure and consequences of marriage

Persons getting married submit a joint application to the civil registry office for marriage, at the same time they will be required to present, among other things, permission to marry before reaching marriageable age (Clause 1, Article 26 of the Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ) .

State registration of marriage is carried out in the personal presence of the persons entering into marriage, after a month has passed from the date of their submission of the application to the civil registry office. However, if there are good reasons, marriage registration may be permitted before the end of the month, and in the presence of special circumstances - on the day of filing the application (Clause 1 of Article 11 of the RF IC).

Persons who got married before reaching the age of 18 acquire civil legal capacity in full from the date of state registration of the marriage. These persons retain their legal capacity even in the event of divorce before reaching the age of majority. However, if a marriage is declared invalid, the court may decide that the minor spouse loses full legal capacity from the moment determined by the court (Clause 2 of Article 21 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).