News
What is the validity of a marriage if one gets married under a false name？
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1753
Wang Mouqiang and Wang Mouyong are brothers. In March 2010, as Wang Mouyong had not reached the legal age for marriage, in order to register his marriage with Zhang Mou, Wang Mouyong used his own photo and the household registration information of Wang Mouqiang to apply for the second-generation resident identity card at the Shaxi Police Station in Dejiang County, Guizhou Province. On June 29, 2010, Wang Mouyong, using the resident identity card and household register of Wang Mouqiang that he had obtained, applied for marriage registration with Zhang Mou in the name of Wang Mouqiang at the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County, Guizhou Province. After reviewing the identity materials provided by Wang Mouyong and the materials provided by Zhang Mou, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County, We inquired about the marital and physical conditions of Wang Mouyong and Zhang Mou, informed them of relevant laws and regulations, and determined that the materials submitted by Wang Mouyong and Zhang Mou met the legal conditions for marriage, and both parties were willing. According to the provisions of the "Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China", without Wang Mouqiang's knowledge, we issued a "Marriage Certificate" to Wang Mouyong and Zhang Mou, with the certificate holders being Wang Mouqiang and Zhang Mou. Wang Mouyong and Zhang Mou lived together as husband and wife after holding the "Marriage Certificate" and had a girl.
After learning that Wang Yong had registered his marriage with Zhang in his name, Wang Qiang repeatedly negotiated with Wang Yong to resolve the issue but failed to reach an agreement. In February 2014, the resident identity card issued by Wang Mouyong using his photo and Wang Mouqiang's information was retrieved by the public security authorities. Wang Qiang requested the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County to revoke the "Marriage Certificate" obtained by Wang Yong under his false name. As there was no result, he filed an administrative lawsuit with the Court of Yuping Dong Autonomous County, Guizhou Province, requesting the revocation of the "Marriage Certificate" issued by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County on September 26, 2010, with the certificate holders being Wang Qiang and Zhang.
During the court hearing, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County argued that: First, the marriage registration of Wang Qiang and Zhang Mou met the legal conditions for marriage. On June 29, 2010, Wang Qiang and Zhang Mou went to the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County to apply for marriage registration. According to the procedures stipulated in the "Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration", the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County publicized the legal and regulatory knowledge related to marriage to Wang Qiang and Zhang Mou. The marital status, physical conditions of both parties were inquired about, and there were any circumstances where marriage was prohibited or registration was not allowed as stipulated by laws and regulations. The materials submitted by both parties were also strictly reviewed. Second, the marriage registration procedures of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County are legal. The marriage registration processed by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County for Wang Mouqiang and Zhang Mou was strictly in accordance with the provisions of the "Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration", and there was no situation where Wang Mouyong pretended to be Wang Mouqiang to register his marriage with Zhang Mou. In conclusion, in order to maintain the normal working order of the defendant, it is requested that the lawsuit filed by Wang Qiang be lawfully dismissed.
Court trial
Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the "Regulations on Marriage Registration" stipulates that "The authorities for mainland residents to handle marriage registration are the civil affairs departments of the county-level people's governments or the people's governments of townships (towns). The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, in accordance with the principle of convenience for the people, determine the specific authorities for rural residents to handle marriage registration." The Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County, as the civil affairs department of the county-level people's government, has the administrative authority to handle marriage registration. Wang Mouyong concealed his true identity and, in order to register his marriage with Zhang Mou, fraudulently used the identity information of his elder brother Wang Mouqiang to apply for a second-generation resident identity card. He then used the second-generation resident identity card and Wang Mouqiang's household register to register his marriage with Zhang Mou in Wang Mouqiang's name, which violated the principle of good faith. When the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County was handling the marriage registration, although it fulfilled the obligation of review, due to Wang Mouyong's deceptive behavior, the "Marriage Certificate" issued by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County did not match the actual certificate holder. Therefore, there were flaws in the review process of the marriage registration by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County, resulting in insufficient main evidence and unclear facts in the marriage registration. It should be revoked in accordance with the law.
The People's Court of Yuping Dong Autonomous County, in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China, ruled to revoke the "Marriage Certificate" issued by the Civil Affairs Bureau of Yuping Dong Autonomous County for Wang Qiang and Zhang Mou. After the verdict was pronounced, neither the plaintiff, the defendant nor the third party filed an appeal.
Case analysis
In real life, it is common for someone to get married under a false name when they have not reached the legal age for marriage or engage in fraudulent marriages. This refers to a situation where someone marries another person without their real name but applies for marriage registration under another person's identity. The person who signs the application for marriage and obtains the marriage certificate at the marriage registration authority is the false person themselves, and the person whose name is false may or may not be aware of it. Among the numerous divorce cases accepted by the people's courts, the phenomenon of defects in marriage registration is not uncommon, and the circumstances of the defects are also complex and diverse.
When it comes to the validity of marital relations, the first issue to be addressed is the handling of marriage registration under a false name. In judicial practice, opinions on the handling of such situations vary. There are mainly three handling opinions:
The first type holds that the administrative act of marriage registration has flaws and thus revokes it in accordance with the law. Although China's "Marriage Law" only stipulates that those who register for marriage under duress can apply for the revocation of marriage registration, the civil affairs department has no authority to revoke marriage certificates obtained due to other false registrations. However, in cases where the parties involved fraudulently obtain marriage registration during the marriage registration process, especially when they are registered under someone else's name, the applicant can have the court review the legality of the marriage registration administrative act of the civil affairs department through administrative litigation. In this case, Wang Qiang's legitimate rights and interests were infringed upon due to the administrative act of marriage registration by the administrative organ. According to Article 2 of the Administrative Litigation Law, he can file an administrative lawsuit with the court. Article 70 of the Administrative Litigation Law also stipulates that if the main evidence for an administrative act made by an administrative organ is insufficient, the people's court may rule to revoke or partially revoke it. Therefore, in this case, the people's court ruled to revoke the marriage registration.
The second type holds that marriage is invalid. In light of the circumstances of this case, although the civil affairs department conducted the necessary formal review from both the formal and procedural requirements, there was no illegal situation in the certificate-issuing procedure. However, as Wang Mouyong fraudulently used another person's name, the civil affairs department was deceived by Wang Mouyong and made an administrative act of marriage registration. This administrative act clearly has flaws and does not comply with the "Marriage Law", the "Regulations on Marriage Registration" and other relevant provisions. This administrative act falls under the circumstances of an invalid administrative act and should be confirmed as invalid.
The third type holds that as long as the substantive requirements for marriage registration are met, the marital relationship is valid. This view holds that procedural flaws do not affect the substantive validity of a marriage. Although there was a situation where both parties in this case got married under false names, they met the substantive requirements for marriage at the time of litigation. There was no situation of invalid marriage as stipulated in Article 10 of the Marriage Law, nor was there any situation of revocation. Therefore, the marriage of both parties should be valid. If both parties want to dissolve the marital relationship, they can only do so through civil litigation.
In conclusion, in light of judicial practice and the circumstances of this case, among the above three handling opinions, XXX is more in favor of the first one. It is believed that the first handling opinion not only upholds the authority of administrative organs and the stability of social order, but also effectively protects the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved, and more effectively resolves the problems left over from "impersonation" marriage registration, such as the household registration and marriage registration of the "impersonated" person. In this case, although Wang Mouyong registered his marriage with Zhang Mou under the name of Wang Mouqiang, due to Wang Mouyong's violation of the principle of good faith, the marriage registration administrative act of the county civil affairs bureau had flaws. The marriage registration administrative act was lawfully ruled to be revoked by the court. According to Article 12 of the "Marriage Law", "An invalid and revoked marriage is invalid from the very beginning." Therefore, the marriage between Wang Mouyong and Zhang Mou was invalid from the very beginning and did not constitute a legal marriage. (Note: Wang Mouqiang, Wang Mouyong and Zhang Mou are all pseudonyms in the text. Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.