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Can one get married at the age of 18？
Time:2025-08-28 Views:1620
Can one get married after reaching the age of 18 based on the natural and social attributes of marriage? The answer is no. Only when one reaches a certain age can they have the appropriate physical and mental conditions to get married, fulfill their marital obligations, and shoulder the responsibilities of the family and society. Therefore, although Chinese law grants every citizen the right to marry, not all citizens can be the subjects of a marital legal relationship. Only those who have reached the legal age for marriage are entitled to the right to marry.
The age of marriage stipulated in the Marriage Law has universal applicability, but in some special circumstances, the law also allows for exceptional provisions on the age of marriage. For instance, taking into account the multi-ethnic nature of our country, Article 50 of the Marriage Law stipulates: "The people's congress of an ethnic autonomous area has the right to formulate flexible provisions in light of the specific circumstances of ethnic marriage and family in the local area." At present, the legislative bodies of some ethnic autonomous areas in our country have made flexible provisions on the legal age of marriage in the Marriage Law. For instance, in autonomous regions such as Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Xizang, as well as some autonomous prefectures and counties, the minimum age for marriage is set at 20 for men and 18 for women. However, these flexible regulations only apply to ethnic minorities and do not apply to the Han people living in the region.
The determination of the legal age of marriage takes into account, on the one hand, natural factors such as a person's physical development and intellectual maturity, and on the other hand, social factors such as political, economic and population development. Therefore, the regulations on the legal age of marriage vary from country to country: in Denmark, Poland and some states of the United States, it is set at 21 years old for men and 18 years old for women. In Switzerland and Vietnam, the age limit is set at 20 for men and 18 for women. In Germany, Russia and Singapore, both men and women are required to be 18 years old. In Japan, Romania and Pakistan, the age limit is 18 for men and 16 for women. In the Philippines, the age limit is sixteen for men and fourteen for women. In the feudal era of our country, there was a custom of early marriage. In the Tang Dynasty, men got married at the age of fifteen and women at thirteen. During the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, men could get married at the age of sixteen and women at fourteen. The Civil Code of Taiwan, China stipulates: "Men under the age of 18 and women under the age of 16 shall not marry." The legal age for marriage stipulated in the Marriage Law of our country in 1950 was 20 for men and 18 for women. This was in line with the political, economic and cultural development levels at that time, as well as the awareness and acceptance capacity of the people. When the Marriage Law was revised in 1980, on the one hand, it was considered that appropriately raising the legal age of marriage would be beneficial to the physical and mental health, work and study of the majority of young people, as well as family planning work. It is also noted that the legal age of marriage is too high, which does not conform to the requirements of natural laws and is out of touch with the masses and the reality of rural areas. Therefore, it is stipulated that "men shall not be older than 22 years old and women shall not be older than 20 years old." For this revision of the Marriage Law, some comrades suggested that the age of marriage for both men and women be unified as one standard, either 22 years old or 20 years old. Some comrades also suggested lowering the legal age of marriage. Given that the implementation of the marriage age determined in 1980 was basically feasible, no modifications were made.
The provisions of China's Marriage Law regarding the age of marriage do not refer to the mandatory age for marriage or the optimal age for marriage, but rather the minimum age for getting married. It serves as the age boundary between illegal and legal marriages. Only when one reaches the legal age of marriage can they get married; otherwise, it is considered illegal. The legal age for marriage does not prevent men and women from postponing their marriage on a voluntary basis according to their own circumstances. To implement China's national policy of family planning, the Marriage Law also encourages late marriage and late childbearing. Some units replace the legal age of marriage with the age of marriage for which they enjoy preferential policies. They do not approve the marriage of men and women until they reach this age of marriage. This practice is inappropriate. The law advocates late marriage rather than forcing it. It doesn't mean that the later one gets married, the better. To ensure strict law enforcement on the issue of marriage duration, the "Regulations on the Administration of Marriage Registration" stipulates: "When the parties applying for marriage are unable to obtain the required certificates due to interference from their units or others, the marriage registration authority, upon verification that they indeed meet the requirements of the Marriage Law and these Measures, shall also register and issue a 'Marriage Certificate'."
If you still want to know more about issues related to the legal age for marriage, the editor recommends
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