# Parental consent and judicial approval · North Carolina — Minimum marriage age and exceptions by state

For Parental consent and judicial approval · North Carolina, state is North Carolina; minimum age is 16; exception type is Parental consent and judicial approval; age with parental consent is over 16 years of age and under 18 years of age; additional conditions is may marry a person no more than four years older, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** North Carolina _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Minimum age:** 16 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Exception type:** Parental consent and judicial approval _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Age with parental consent:** over 16 years of age and under 18 years of age _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Additional conditions:** may marry a person no more than four years older _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statutory citation:** N.C. Gen. Stat. § 51-2

## What the source says

> (a1) Persons over 16 years of age and under 18 years of age may marry a person no more than four years older, and the register of deeds may issue a license for the marriage, only after there has been filed with the register of deeds a certified copy of an order issued by a district court authorizing marriage as provided in G.S. 21-2.1, or a written consent to the marriage, said consent having been signed by the appropriate person as follows:

## Source

- https://www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2025-Statutory-Text-Compilation.pdf

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2026-12-29.
Part of [Minimum marriage age and exceptions by state](https://referencesource.org/state-minimum-marriage-age-exceptions/).