Raising marriage age in Northern Ireland better protects our children and young people – O’Dowd

Finance Minister John O'Dowd has introduced new legislation to the Assembly which will raise the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership to 18.

Currently young people here aged 16 and 17 can marry or form a civil partnership conditional on parental or equivalent consent. The Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill will raise the minimum age from 16 to 18. In addition, temporary arrangements have been in place which permit belief marriages to proceed in the same way as religious marriages. This new Bill will make belief marriage arrangements official and permanent.

Speaking following the introduction of the Bill on Monday, Finance Minister John O'Dowd said: “The legislation introduced will help to better safeguard our children and young people.

“Child marriage can increase the risk of forced marriage and can deprive children of education and other essential life opportunities. Girls, who are more frequently married as children than boys, are especially at risk.

“Organisations such as the United Nations and local stakeholders recommend raising the minimum age for marriage from the present 16 to 18.

“I am therefore convinced of the need for change, particularly given that almost every respondent to the consultation supported raising the minimum age.”

The Minister continued: “For several years, belief marriages have been permitted through temporary arrangements. This Bill will now put belief marriages on a permanent legal footing, giving them the same statutory recognition as religious marriages.”

Notes to editors:

1. The Bill will:

• Include belief marriage - legally binding marriage by people who subscribe to non-religious belief systems such as humanism - in the marriage law on the same basis as religious marriage.
• Increase the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership from the present 16 to 18.
• Criminalise the arrangement of marriages that involve people under the age of 18.

2. For the period 2020 – 2024, there were 183 marriages where at least one partner was under 18. Further information is available at: www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/registrar-general-annual-report-2024-marriages

3. Provisional figures available for 2025 show there were 13 marriages where at least one partner was under 18. Further information is available at: www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/registrar-general-quarterly-tables-quarter-3-2025