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Harris County exact answer

What is the marriage license age requirement in Harris County?

This answer belongs to the issuing office and task named above. It does not substitute a statewide summary or infer a rule the office does not publish.

Direct answer

In Harris County, both applicants must be 18 or older. A county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant is under 18 unless that applicant presents a court order removing the disabilities of minority for general purposes. Texas abolished marriage by parental consent in 2017. There is no age at which a parent's permission alone is enough.

Published rule and conditions

Marriage license age requirements
Both applicants must be 18 or older. A county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant is under 18 unless that applicant presents a court order removing the disabilities of minority for general purposes.

Texas abolished marriage by parental consent in 2017. There is no age at which a parent's permission alone is enough.

Official requirement

A county clerk may not issue a marriage license if either applicant is under 18 years of age, unless each underage applicant shows that the applicant has been granted by this state or another state a court order removing the disabilities of minority of the applicant for general purposes.

Issuing office

Harris County Clerk's Office, Personal Records Department

Open the issuing office

Official sources for this answer

  • Texas Family Code, Title 1, Chapter 2 — The Marriage RelationshipTexas Legislative Council — Texas Constitution and Statutes - checked July 26, 2026

    Sec. 2.201. EXPIRATION OF LICENSE. If a marriage ceremony has not been conducted before the 90th day after the date the license is issued, the marriage license expires. Sec. 2.204. 72-HOUR WAITING PERIOD; EXCEPTIONS. (a) Except as provided by this section, a marriage ceremony may not take place during the 72-hour period immediately following the issuance of the marriage license. (b) The 72-hour waiting period after issuance of a marriage license does not apply to an applicant who: (1) is a member of the armed forces of the United States and on active duty; (2) is not a member of the armed forces of the United States but performs work for the United States Department of Defense as a department employee or under a contract with the department; (3) obtains a written waiver under Subsection (c); or (4) completes a premarital education course described by Section 2.013, and who provides to the county clerk a premarital education course completion certificate indicating completion of the premarital education course not more than one year before the date the marriage license application is filed with the clerk. Sec. 2.101. GENERAL AGE REQUIREMENT. A county clerk may not issue a marriage license if either applicant is under 18 years of age, unless each underage applicant shows that the applicant has been granted by this state or another state a court order removing the disabilities of minority of the applicant for general purposes. Sec. 2.206. RETURN OF LICENSE; PENALTY. (a) The person who conducts a marriage ceremony shall record on the license the date on which and the county in which the ceremony is performed and the person's name, subscribe the license, and return the license to the county clerk who issued it not later than the 30th day after the date the ceremony is conducted.

Answer boundary

MarriageLicenseCheck is an independent reference, not the issuing office or legal advice. Applicant facts, timing, prior marriages, and document type can change the result. The official office decides what it will accept.

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