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xScotland consults on raising the minimum age for marriage to 18.
Date: 22nd July 2025
Category:
General measures of implementation, General principles
The Scottish Government has confirmed it will consult on changing the legal age for marriage and civil partnerships.
Currently, children aged 16 and 17 can marry without parental consent in Scotland, but proposals now suggest increasing the minimum age to 18, aligning with legislation in England and Wales. The consultation is expected to be published later this year.
What’s being considered?
Raising the legal age for getting married: No child under the age of 18 would be allowed to marry or form a civil partnership in Scotland.
Strengthened protections: The consultation will also explore expanding forced marriage legislation to criminalise any marriage involving someone under 18, even if ‘consent’ is claimed, e.g. in the case of forced marriage.
Why does this matter?
Child marriage remains a harmful practice in Scotland in breach of children’s rights. In its 2023 Concluding Observations, the UN Committee called for Scotland to increase the age of marriage to 18.
Furthermore, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, has raised concerns about the continued legal age for marriage being 16 in Scotland. In her official report following her visit to the United Kingdom, she noted that child marriage remains a harmful practice. While it is criminalised in England and Wales through the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, Scotland’s lower minimum age of 16 poses a risk of exploitation and coercion. She further highlighted the inconsistent implementation of the UK’s forced marriage laws, despite section 122 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 legislation banning the practice nationwide.
Alsalem called for more robust national coordination, including dedicated studies on the scale of forced marriage, mandatory training for frontline staff, an expansion on public education campaigns and increased support services for victims. The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls’ recommendations emphasise the need for a uniform minimum marriage age of 18 across all UK jurisdictions.