cousins

Is it legal to marry your first cousin?

Answer: Yes and no, depends on which state.

Fun fact: 99% of all cousin marriage proposals are made by men.

Ok, not really a fact, we just made that up. But would anyone be surprised if this was the case?!

Below is a table that lists each state in the U.S. and whether or not it is legal.

StateFirst cousin marriage allowed?
AlabamaYes
AlaskaNo
ArizonaOnly if both parties are 65 or older, or one is infertile
ArkansasNo
CaliforniaYes
ColoradoYes
ConnecticutYes
DelawareNo
District of ColumbiaYes
FloridaYes
GeorgiaYes
HawaiiYes
IdahoNo
IllinoisNo
IndianaOnly if both parties are 65 or older
IowaNo
KansasNo
KentuckyNo
LouisianaNo
MaineProof of genetic counseling from a genetic counselor
MarylandYes
MassachusettsYes
MichiganNo
MinnesotaOnly certain types
MississippiNo
MissouriNo
MontanaNo
NebraskaNo
NevadaNo
New HampshireNo
New JerseyYes
New MexicoYes
New YorkYes
North CarolinaYes, except in the rare case of double first cousins
North DakotaNo
OhioNo
OklahomaNo
OregonNo
PennsylvaniaNo
Rhode IslandYes
South CarolinaYes
South DakotaNo
TennesseeYes
TexasNo
VermontYes
VirginiaYes
WashingtonNo
West VirginiaNo
WisconsinOnly if the woman is at least 55, or either is permanently sterile
WyomingNo

It is important to note that laws regarding marriage between cousins can change over time, so check the cousin marriage laws in your state before you try and tie the knot.


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