California annulment laws let a judge declare that your marriage was never legally valid, but only when you can prove one of a short list of specific grounds that existed at the time of the ceremony. The court calls this a “judgment of nullity.” It is different from divorce, which ends a recognized marriage going forward; an annulment treats the union as though it never happened. The grounds are narrow, the deadlines are strict, and the burden of proof sits with the person asking for the annulment.
When a California Marriage Qualifies for Annulment
California sorts invalid marriages into two groups. A void marriage was never legal to begin with and needs no court order to be treated that way. A voidable marriage looks valid until a judge annuls it, and remains legally in force until that happens.
Void Marriages
Two situations make a marriage void automatically. The first is a marriage between close blood relatives, including parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings (including half-siblings), and uncles or aunts with nieces or nephews. This applies whether or not the parties knew about the relationship.1California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2200 – Void Marriage The second is bigamy, where one spouse was already legally married to someone else. There is a narrow exception if the earlier spouse had been absent and believed dead for at least five consecutive years before the new ceremony.2California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2201 – Void Marriage
Voidable Marriages
Under Family Code 2210, a court can annul a marriage on any of the following grounds:3California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2210 – Voidable Marriage
- One spouse was under 18 at the ceremony and did not have the required parental or court consent.
- One spouse was of unsound mind and could not understand what marriage meant at the time. The right to annul is lost if that person later regains capacity and freely keeps living with the other spouse.
- Consent was obtained by fraud going to the heart of the marriage. Hiding a permanent inability to have children, or marrying only to obtain immigration status with no intent to build a real life together, are common examples. The right to annul is lost if the defrauded spouse learns the truth and keeps living with the other spouse anyway.
- One spouse was forced or physically threatened into the marriage. Freely cohabiting after the coercion ends can waive this ground.
- One spouse was permanently and incurably unable to consummate the marriage at the time of the ceremony.
The cohabitation waiver built into several of these grounds is where many annulment cases collapse. If you discover a problem and continue living with your spouse as a married couple, the court treats that as acceptance of the marriage. Acting quickly after learning the truth matters.
How Long You Have to File
Deadlines depend on which ground you are using. Family Code 2211 sets them out:
- Fraud: four years from when you discovered the fraud.4Justia. California Code Family Code 2210-2212
- Force: four years from the date of the marriage.
- Underage marriage: before the underage spouse turns 22. A parent or guardian can also file on their behalf.
- Physical incapacity: four years from the date of the marriage, filed by the other spouse.
- Unsound mind: any time before the incapacitated spouse regains capacity and freely resumes living with the other spouse.
Void marriages based on incest or bigamy have no filing deadline, because the marriage was never valid in the first place. If you miss the window for a voidable marriage, the court will not grant an annulment as a backup, and it will not automatically convert the case into a divorce unless you ask for one.
Annulment vs Divorce in California
A short marriage, by itself, is not grounds for annulment. People often assume otherwise. If none of the grounds above apply and you simply want out, divorce is the correct path. That said, annulment carries some real procedural advantages when the facts support it:
- No six-month residency requirement. Divorce requires six months in California and three months in the filing county. For an annulment, you only need to be a current California resident when you file.5California Courts. Annulment
- No six-month waiting period. Divorce has a mandatory six-month cooling-off period after service. An annulment can be finalized as soon as the court enters judgment.5California Courts. Annulment
- Higher burden of proof. California divorces are no-fault, so neither spouse has to prove wrongdoing. For an annulment, you must present evidence of a specific legal ground, and a judge must independently find that evidence sufficient even if both spouses agree.
- Limited property and support rights. In a divorce, the court divides community property and can order spousal support. In an annulment, those remedies are only available if at least one spouse qualifies as a putative spouse (explained below). If neither does, the court cannot divide property or award support at all.5California Courts. Annulment
How to File and Serve
You start by filing Form FL-100, the Petition for Marriage/Domestic Partnership, in the superior court of the county where you live. Check the box for “Nullity” and identify the specific legal ground from Family Code 2210 or 2200.6California Courts. Petition – Marriage/Domestic Partnership (Family Law) (FL-100) You will also file Form FL-110, the Summons, which gives your spouse 30 days to respond.7California Courts. Summons (FL-110) If you share minor children, add Form FL-105, the UCCJEA declaration.8California Courts. Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)
The filing fee is $435, with a few counties adding a small courthouse construction surcharge.9Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 If you cannot afford the fee, Form FW-001 lets you request a waiver based on public benefits, low income, or inability to cover basic needs and court costs.10California Courts. Request to Waive Court Fees
After filing, you have to formally deliver the papers to your spouse through “service.” The person who serves must be at least 18 and not a party to the case; this can be a friend, a professional process server, or the county sheriff.11California Courts. Serving Court Papers If your spouse is cooperating, Form FL-117 lets you serve by mail with their signed acknowledgment.12California Courts. Serve by Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt If they ignore it, you will need personal service. Your spouse then has 30 days to file a Response (Form FL-120). If they do not respond, you can request a default, and the case can proceed without them.
What Happens at the Hearing
Even when both spouses agree, you must appear before a judge and explain why the marriage was never legally valid.5California Courts. Annulment This separates annulment from an uncontested divorce, which can sometimes be finalized on paperwork alone. California presumes every marriage is valid, and the petitioner has to overcome that presumption with evidence.
Be ready to testify about the specific facts behind your ground. For fraud, that means explaining what your spouse misrepresented, when you discovered the truth, and why the deception goes to something fundamental about the marriage. Supporting documents, correspondence, and witness testimony help. If the judge finds the evidence insufficient, the petition is denied, and you would need to file separately for divorce if you still want to end the marriage.
Money, Property, and Children After Annulment
Because an annulment treats the marriage as if it never existed, there is technically no community property to divide. California handles this through the putative spouse doctrine. Under Family Code 2251, if the court finds that one or both spouses genuinely believed the marriage was valid, it declares that person a putative spouse.13California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2251 Property acquired during the union is then treated as “quasi-marital property” and divided using the same community property rules that apply in divorce.
Only a spouse declared putative can request property division. If both spouses knew the marriage was invalid from the start, neither qualifies, and the court has no power to divide assets or debts.5California Courts. Annulment A putative spouse can also receive spousal support under Family Code 2254, calculated the way it would be in a divorce.14California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 2254 If there is a significant income gap between the parties, either spouse can ask the court to order the other to contribute to attorney fees under Family Code 2030.15California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 2030
Children are not affected. California establishes the parent-child relationship equally regardless of whether the parents were ever validly married. Children retain full rights to financial support and inheritance from both parents, and custody and visitation are decided under the standard “best interests of the child” analysis used in divorce. The annulment itself carries no weight on those questions.
Tax and Social Security Aftermath
An annulment changes your federal marital status retroactively. Because the IRS treats the marriage as though it never existed, you have to file amended returns on Form 1040-X for every prior year affected by the annulment that is still within the statute of limitations, changing your filing status from married (joint or separate) to single, or to head of household if you qualify.16Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504 (2025), Divorced or Separated Individuals The general deadline for claiming a refund on an amended return is three years from when the original return was filed or two years from when the tax was paid, whichever is later.17Internal Revenue Service. Filing Taxes After Divorce or Separation Depending on the year, the recalculation can increase your tax or produce a refund, so running the numbers for each year before filing is worth the effort.
If you lost Social Security benefits on a former spouse’s record because of the marriage you are now annulling, those benefits can be reinstated. The Social Security Administration treats the annulment as confirmation that the later marriage was never valid, and reinstatement takes effect as of the month the annulment decree is issued, provided you file a timely application with the SSA.18Social Security Administration. Reinstatement of Benefits When Marriage Terminates This covers divorced spouse benefits, widow or widower benefits, and surviving divorced spouse benefits. Contact the SSA promptly after your judgment, because delays can affect the effective date.