Yes, you can marry your cousin in Alabama. First cousins are not listed in the state’s incest statute, and nothing in Alabama’s marriage code bars the union. Since 2019, Alabama no longer issues marriage licenses at all; instead, every couple, cousins included, completes a notarized marriage certificate and files it with a probate court.
Which Relatives Alabama Actually Prohibits
Alabama’s incest law is an exhaustive list, not a general prohibition. If a relationship is not named in the statute, it is legal. The statute covers four categories:1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 13A Section 13A-13-3 – Incest
- Ancestors and descendants, including by adoption (parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren)
- Siblings, including half-siblings and adoptive siblings
- Stepparents and stepchildren, but only while the marriage creating that step-relationship exists
- Aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews, whole or half-blood
First cousins do not appear. Neither do second cousins or double first cousins. Incest is a Class C felony in Alabama, but that classification attaches only to the relationships above. Title 30, Chapter 1, which governs marriage, likewise contains no provision restricting cousin unions.2Justia Law. Alabama Code Title 30 Chapter 1 – Marriage Alabama is one of roughly 19 states (plus Washington, D.C.) that place no restrictions whatsoever on first-cousin marriage.
How to Get Married in Alabama
The old courthouse routine of applying for a license and finding an officiant to sign it is gone. Since August 29, 2019, Alabama has used a notarized certificate system that puts the paperwork squarely on the couple.3Alabama Department of Public Health. Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Alabama Marriage Certificate
Both spouses complete the official Alabama Marriage Certificate form and each signs it in front of an Alabama notary public. The notary must be authorized under Alabama law. A 2022 Alabama Attorney General opinion made clear that out-of-state notaries will not be accepted, and electronic signatures from either the spouses or the notary are also rejected.
Once notarized, the form has to reach an Alabama probate court within 30 days of the later signature. If the two of you sign on different days, the clock starts from the second date. Miss the window and the marriage is not legal. The marriage becomes effective when the probate court records the form, and the official marriage date is the date of the later signature, not the recording date.
A ceremony is optional and carries no legal weight. You can hold one before filing, after filing, or not at all.
Fees, ID, and Who Shows Up
Recording fees vary by county. Montgomery County charges $78.50 and includes one certified copy.4Montgomery County Probate Court. Marriage License Baldwin County is $73 with one certified copy.5Baldwin County. Marriage License Madison County lists $89.6Madison County, AL. Probate Court Costs – Section: Filing Fees Expect somewhere between $70 and $90 depending on where you file. Neither spouse has to appear in person at the probate court; a third party can drop off the completed, notarized form.
A valid driver’s license, state-issued non-driver ID, or passport is accepted for identification.
Age Requirements
Both parties must be at least 18 to marry without restriction. If one or both spouses are 16 or 17, a parent or guardian must sign a separate notarized affidavit (page 2 of the certificate form), which is filed with the main form at the probate court.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 30 Chapter 1 Section 30-1-5 – Consent of Parents Required for Marriage of Certain Minors Nobody under 16 can marry in Alabama.
The Health Question Couples Often Ask
Alabama doesn’t require genetic counseling for cousin couples, but the biology is worth understanding. First cousins share roughly 12.5% of their DNA, which raises the odds that both carry the same recessive gene. Research puts the additional risk of a significant birth defect at about 1.7 to 2.8 percentage points above the baseline risk for the general population.8National Institutes of Health. Do Consanguineous Parents of a Child Affected by an Autosomal Recessive Disease Have More DNA Identical-by-Descent Than Similarly Related Parents With Healthy Offspring? The background risk for any couple is around 3 to 4%, so a first-cousin couple is looking at a total risk roughly in the 5 to 7% range.
Carrier screening can identify whether both partners carry mutations tied to specific conditions. Costs run from under $100 for targeted single-gene tests to over $2,000 for broad panels, and testing additional family members raises the total.9MedlinePlus. What Is the Cost of Genetic Testing, and How Long Does It Take To Get the Results? Many insurers cover screening when it is medically indicated. Couples with a known hereditary condition in the family have the clearest reason to screen, but a counselor’s assessment can still be useful without one.
If You Later Move to Another State
A cousin marriage performed in Alabama is fully valid in Alabama. Outside the state, the picture is less uniform. The general principle is that a marriage valid where celebrated is valid everywhere, and most states apply that rule most of the time. But about 19 states ban first-cousin marriage, and some invoke a public-policy exception that lets them refuse to recognize cousin marriages performed elsewhere.
Nine states criminalize sexual intercourse between first cousins: Arizona, Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. A couple legally married in Alabama could face criminal exposure in those states even though their marriage was lawful where it was performed. Utah, for example, treats intercourse between first cousins as a third-degree felony.
If a move to a restrictive state is on the horizon, talk to a family law attorney in that state before you go. Whether a state merely refuses to issue cousin marriage licenses or declares such marriages void makes a meaningful difference for property, inheritance, and divorce.
Federal Benefits and Tax Filing
Federal agencies look to state law to decide whether a marriage is valid, but they don’t all look to the same state.
Federal Income Tax
The IRS treats a marriage as valid for federal tax purposes if it was valid under the law of the state where it was performed. A cousin couple married in Alabama can file jointly no matter where they later live.10IRS. Rev. Rul. 2013-17 The IRS does not re-evaluate the marriage under the laws of the current state of residence.
Social Security
Social Security uses a different reference point. The SSA decides whether someone qualifies as a spouse or surviving spouse based on the law of the state where the worker was domiciled at death, not the state of marriage. If a couple marries in Alabama and later settles in a state that treats cousin marriages as void, a surviving spouse could be denied benefits. The SSA has specifically found that being first cousins is a “substantive” rather than “procedural” defect, so the fallback that saves otherwise-valid marriages does not apply.11Social Security Administration. SSR 63-20 – Section 216(h) – Relationship – Validity of Marriage Between First Cousins
Immigration
For immigration, the State Department generally evaluates validity under the law of the place of celebration, so a cousin marriage from Alabama should be recognized for spousal visa petitions. Consular officers are instructed to request an advisory opinion when a marriage between biological relatives may not be valid, and cousin-marriage cases that aren’t “clearly approvable” get sent to USCIS for further review. If USCIS has already approved the petition knowing the parties are cousins, the consular officer accepts that determination.12Department of State. Family-Based Relationships
One Note on Annulment
Because cousin marriage is legal in Alabama, being first cousins is not a ground for annulment here. Annulment is available for marriages that were never valid, such as those involving a prohibited relationship under the incest statute, bigamy, lack of capacity to consent, fraud or duress, or an underage spouse married without the required parental affidavit. A cousin couple seeking to undo their marriage would be looking at one of those grounds or at divorce, not at annulment based on the relationship itself.