No, you cannot marry your cousin in Arkansas if that cousin is your first cousin. State law classifies a first-cousin marriage as incestuous and “absolutely void,” meaning the law treats it as if it never happened. Age, infertility, and consent do not change the result. Both partners and the person who performs the ceremony can be charged with a misdemeanor.1Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-106 – Incestuous Marriages – Penalties for Entering Into or Solemnizing
Where Arkansas Draws the Line
Arkansas Code 9-11-106 names first cousins specifically among the relationships that make a marriage incestuous. The prohibition covers both biological and illegitimate family connections, so it does not matter whether the shared ancestry runs through a marital line.1Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-106 – Incestuous Marriages – Penalties for Entering Into or Solemnizing There is no exception for couples past childbearing age, no exception for couples who undergo genetic counseling, no exception at all. If you share a set of grandparents with the person you want to marry, Arkansas will not let the marriage stand.
The statute stops at first cousins. Second cousins, third cousins, and more distant relatives are not covered.
Criminal Penalties
Entering a prohibited marriage is a misdemeanor in Arkansas, and the charge applies to both partners and to anyone who knowingly officiates. Conviction can bring a fine, jail time, or both. The statute leaves the specific punishment to the jury at trial, or to the judge if the defendant pleads guilty.1Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-106 – Incestuous Marriages – Penalties for Entering Into or Solemnizing
Section 9-11-106 does not assign a misdemeanor class, which makes it an unclassified misdemeanor. Under Arkansas’s general sentencing rules, the fine for an unclassified misdemeanor is governed by whatever cap the defining statute sets.2Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-201 – Fines – Limitations on Amount Because this statute names no dollar limit and no maximum jail term, the penalty is genuinely open-ended. The practical stakes are harder to predict than with a Class A, B, or C misdemeanor.
What “Absolutely Void” Means for You
A void marriage is treated as though it never existed. No court has to dissolve it, because there is nothing to dissolve. That is different from a voidable marriage, which stays legally valid until a court annuls it. Arkansas has a separate statute for voidable marriages based on things like lack of consent, fraud, or physical incapacity.3Justia. Arkansas Code 9-12-201 – Grounds
The real-world consequences are heavy. Neither partner has spousal rights to property, inheritance, insurance benefits, or medical decision-making authority. If someone disputes whether the marriage ever existed, a court can issue a formal declaration of nullity to put the question to rest, but it does not need to do so for the marriage to be void.
Can You Marry in Another State and Come Home?
Probably not. Arkansas recognizes out-of-state marriages, but only when the marriage was valid in the state where it took place and where the parties “actually resided” at the time.4Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-107 – Validity of Foreign Marriages An Arkansas couple who drives to a state that allows first-cousin marriage for the weekend does not “actually reside” there. They stay Arkansas residents, and their marriage falls back under the Arkansas prohibition.
There is a second barrier. Arkansas’s incest statute declares first-cousin marriages void as a matter of public policy, and courts in states with strong public-policy bans have historically refused to recognize such marriages regardless of where the ceremony happened. Between the residency requirement and the public-policy language, an Arkansas court is extremely unlikely to treat the marriage as valid.
What Happens to the Children
Children born to a void marriage keep their legal footing. Arkansas law provides that if two people go through a marriage ceremony that appears to comply with the law of the state where it occurs, their children are legitimate for inheritance purposes even if the marriage itself is void.5Justia. Arkansas Code 28-9-209 – Legitimacy of Child They do not lose inheritance rights because the parents’ marriage had no legal effect.
Federal benefits follow a similar logic. The Social Security Administration treats children of a void marriage as legitimate without a court order in many states, provided at least one parent entered the marriage in good faith.6Social Security Administration (SSA). Child Born of Void Marriage Survivor benefits and other federal programs are generally not at risk because of a parents’ void marriage.
Federal Tax Fallout
If you filed joint federal returns based on a marriage Arkansas considers void, the IRS treats you as never having been married. Your correct filing status for every joint year was single, or head of household if you qualified. The IRS expects amended returns on Form 1040-X for each affected year still open under the statute of limitations.7Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504 (2025), Divorced or Separated Individuals
Depending on how your incomes compared, switching from joint to single could raise one or both of your tax bills. Credits and deductions that hinged on married status have to be recalculated too. If the void marriage lasted several years before anyone addressed it, the exposure can be substantial.