No, you cannot marry your cousin in Kentucky if that cousin is a first cousin or closer. KRS 402.010 bars any marriage between people more closely related by blood than second cousins, and any marriage that violates the rule is treated as void from the moment it happens.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 402.010 – Degree of Relationship That Will Bar Marriage Second cousins and more distant relatives are free to marry.
Which Relatives Are Off Limits
The statute bars marriage between anyone “nearer of kin by consanguinity, whether of the whole or half-blood, than second cousins.”1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 402.010 – Degree of Relationship That Will Bar Marriage In practice that means no marriages between siblings, parents and children, aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, half-siblings, half-first cousins, or first cousins. Second cousins fall outside the ban.
Kentucky offers no way around this. There is no genetic-counseling exception, no age-based workaround for older couples past childbearing years, and no judicial waiver. The ban is absolute for anyone closer than second cousins.
Criminal Penalties
Entering a prohibited marriage is a Class B misdemeanor under KRS 402.990, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $250.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 402.990 – Penalties3Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.090 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 534.040 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Violations
The charge escalates if the couple keeps living together after a conviction. At that point either party, or both, can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, which carries up to 12 months in jail.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 402.990 – Penalties3Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.090 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Misdemeanor The initial marriage triggers the lesser charge; refusing to separate after conviction is what turns it into the more serious one. Prosecutions are rare, but the statute is enforceable.
What “Void From the Start” Actually Means
A void marriage is different from a divorce or an annulment of a valid-until-ended marriage. It is treated as though it never happened. No court order is required to make it invalid, though a party can ask for a formal declaration under KRS 403.120 to resolve property and status questions.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 403.120 – Marriage Court May Declare Invalid
The ripple effects reach further than most couples expect.
Federal Taxes
The IRS defers to state law on whether you are married. If your Kentucky marriage is void, you were never married for federal tax purposes. Any joint returns you filed would need to be amended on Form 1040-X for every year still open under the statute of limitations, typically three years.6Internal Revenue Service. Divorced or Separated Individuals Each year gets recalculated as single or head of household, which often produces a higher tax bill.
Social Security
The Social Security Administration also treats a void marriage as one that never existed, so no spousal, survivor, or divorced-spouse benefits can be based on it. The date of any later court decree does not matter because the marriage had no legal effect from day one.7Social Security Administration. Void Marriages If benefits were previously cut off because of the void marriage, SSA can reinstate them retroactively.
Children Are Protected
Kentucky does not visit the consequences on the kids. Under KRS 391.100, children born of any void or illegal marriage are treated as though they were born in lawful wedlock.8Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 391.100 – Children of Illegal or Void Marriages Considered as if Born in Lawful Wedlock Their inheritance rights, custody status, and legal parentage remain intact.
If You Marry in Another State
Some states, including California and Colorado, permit first-cousin marriage. Getting married there does not solve the Kentucky problem. KRS 402.010 does not merely refuse to perform such ceremonies in Kentucky; it labels those marriages “incestuous and void” as a category.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Code 402.010 – Degree of Relationship That Will Bar Marriage
Ordinarily a marriage valid where it was performed is honored in other states, but that recognition gives way when the marriage violates the home state’s strong public policy. Kentucky’s “incestuous and void” language signals exactly that policy. A Kentucky court is unlikely to recognize a first-cousin marriage performed elsewhere if the couple lives in Kentucky, which affects property ownership, medical decision-making, and how the couple can file state tax returns.
Getting a Court Declaration of Invalidity
Even though the marriage is void without any court doing anything, a formal declaration under KRS 403.120 is worth pursuing in most cases.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 403.120 – Marriage Court May Declare Invalid It sorts out shared property, fixes each person’s legal status for any future marriage, and gives banks, insurers, and government agencies an official record to work from. Without one, those institutions may keep treating the couple as married based on the original marriage certificate.
Filing fees vary by county and generally run in the low hundreds of dollars. Simple invalidity petitions with no contested property are sometimes handled without an attorney, but if children, real estate, or significant assets are in play, talking to a Kentucky family lawyer before filing is worth the cost.