There is no legal limit on how many times you can get married in Alabama. The state does not cap the number of marriages a person may enter, as long as each prior marriage has been legally ended by divorce or annulment before the next one begins. One timing rule applies between marriages: after a divorce is finalized, you must wait 60 days before marrying someone new.
No Cap, But Each Marriage Must Be Fully Ended First
No Alabama statute sets a maximum. The only real constraint is sequential. Every previous marriage has to be formally dissolved before you enter the next one, because being legally married to two people at the same time is bigamy, which Alabama treats as a felony.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-13-1 – Bigamy
A long separation does not count. An out-of-state wedding does not count. Until a court enters a judgment ending the earlier marriage, you are still married in the eyes of Alabama law.
The 60-Day Waiting Period After Divorce
Once a divorce judgment is entered, neither former spouse may remarry anyone new for 60 days. The statute carves out one exception: the two of them may remarry each other within that window.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-2-10 – Sixty-Day Restriction on Remarriage of Parties After Grant of Divorce or Pending Appeal of Divorce If either party files an appeal during those 60 days, the restriction continues until the appeal is resolved.
The statute contains no hardship waiver. A judge cannot shorten the window. Count the 60 days from the date the divorce judgment was actually entered, not the date you filed, not the date of your last hearing, and not the date you signed a settlement. A marriage entered before the 60 days have run can be challenged as invalid.
Ending a Prior Marriage: Divorce or Annulment
Alabama recognizes two ways to end a marriage so you are free to marry again.
Divorce
Divorce is filed in circuit court. Alabama recognizes several grounds, including irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and adultery.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-2-1 – Grounds; Jurisdiction for Proceedings; Divorce Judgment Awarded to Both Parties Irretrievable breakdown is the most commonly used because it does not require proving fault. The divorce is not final until the court enters its judgment, and that is the date that starts the 60-day clock.
Annulment
An annulment declares the marriage invalid from the start, as though it never happened. Alabama grants annulments in limited circumstances, including marriages involving fraud, duress or coercion, bigamy, marriages between prohibited relatives, and marriages where a minor married without proper consent. Alabama does not impose a specific time limit for seeking an annulment.
The practical difference matters for people on their third or fourth marriage. An annulled marriage is treated as though it never legally existed, which can simplify paperwork for later marriages and for immigration filings.
What Bigamy Looks Like Under Alabama Law
Marrying someone while you are still legally married to another person is a Class C felony in Alabama.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-13-1 – Bigamy The statute also reaches couples who marry out of state while one of them is still married, then return to Alabama and live together as spouses. The new marriage is void regardless of whether anyone brings charges, and the risk of prosecution is real.
This is why dissolution first is not a formality. People sometimes assume a long separation or a wedding in another state creates a workaround. It does not.
A Common-Law Marriage You Forgot About
Alabama abolished common-law marriage for any relationship formed on or after January 1, 2017. Common-law marriages that were validly established before that date remain legally recognized.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-20 – Common-Law Marriage Abolished
If you lived with a partner before 2017 in circumstances that could have met Alabama’s common-law requirements, that relationship may still be a legal marriage. Walking away and assuming it never counted is risky. A court can determine whether a common-law marriage existed, and if it did, it has to be formally dissolved before you can marry anyone else.
Filing the Next Marriage
Once any prior marriage is legally ended and the 60-day waiting period, if any, has passed, the mechanics are the same every time. Alabama overhauled its marriage process in 2019, eliminating traditional marriage licenses, officiant requirements, and the need for any ceremony. Couples complete an Alabama Marriage Certificate form instead, which functions as both the application and the legal record.5Alabama Department of Public Health. Getting Married in Alabama? Changes You Need to Know
- Each spouse completes their portion of the certificate form, available from the Alabama Department of Public Health.
- Both spouses sign in front of an Alabama notary public. A notary from another state will not be accepted, and once notarized, nothing on the form can be changed.6Baldwin County. Instructions for Completing and Filing an Alabama Marriage Certificate
- The original signed and notarized form must be filed with any Alabama county probate court within 30 days of the later signature. The marriage becomes legal when the probate court records it.7Alabama Department of Public Health. Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Alabama Marriage Certificate
By signing, each spouse affirms under penalty of law that they are not currently married to anyone else, that they are entering the marriage voluntarily, that they are legally competent, and that the two are not related in a way that would violate Alabama’s incest prohibitions.6Baldwin County. Instructions for Completing and Filing an Alabama Marriage Certificate That first affirmation is the one that trips up people who remarry without finishing the previous divorce. Finish each one on paper, wait the 60 days if a divorce is involved, and the state will not stand in the way of the next.