To get an annulment in Pennsylvania, you file a Complaint for Annulment in the Court of Common Pleas in the appropriate county, serve the complaint on your spouse, and prove at a hearing that your marriage meets one of the statutory grounds for being void or voidable. At least one spouse must have lived in Pennsylvania for the six months immediately before filing. An annulment treats the marriage as though it never legally existed, which is different from a divorce.
Confirm You Have a Ground
Pennsylvania does not allow annulment simply because a marriage was short or regretted. You need a statutory ground, and the grounds fall into two categories.
A void marriage was never valid in the first place. The four situations are bigamy, marriage between close blood relatives (including first cousins), inability to consent due to insanity or serious mental disorder, and a claimed common-law marriage where either party was under 18. A void marriage can still be confirmed, and lose its void status, if the couple keeps living together after the impediment is removed.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 – Section 3304
A voidable marriage is valid until a court says otherwise. The grounds are marriage under 16 without court approval, marriage at 16 or 17 without proper consent, intoxication at the ceremony, incurable impotence present at the time of marriage, and fraud, duress, or coercion. Two of these carry a strict 60-day filing deadline from the date of the ceremony: the 16-or-17 ground and the intoxication ground. Miss the window and the annulment route closes, though divorce may still be available. A voidable marriage also cannot be challenged after either spouse dies or after both spouses confirm the marriage.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 – Section 3305
Read the actual statute text before drafting, because Pennsylvania’s civil rules require you to state your ground in language that closely tracks the statute.
File the Complaint
Either spouse can file. The document is called a Complaint for Annulment, and you can usually get the form from the prothonotary’s office at your county’s Court of Common Pleas or from the court website. Rule 1920.12 requires the complaint to include:3Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1920.12 – Complaint
- Full names of both spouses, the plaintiff’s residence, and the defendant’s last known address, plus any guardian information if either spouse is a minor or has a guardian.
- A statement that at least one spouse has lived in Pennsylvania for six months immediately before filing. If you just moved to the state, you may need to wait.
- The date and place of the marriage ceremony.
- The specific statutory ground for annulment, phrased to track Sections 3304 or 3305.
- Whether either spouse has previously filed for divorce or annulment anywhere, and what happened in that case.
- Any claims for property division, custody, or support you want the court to address (more on this below).
File the completed complaint with the Prothonotary’s Office at the Court of Common Pleas in the correct county. Most counties accept filings in person, by mail, or electronically.
Filing fees vary by county. In Philadelphia, the base fee for a domestic relations complaint runs around $189, and automation and judicial surcharges push the total above $300. Smaller counties charge less. If you cannot afford the fees, file a petition to proceed in forma pauperis with an affidavit showing your finances; a free legal services attorney can instead file a certification that you cannot pay.4Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 240 – In Forma Pauperis
Serve Your Spouse
After filing, you must formally deliver the complaint to your spouse. Pennsylvania has a dedicated service rule for domestic relations cases, Rule 1930.4, that is more flexible than the general civil rule. A sheriff or any competent adult can hand-deliver the papers personally.5Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1930.4 – Service of Original Process in Domestic Relations Matters
If personal delivery is not practical, you can serve by mail. Send the complaint by certified mail, restricted to the addressee, with a return receipt requested, and also by regular first class mail. Service is complete when the signed return receipt comes back, or when the post office confirms delivery and the first class mail is not returned within 15 days. Refusal of the certified mail does not defeat service as long as the first class mail is not returned within that window.
Service must be completed within 30 days of filing.6Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Chapter 400 – Service of Original Process If you cannot locate your spouse, ask the court for a special order authorizing an alternative method.
What Happens After Service
Your spouse has 20 days from service to file a response.7Legal Information Institute. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1026 – Time for Filing Notice to Plead Silence does not win the case for you. Pennsylvania’s domestic relations rules prohibit default judgments in annulment and divorce cases, so a hearing is required regardless of whether your spouse participates.8Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1920.41 – No Default Judgment
A judge or master will evaluate your evidence at the hearing. Expect to testify about the circumstances of the marriage and the specific ground you are claiming. Witnesses who can corroborate your account help. If the court finds the ground is proven, it enters a final decree of annulment voiding the marriage.
Property, Custody, and Support
An annulment does not automatically wipe the slate clean. Pennsylvania courts can divide property, decide custody, order child support, and award alimony in an annulment case using the same framework used in divorce. If either spouse puts property on the table, equitable distribution applies.9Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 – Section 3502 Children born during a void or voidable marriage are not treated as illegitimate, and the court handles custody and support as it would in any divorce.
The catch: the court will not sort out finances on its own. If you want the decree to resolve property or support, raise those claims in your complaint or in a counterclaim.
After the Decree: Immigration and Social Security
Two consequences surprise people after the decree is entered.
If you obtained conditional permanent residence through marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, an annulment does not automatically end your status. You can petition to remove the conditions on your green card without your spouse by requesting a joint filing waiver, which requires showing you entered the marriage in good faith.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
Social Security is less forgiving. A divorced spouse can draw benefits on a former spouse’s record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, but an annulment voids the marriage from the beginning, so it does not count toward that threshold. If you were receiving benefits based on a prior marriage before this one, the Social Security Administration can reinstate those benefits effective the month the annulment decree is issued.11Social Security Administration. Social Security Handbook – 1853 Reinstatement of Benefits When Marriage Terminates