State laws and cousin marriage | Cousin Marriage Resources

US State Laws

Click on a state below for actual marriage statutes. CousinCouples.com does not guarantee the accuracy of the information available on the various state laws. This information is for entertainment purposes and does not constitute legal advice.

States that allow cousin marriages	States that prohibit cousin marriages
Alabama	Arkansas
Alaska	Delaware
Arizona *E1	Idaho
California	Iowa
Colorado	Kansas
Connecticut	Kentucky¹
Florida	Louisiana
Georgia	Michigan
Hawaii	Minnesota ²
Illinois *E1	Mississippi
Indiana *E1 ¹	Missouri
Maine *E3	Montana
Maryland	Nebraska
Massachusetts	Nevada ¹
New Jersey	New Hampshire
New Mexico	North Dakota
New York	Ohio ¹
North Carolina *E2	Oklahoma
Rhode Island	Oregon
South Carolina	Pennsylvania
Tennessee	South Dakota
Utah *E1	Texas
Vermont	Washington ¹
Virginia	West Virginia
Wisconsin *E1 ¹	Wyoming

E1	Permitted when couples will not bear children
E2	Prohibits double first cousins only
E3	Genetic counseling required prior to marriage

¹ Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin currently prohibit marriage between first cousins once removed.
² Exemption : some marriages are permitted by the established customs of aboriginal culture - see state law

U.S. State Laws Explained
Second cousins may legally marry	All States
First cousins may legally marry	AK, AL, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, MD, MA, NJ, NM, NY, NC, RI, SC, TN,, VT, VA and Washington DC
First cousins and first cousins once removed cousins prohibited	AR, DE, IA, ID, KS, LA, NH, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, OR, OK, PA, SD, TX, WV, WY IN, KY, NV, OH, WA, WI
First cousins and first cousins once removed prohibited only if they can bear children or are over a certain age	AZ, IL, ME, UT, IN, WI
First cousins may marry if the submit to genetic counseling	ME
Only double first cousins prohibited	NC
Cousin marriages allowed only if permitted by aboriginal culture of the couple	MN
Cousins may legally evade state laws and marry elsewhere (Interpretation of law unclear) (Not legal but Ethridge v. Shaddock may have set a precedent to overturn)	IN, KS, LA, NE, OK, WA, WV, WY, MI AR*
Cousins are prohibited from marrying, but are not defined as incest (defined as incest only if over 18) (defined as incest only if under 18)	ID, LA, MN, MO, MT, OR, PA, WA, WV, WY AZ SD,
Cousin marriage is defined as incestuous only if couple is of reproductive age or ability	WI
Cousin marriage is defined as incestuous	All prohibited states, excluding those listed in the previous two (2) categories
Half cousins can marry (absolute, apparent)	NE, NV AZ, KS, MT, OK
Adopted cousins may marry with proof of eligibility	LA, MS, OR, WV,
Uncle/Niece and other consanguineous marriages allowed if permitted by aboriginal culture	CO, MN
Uncle-in-law/Niece-in-law marriages allowed	CT

* Indiana
While most marriages are void if contracted elsewhere to evade Indiana's law, cousin marriages do not fall under the statute which would make it void:

IC 31-11-8-6
Sec. 6. A marriage is void if the parties to the marriage:

For more information, you should consult the book, "Forbidden Relatives" -- it has more detailed information on each state. Also you should post your question on the message board.