Courts issued over 2.8 thousand permits for marriage of minors in 5 years: applications are approved in 98% of cases
Over the past five years, the number of court applications for permission to marry for persons under the age of majority has significantly decreased in Ukraine. At the same time, courts have considered at least 2,874 such cases during this period.
As OpenDataBot data show, applicants were refused only in about 2% of cases.
The highest number of decisions in cases of marriage of minors was made in 2021 — 790. Afterwards, the figures gradually decreased: in 2022 courts granted 641 permits, in 2023 — 596, and in 2024 — 299.
Last year, courts considered 356 cases regarding permission for minors to marry. Since the beginning of 2026, 92 corresponding decisions have already been made.
The leaders in the number of such cases were Lviv Region — 240 cases, Vinnytsia — 187, Dnipropetrovsk — 175. A significant number of applications were also recorded in Rivne and Volyn Regions — 164 each.
Meanwhile, the fewest cases of marriage of persons under 18 over the past five years were considered in Luhansk Region — 12, Kherson — 23, Kyiv — 42, and Donetsk Region — 45.
Most often, courts agreed to grant permission to marry due to the pregnancy of the applicant. This ground was decisive in 2,025 cases, which accounts for 72% of all positive decisions.
In another 24.5% of cases, courts based their decisions on the fact that the marriage corresponded to the interests of the applicants. Additionally, in 94 cases, permission to marry was granted due to the presence of a common child in the couple.
The main reasons for refusals were the lack of evidence that the marriage corresponded to the interests of the applicants, as well as the applicants being under 16 years old, which is the minimum age allowed for obtaining a court permit to marry. Seven cases were also closed due to the absence of a subject of dispute.
As reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", the provision allowing marriage from 14 years old by court decision will be excluded from the draft Civil Code.
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