What Is an Annulment? 5 Common Legal Grounds Explained

A marriage can be annulled only in limited situations defined by state law. Rules vary from state to state, but most states divide invalid marriages into two categories:

• Void marriages. Marriages that were never legally valid (often because of bigamy or incest).
• Voidable marriages. Marriages that are valid until someone asks for and is granted an annulment because the marriage is based on fraud or some other legal ground.

What Are Five Common Legal Grounds for an Annulment?

The specific grounds (legal reasons) and rules for getting an annulment vary from state to state. Here are some common situations when it might be possible to get an annulment.

1. Underage Marriage

In many states, a marriage may be treated as invalid if a spouse was younger than the legal age to marry and didn't have the required parental or court permission. But whether the marriage is void or voidable, who can ask for an annulment, and how long they have to file, all depend on state law. A younger spouse (or their parent) can lose the right to seek an annulment if the spouses keep living together as a married couple after the underage spouse turns 18.

As widely reported in 1994, disgraced singer R. Kelly, then 27, married Aaliyah when she was only 15 years old. The marriage was quickly annulled.

2. Lack of Mental Capacity at Time of Marriage

Another type of marriage that can be annulled is one in which either spouse lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature and consequences of the marriage at the time of the ceremony. Examples include suffering from a serious mental illness or extreme intoxication. Simply having a mental health diagnosis or having been drinking isn't enough. The diagnosis or intoxication must have prevented the spouse from appreciating what they were doing when they got married.

This issue sometimes arises in probate cases when a person marries shortly before death and leaves significant property to the new spouse. If heirs can prove their family member lacked the capacity to marry, a court may annul the marriage and undo the property transfer.

3. Physical Incapacity (Impotence)

Some states, like Texas, allow impotence—a physical incapacity to have sexual intercourse—as a ground for annulment. (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.106 (2026).)

The condition typically must:

• have existed at the time of the marriage
• be permanent, and
• have been unknown to the other spouse.

4. Force or Duress (Forced Marriage)

In many states, a marriage is voidable when one spouse's consent was obtained through force or duress. Duress is more than just feeling a social or emotional pressure to get married. A court might grant an annulment, for example, if one spouse threatened the other with physical harm unless they agreed to marry. Some courts have granted annulments on this ground in the context of arranged marriages that cross the line to forced marriages.

5. Fraud or Misrepresentation

Annulment for fraud is available in many states, but only when deception goes to the essence of the marriage. Kris Humphries famously filed to annul his 72-day marriage to Kim Kardashian on this ground in 2011. He claimed that Kardashian essentially staged the ceremony for her reality show. She denied the allegation and a traditional divorce was eventually granted in April 2013.

Simply lying about income, habits, or personal history likely doesn't rise to annulment-level fraud. But lying about fertility or a very serious criminal past might be.

What Does It Mean to Ratify a Marriage?

Even if grounds exist to annul a marriage, you can lose the right by your own actions after the wedding. The legal term for this is called "ratifying the marriage." Ratification typically happens when you continue living with your spouse as a married couple after you discover the legal basis for the annulment, such as fraud or impotence. Once a court finds that you ratified the marriage, you generally can't get an annulment, though you can, of course, still get a divorce.

Bigamous or incestuous marriages can't be ratified because they were void (never legally valid) in the first place.

Time Limits for Filing for an Annulment

Even if you have a valid legal ground to annul a voidable marriage, you can lose the right to file for one if you wait too long. Most states set strict deadlines, called statutes of limitations, for these types of annulment cases. Deadlines vary from state to state and often depend on the specific ground involved.

If you want to pursue an annulment, don't delay. A local family law attorney can tell you how much time you have under your state's laws.

What Happens After an Annulment?

When a judge grants an annulment, the marriage is treated as though it never happened in the eyes of the law. In many states, that means the usual rules for dividing property and awarding alimony (spousal support) don't automatically apply after an annulment. In a divorce, a spouse might be entitled to a share of property acquired during the marriage, but that might not be true after an annulment. Similarly, it's often harder to get spousal support after an annulment. This is why it's important to talk to a lawyer if you can before deciding whether to pursue an annulment or divorce.

Learn more about the differences between an annulment and divorce.