New Jersey Annulment Laws: Grounds, Deadlines and How to File (2026)

New Jersey handles annulment through a "judgment of nullity of marriage" in the Superior Court. The grounds are listed in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-1 and include bigamy, marriage between close relatives, impotence, lack of capacity, duress, fraud as to the essentials of marriage, and marriage by a spouse who was under 18.

Information last verified on 2026-10-08. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers court annulment (a judgment of nullity) of a marriage or civil union under New Jersey law, mainly N.J.S.A. 2A:34-1, with the related sections 2A:34-8, 2A:34-9, 2A:34-20, 2A:34-23, 2A:34-24.1, 3B:3-14, 37:1-1, 37:1-6 and 37:1-10. It does not cover divorce, religious annulment or other states' law. For divorce, see New Jersey divorce laws.

Statute text: The Title 2A sections quoted on this page were checked on the New Jersey Legislature's website on 2026-10-08. The Title 37 and Title 3B sections were checked against a copy of the official text retrieved on 2026-08-01. Check the current text before relying on them.

What New Jersey calls an annulment

New Jersey law does not use "annulment" as the name of the court action. Section 2A:34-1 opens: "Judgments of nullity of marriage may be rendered in all cases, when:" and then lists the grounds. Other sections refer to nullity or annulment of a marriage or civil union, including the support section, N.J.S.A. 2A:34-24.1.

A judgment of nullity is different from a divorce. A divorce ends a valid marriage; a nullity judgment rests on one of the defects 2A:34-1 lists. If none of those grounds fits, the route out of the marriage is divorce, covered on the New Jersey divorce laws page.

Grounds for annulment in New Jersey

For a marriage, section 2A:34-1(1) lists six grounds. The table summarizes each one with what the statute says about who may ask for it and what bars the claim.

For civil unions, 2A:34-1(2) lists parallel grounds: a prior living spouse or partner, prohibited kinship, incapacity, lack of mutual assent, duress or fraud as to the essentials of a civil union, a party under 18, and general equity jurisdiction. It has no impotence ground.

"None stated" means the text of 2A:34-1 does not state one. It does not mean a court will hear a claim at any time; this page does not cover how courts treat delay.

Prior marriage, civil union or domestic partnership

Under 2A:34-1(1)(a), a nullity judgment may be rendered when "Either of the parties has another wife, husband, partner in a civil union couple or domestic partner living at the time of a second or other marriage." The statute lists this ground without labelling it void or voidable, and this page does not classify it.

Close relatives

Section 37:1-1 bars marriage or a civil union with "any of the person's ancestors or descendants, or the person's sibling, or the child of the person's sibling, or the sibling of the person's parent, whether such collateral kindred be of the whole or half blood." It adds that such a marriage or civil union "shall be absolutely void."

Under 2A:34-1(1)(b), if a marriage of this kind was not annulled during the parties' lifetimes, its validity is not inquired into after either of them dies.

Impotence

Section 2A:34-1(1)(c) covers a party who was "at the time of marriage physically and incurably impotent." The party asking for the judgment must have been "ignorant of such impotency or incapability at the time of the marriage," and must not have "subsequently ratified the marriage."

Incapacity, lack of assent, duress and fraud

Section 2A:34-1(1)(d) covers a party who "lacked capacity to marry due to want of understanding because of mental condition, or the influence of intoxicants, drugs, or similar agents; or where there was a lack of mutual assent to the marital relationship; duress; or fraud as to the essentials of marriage; and has not subsequently ratified the marriage."

The fraud ground is limited to fraud "as to the essentials of marriage." The statute text quoted here does not define that phrase, and this page does not cover the case law that interprets it.

Marriage by a spouse under 18

Under 2A:34-1(1)(e), a nullity judgment may be rendered where "The demand for such a judgment is by the wife or husband who was under the age of 18 years at the time of the marriage." The spouse who was under 18 is the person the section names as making that demand.

General equity jurisdiction

The last ground, 2A:34-1(1)(f), allows a judgment where it is "Allowable under the general equity jurisdiction of the Superior Court." The statute does not list what those grounds are.

Marriages New Jersey declares void

Two of the sections quoted on this page call a marriage "absolutely void." The first is the kinship rule in 37:1-1, described above. The second is the license rule in N.J.S.A. 37:1-10, which provides that no marriage contracted on or after December 1, 1939 is valid unless the parties obtained a marriage license and the marriage was then performed by a person or body authorized to solemnize marriages, and that "failure in any case to comply with both prerequisites" renders "the purported marriage absolutely void."

Because of 37:1-10, a common-law marriage contracted in New Jersey after December 1, 1939 is not valid. The license rule is not one of the listed grounds in 2A:34-1. For more on informal marriages, see New Jersey common-law marriage.

New Jersey's minimum marriage age

Section 37:1-6 provides: "A marriage or civil union license shall not be issued to a minor under the age of 18 years." The 18-year minimum comes from P.L.2018, c.42, approved and effective June 22, 2018.

The under-18 nullity ground in 2A:34-1(1)(e) remains in the statute text.

How to file for an annulment in New Jersey

Annulment cases are heard in the Superior Court, Family Part. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-8, "The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction of all causes of divorce, dissolution of a civil union, bed and board divorce, legal separation from a partner in a civil union couple or nullity when either party is a bona fide resident of this State."

For nullity cases, N.J.S.A. 2A:34-9 provides that jurisdiction may be acquired when "Either party is a bona fide resident of this State at the time of the commencement of the action" and process is served on the defendant under the court rules. The one-year residency period in N.J.S.A. 2A:34-10 is written for absolute divorce and dissolution of a civil union.

The New Jersey Courts self-help divorce page covers annulment. It says: "The same process applies when ending a marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, or when seeking an annulment." It is the official starting point for the filing steps and forms: New Jersey Courts self-help: divorce.

What happens to children after an annulment

An annulment does not change a child's legitimacy. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-20 provides that the child "is the legitimate child of both natural parents notwithstanding that such marriage is void or voidable or has been or shall hereafter be annulled or judicially declared void."

Section 2A:34-23 lets the court make orders "as to the care, custody, education and maintenance of the children" pending any matrimonial action. See New Jersey child custody laws for how custody is decided.

Support, property and estates after an annulment

Support. Section 2A:34-24.1 addresses a spouse who "has secured a judgment or decree of divorce, whether absolute or from bed and board, dissolution of a civil union, legal separation ..., or of nullity or annulment of marriage or civil union." In that situation "the court may make the same orders and judgments touching the suitable support and maintenance" as the statute describes. The section applies where the judgment was entered in an action in which the court did not obtain jurisdiction over the other spouse personally.

Section 2A:34-23 separately lets the court make orders on "the alimony or maintenance of the parties" pending any matrimonial action. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(b), in all actions brought for nullity, as well as divorce and the other actions that subsection lists, "the court may award one or more of the following types of alimony: open durational alimony; rehabilitative alimony; limited duration alimony or reimbursement alimony to either party."

Property. This page does not cover property division in a nullity case. Ask a lawyer licensed in New Jersey about dividing property after an annulment.

Wills and other transfers. Under N.J.S.A. 3B:3-14, unless the instrument, a court order or a property contract between the spouses provides otherwise, "a divorce or annulment: (1) revokes any revocable: (a) dispositions or appointment of property made by a divorced individual to his former spouse." The same section also turns joint tenancies and tenancies by the entirety between the former spouses into tenancies in common.

Putative spouses and religious annulments

This page does not cover whether New Jersey protects a spouse who believed in good faith that the marriage was valid. A lawyer licensed in New Jersey can advise on that question.

A religious annulment and a court judgment of nullity are separate processes. A religious decision does not by itself change civil marital status, and a court judgment does not decide religious status.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about annulment (judgments of nullity) under New Jersey law, mainly N.J.S.A. 2A:34-1. It is not legal advice. The information was verified on 2026-10-08 (Title 37 and Title 3B text against a copy retrieved on 2026-08-01), and the law can change. For advice about your situation, consult a lawyer licensed in New Jersey or the New Jersey Courts self-help resources.

Related

• Annulment laws in every state
• New Jersey divorce laws
• New Jersey common-law marriage
• New Jersey marriage and divorce records
• New Jersey child custody laws

Last updated: 2026-10-08.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you get an annulment in New Jersey?

Yes. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-1 lets the Superior Court render a judgment of nullity of marriage on the grounds it lists, including a prior living spouse or partner, close kinship, impotence, duress, fraud as to the essentials of marriage and marriage under 18.

Is there a time limit to annul a marriage in New Jersey?

Section 2A:34-1 does not state a filing deadline. For impotence, incapacity, duress and fraud, the claim is barred if the person seeking it later ratified the marriage.

What counts as fraud for an annulment in New Jersey?

Section 2A:34-1(1)(d) covers "fraud as to the essentials of marriage" where the party has not later ratified the marriage. The statute does not define the essentials, so a lawyer licensed in New Jersey can explain how courts have applied it.

Do you have to live in New Jersey to get an annulment?

Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-8 and 2A:34-9, the Superior Court has jurisdiction over a nullity case when either party is a bona fide resident of New Jersey when the action starts and the defendant is served under the court rules. The one-year period in 2A:34-10 is written for absolute divorce and dissolution of a civil union.

Are children legitimate if a New Jersey marriage is annulled?

Yes. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-20 makes the child the legitimate child of both natural parents even if the marriage is void, voidable or annulled.

Can a New Jersey court order support after an annulment?

Yes. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:34-23(b), in all actions brought for nullity the court may award open durational, rehabilitative, limited duration or reimbursement alimony to either party. Section 2A:34-23 also allows alimony and child-related orders pending a matrimonial action. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-24.1 lets the court order support after a nullity judgment obtained in a case where the court did not have personal jurisdiction over the other spouse.