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

A Wisconsin court can annul a marriage. Wis. Stat. § 767.313(1) lists four grounds, from lack of capacity to consent to a marriage that Wisconsin law prohibits, and each ground carries its own filing deadline. A judicial proceeding is required, and a marriage may not be annulled after the death of a party (§ 767.313(2)).

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

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers civil annulment in Wisconsin under Wis. Stat. §§ 767.313, 767.301, 765.02, 765.03 and 765.21, with the property, maintenance and child support provisions of chapter 767 that apply to an annulment judgment. Quotations come from the statutes as published on the Wisconsin Legislature's website; check the current text before relying on exact wording. It does not cover religious annulment, name changes, inheritance, parentage presumptions or other states' law. For ending a valid marriage, see Wisconsin divorce laws.

Can you get an annulment in Wisconsin?

Yes. Chapter 767 lists annulment, along with a separate action to affirm a marriage, among Wisconsin's actions affecting the family (§ 767.001(1)(a) and (b)). The grounds are in § 767.313(1), which opens:

"767.313 Annulment. (1) GROUNDS; WHEN SUIT MAY BE BROUGHT. A court may annul a marriage upon any of the following grounds:"

Subsection (2) adds two rules that apply to every ground: "A judicial proceeding is required to annul a marriage. A marriage may not be annulled after the death of a party to the marriage."

Void and voidable marriages in Wisconsin

Wisconsin law uses two sets of statutes. Chapter 765 sets out who may not marry, and § 765.21 provides: "All marriages hereafter contracted in violation of ss. 765.02, 765.03, 765.04 and 765.16 shall be void, except as provided in ss. 765.22 and 765.23." For chapters 765 to 768, "void" means "null and void and not voidable" (§ 765.002(6)).

Chapter 767 then supplies the annulment action and its deadlines. Even a void marriage still has legal effect until a court acts: the Legislature's annotation to § 767.313, citing Sinai Samaritan Medical Center v. McCabe, 197 Wis. 2d 709 (Ct. App. 1995), states:

Although a marriage may be "void," the marriage governs the parties' legal relations unless it is annulled.

Grounds for annulment under § 767.313(1)

The deadline for the capacity ground reads: "Suit may be brought by either party, or by the legal representative of a party lacking the capacity to consent, no later than one year after the petitioner obtained knowledge of the described condition." The 10-year rule for prohibited marriages reads in full: "Suit may be brought by either party within 10 years of the marriage, except that the 10-year limitation shall not apply where the marriage is prohibited because either party has another spouse living at the time of the marriage and the impediment has not been removed under s. 765.24."

Marriages chapter 765 prohibits

Section 767.313(1)(d) covers a marriage prohibited by the laws of this state, with a 10-year window except in the prior-spouse situation described above. Underage marriage and lack of capacity also have their own grounds with shorter limits in § 767.313(1)(c) and (a); this page does not resolve which ground a court applies to a particular marriage.

Underage marriage in Wisconsin

Wisconsin still allows marriage at 16 or 17 with consent. Section 765.02(2) provides:

"(2) If a person is between the age of 16 and 18 years, a marriage license may be issued with the written consent of the person's parents, guardian, custodian under s. 767.225 (1) or 767.41, or parent having the actual care, custody and control of the person."

The history note for § 765.02 lists no amendment after 2005 Wisconsin Act 443. The statutes treat a marriage that breaks the age rules two ways. Section 765.21 calls marriages contracted in violation of § 765.02 void (subject to the exceptions in §§ 765.22 and 765.23), while § 767.313(1)(c) makes a marriage by a 16- or 17-year-old without consent of a parent or guardian or judicial approval, or by anyone under 16, a ground for annulment with its own time limits. Section 765.21(1) also lets the parties validate a marriage declared void under § 765.02 at any time by complying with the requirements of §§ 765.02 to 765.24. This page does not resolve how a court applies the two provisions to a particular marriage; a Wisconsin family lawyer can advise on that.

Death of a spouse

Under § 767.313(2), "A marriage may not be annulled after the death of a party to the marriage." The Legislature's annotation to § 765.03, citing Ellis v. Estate of Toutant, 2001 WI App 181, adds a distinction: "A marriage can be declared null and void after the death of a spouse, although a marriage may not be annulled after the death of a party." A separate annotation citing McLeod v. Mudlaff, 2013 WI 76, describes a declaratory judgment action under § 806.04 as the established way to test a marriage's validity in an estate case.

Those annotations summarize case law; they are not statutory text. This page does not cover proceedings over a marriage's validity after a death.

How to file for an annulment in Wisconsin

An annulment is filed as an action affecting the family in a Wisconsin circuit court. Section 767.301 sets the residency rule:

"No action to affirm marriage or for annulment under s. 767.001 (1) (a) or (b) may be brought unless at least one of the parties has been a bona fide resident of the county in which the action is brought for not less than 30 days next preceding the commencement of the action, or unless the marriage has been contracted within this state within one year prior to the commencement of the action."

Divorce has its own residency language in the same section; see the Wisconsin divorce laws page for it.

The Wisconsin State Law Library's divorce research page states: "There are no standard court forms for filing an annulment." The same page points readers to § 767.313(1). The Wisconsin court system's online forms assistant covers divorce and legal separation and states that it does not have forms or instructions for annulment. Some county clerks of circuit court publish their own family forms; the Law Library's county resources list Dane County's family forms as covering annulment. Ask the clerk of circuit court in your county, or a Wisconsin family lawyer, how to prepare the filing.

Property, maintenance and children after an annulment

An annulment judgment is not a bare declaration. Section 767.61(1) provides: "Upon every judgment of annulment, divorce, or legal separation, or in rendering a judgment in an action under s. 767.001 (1) (h), the court shall divide the property of the parties." The presumption of equal division in § 767.61(3) applies to property that is not excepted from division.

The court may also order maintenance on a judgment of annulment (§ 767.56(1c)), and the child support statute, § 767.511(1), expressly covers a judgment of annulment. For how support is calculated, see Wisconsin child support laws.

For children, § 765.24, which deals with a subsequent marriage entered in good faith while a prior spouse was living, provides that "the issue of such subsequent marriage shall be considered as the marital issue of both parents." This page does not cover Wisconsin's general parentage presumptions for a child born during a marriage that is later annulled.

Two other effects appear in chapter 767:

• Marital property agreements: "Unless the judgment provides otherwise," a judgment of annulment revokes a provision in a marital property agreement under § 766.58 that provides for dispositions at death (§ 767.375(1)).
• Former surname: The name-restoration sentence in § 767.395 speaks of "granting a divorce." This page does not cover name changes after an annulment.

Putative spouses in Wisconsin

Wisconsin courts have described a putative marriage. The Legislature's annotation to chapter 765 states: "Under Xiong, 2002 WI App 110, a putative marriage is a marriage that has been solemnized in proper form and celebrated in good faith by one or both parties but that, by reason of some legal infirmity, is either void or voidable." The annotation also cites Xiong v. Vang, 2017 WI App 73.

This page does not cover what rights a putative spouse may have; a Wisconsin family lawyer can explain how the doctrine applies to a particular marriage.

Annulment vs. divorce in Wisconsin

A divorce ends a valid marriage, while an annulment rests on one of the defects listed in § 767.313(1) and must be brought within that ground's time limit. For divorce grounds, residency and procedure, see Wisconsin divorce laws. If you are unsure whether you were married at all, the Wisconsin common-law marriage page may help.

A religious annulment granted by a church or faith body is a separate process from a court annulment, and one does not take the place of the other.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about annulment under the Wisconsin Statutes as verified on 2026-10-10. It is not legal advice. For advice about your situation, consult a lawyer licensed in Wisconsin or contact the clerk of circuit court or the Wisconsin State Law Library.

Related

• Annulment laws in every state
• Wisconsin divorce laws
• Wisconsin common-law marriage
• Wisconsin marriage and divorce records
• Wisconsin child support laws

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you have to get an annulment in Wisconsin?

It depends on the ground. Lack of capacity to consent and physical incapacity must be raised within one year after the petitioner learned of the condition (§ 767.313(1)(a)-(b)); an underage marriage any time before the underaged party turns 18, but a parent or guardian within one year of learning of the marriage (§ 767.313(1)(c)); a prohibited marriage within 10 years of the marriage, with no 10-year limit where a prior spouse was living and the impediment was not removed under § 765.24 (§ 767.313(1)(d)).

Can a marriage be annulled after a spouse dies in Wisconsin?

No. Section 767.313(2) states that a marriage may not be annulled after the death of a party. The Legislature's annotation to § 765.03 notes that case law allows a marriage to be declared null and void after a spouse's death, which is a different proceeding.

Are there court forms for an annulment in Wisconsin?

The Wisconsin State Law Library states that there are no standard court forms for filing an annulment, and the court system's online forms assistant does not have annulment forms. Some county clerks publish their own family forms. The clerk of circuit court or a Wisconsin family lawyer can explain how to prepare the filing.

Can a parent annul a teenager's marriage in Wisconsin?

Under § 767.313(1)(c), a parent or guardian may sue to annul the marriage of a 16- or 17-year-old who married without required consent or judicial approval, or of a party under 16, before the party turns 18 and within one year of learning of the marriage.

Does a Wisconsin court divide property in an annulment?

Yes. Section 767.61(1) requires the court to divide the parties' property upon every judgment of annulment, and § 767.56(1c) lets the court order maintenance.

What residency do you need to file for an annulment in Wisconsin?

Under § 767.301, at least one party must have been a bona fide resident of the filing county for at least 30 days before the action starts, unless the marriage was contracted in Wisconsin within one year before filing.