The Georgia House passed a bill Tuesday preventing couples from marrying until they're at least 17 years old, sending the proposal to Gov. Brian Kemp.

The House voted 155-14 to give final approval to House Bill 228, which raises the marriage age from 16 to 17.

Live: Use AJC tracker to follow Georgia bills

If signed into law, Georgia would join about a dozen other states that require children to be at least 17 years old before they can marry, even with parental consent.

The bill also prevents 17-year-olds from marrying partners more than four years older than them, and a judge would have to free them from parental control.

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Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (seen here at a Georgia Chamber Congressional Luncheon in August), announced he'd be running for governor, Wednesday Sept. 17, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

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