Can I Get Married Right After Getting Divorced?

Most states no longer have a waiting period before you can get married again after a divorce, but not so long ago divorced people would have to wait up to a year in some states before they could remarry. As late as the 60s and 70s, Arizona (1966), California (1965), Delaware (1949) and Iowa (1976) required a one-year waiting period. Today, none of those states has any restrictions, which is the case in most of the U.S. However, there are still several states that have a post-divorce waiting period.

State Restrictions on Marriage After Divorce

Nine states plus D.C. have laws limiting the right to marry after divorce.

Six Months

In Nebraska, you must wait six months after your divorce to marry a third party unless your former spouse dies during that time period. Wisconsin also has a six-month waiting period. If you marry during that time period, the marriage is voidable. “Voidable” means that as long as no one contests the new marriage, it will become valid once the waiting period has run. “Void” means the subsequent marriage is invalid because the previous marriage had not yet legally ended.

30-90 Days

In Rhode Island, a marriage entered into within three months after a divorce is void. Likewise, in Massachusetts, the divorce doesn't become absolute until 90 days after the Court grants a Decree nisi. This means a subsequent marriage during that 90-day period is void in all states. However, by statute, if the subsequent marriage was a ceremony and the new spouse married in good faith without the knowledge that the other spouse was still legally married, the new marriage will be considered valid once the 90-day period runs. In Alabama, marriage to a third party is void if it takes place in Alabama within 60 days after a divorce, but would be valid if the marriage takes place legally in another state. There is no waiting period in Alabama if you remarry your last spouse again. In D.C., a marriage is void if it takes place within the 30-day appeal period. In Texas, marriage to a third party within 30 days is voidable. Kansas also has a 30-day waiting period unless the parties specifically waive it in their Decree. Similarly, in North Dakota, there is no waiting period as long as that is stated in the Decree.

Divorce on the Grounds of Adultery

In the states above, the post-divorce waiting period applies regardless of whether the divorce is based on a no-fault grounds or a fault grounds like adultery. In contrast, while South Dakota has no waiting period for getting remarried after a no-fault divorce, when the divorce grounds is adultery, the adulterous spouse cannot marry anyone, except the former spouse, as long as the former spouse is living. That being said, if the adulterous spouse marries a third party outside South Dakota, the marriage is valid, but voidable in South Dakota. Prior to 1970, Tennessee had a similar restriction in cases of divorces on adultery grounds, which prohibited the adulterous spouse from marrying the person with whom they had committed adultery while the former spouse was still living. However, Tennessee has since eliminated any impediment to marriage post-divorce.