Question: Please ask, if you marry someone who is underage according to current regulations, how much will the penalty be?

Reply:

How old do you have to be to get married?

To get married, men and women must comply with the following conditions:

- Men are 20 years old or older, women are 18 years old or older;

- Marriage is decided voluntarily by men and women;

- Not losing civil act capacity;

- The marriage does not fall into one of the cases where marriage is prohibited as prescribed in Points a, b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 5, Law on Marriage and Family 2014.

Article 5. Protection of marriage and family regime

....

2. Prohibit the following acts:

a) Fake marriage, fake divorce;

b) Child marriage, forced marriage, fraudulent marriage, obstruction of marriage;

c) A married person who marries or lives as husband and wife with another person or who is unmarried or unmarried but marries or lives as husband and wife with a married person;

d) Marriage or living together as husband and wife between people of the same direct blood line; between people whose last name is within three generations; between adoptive parents and adopted children; between the person who was once a father, adoptive mother and adopted child, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, stepfather and the wife's stepchild, stepmother and the husband's stepchild;

Thus, men must be 20 years old or older and women must be 18 years old or older to be old enough to get married according to current regulations.

How much is the penalty for marrying an underage person?

According to the regulations in section 1, men must be 20 years old or older and women must be 18 years old or older to be old enough to get married.

If there is an act of organizing a marriage for a person who is not old enough to get married, the fine will be from 1,000,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND (for individuals) or from 2,000,000 VND to 6,000,000 VND (for organizations). (Clause 4, Article 4 and Clause 1, Article 58, Decree No. 82/2020/ND-CP).

Who has the authority to make a record of administrative violations regarding marriage with an underage person?

Making a record of administrative violations on underage marriage will be done by the following people who are performing official duties and authorized tasks:

- Judicial civil servants - commune-level civil status;

- Civil servants of the District Justice Department;

- Civil servants and employees of the Department of Justice;

- Inspectors of the Ministry of Justice and civil servants of units under the Ministry of Justice have the function of state management of judicial assistance, judicial administration, marriage and family, and civil judgment enforcement; (Clause 2, 3, 4 and 6, Article 82, Decree No. 82/2020/ND-CP)

Responsibilities of the State and society for marriage and family

According to Article 4, Law on Marriage and Family 2014, for marriage and family, the State and society will have the following responsibilities:

- The State has policies and measures to protect marriage and family, creating conditions for men and women to establish voluntary, progressive, monogamous, and equal marriage; build a prosperous, progressive, happy family and fully perform its functions; Strengthen propaganda, dissemination and education of laws on marriage and family; Mobilize the people to eliminate outdated customs and practices regarding marriage and family, and promote good traditions, customs and practices that express the identity of each nation.

- The Government unifies state management of marriage and family. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies perform state management of marriage and family as assigned by the Government. People's Committees at all levels and other agencies carry out state management of marriage and family according to the provisions of law.

- Agencies and organizations are responsible for educating and mobilizing officials, civil servants, public employees, workers, their members and all citizens to build cultural families; promptly reconcile family conflicts, protect the legitimate rights and interests of family members. The school coordinates with families in educating, propagating, and disseminating laws on marriage and family to the younger generation.