is this marriage void

[amilne109]

I have found that my Gt Grandfather deliberately gave false information to get married. He gave his age as 21 but was in fact 17. Could this render the marriage void?

[stanmapstone]

No it is not. The registrar or minister accept what they are told. A marriage after banns is valid even if they were under the age of 21, if no objection had been raised during the publication of the banns.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

A void marriage is regarded by law as never having existed. It is void from the start without any formal annulment by a court. However the presumption of the law is that a marriage is valid, and so the onus is on the person challenging the marriage to show that it is void. From "Marriage Law for Genealogists" by Rebecca Probert.
There is the liability, in the registration acts, to a charge of perjury if any of the required details are willfully incorrect, although that would have to be proved.

Stan

[Melbell]

Can you imagine how many marriages would be void if it was because people lied or gave incorrect information!!!

Melbell 

[carol8353]

It was known as 'embelishing the truth'

 

[CarolA3]

Here's part of a certificate for a marriage by banns in Liverpool in June 1931, when the groom's age was given as 21 (the bride was 22).  Maybe someone had a guilty conscience, but there were no consequences for the couple.