§ 19-3-4.Nature of consent required
Chapter 3. Marriage Generally · Article 1. General Provisions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-3-4
Plain-English Summary
Code Section 19-3-1 says a valid marriage requires “an actual contract.” This section explains what that means: both parties must consent to the marriage voluntarily, and no fraud may be practiced on either one.
The section gives one specific example of fraud. If a person is drunk at the time of the marriage, and the drunkenness was “brought about by art or contrivance” — that is, someone deliberately got the person drunk — to obtain consent, the law treats it as fraud. The focus is on the scheme. The section doesn’t say that any drunkenness at a wedding voids the marriage; it speaks to intoxication engineered to induce consent.
The consequences appear in Code Section 19-3-5. A marriage of persons unwilling to contract, or fraudulently induced to contract, is void. But the same section offers a cure: if the wronged party later consents to and ratifies the marriage freely and voluntarily, and the couple cohabits as spouses, the marriage becomes valid. A person who wants out of a marriage on these grounds can seek an annulment in superior court under Code Section 19-4-1, except where children are born or are to be born of the marriage. Whether consent was voluntary, or whether fraud occurred, depends on the facts a court finds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a marriage be voided for fraud in Georgia?
Yes. A marriage requires voluntary consent without fraud practiced on either party, and Code Section 19-3-5 says a marriage fraudulently induced is void. But if the deceived spouse later freely ratifies the marriage and the couple cohabits as spouses, it becomes valid.
Is a marriage valid if one person was drunk at the wedding?
It depends on how the drunkenness came about. The section treats drunkenness at the time of marriage as fraud when it was “brought about by art or contrivance to induce consent” — when someone deliberately got the person drunk to obtain agreement. The section doesn’t make every instance of intoxication fraud.
What does voluntary consent to marriage mean?
Can I annul my marriage if I was pressured into it?
Possibly. A marriage of a person unwilling to contract is void under Code Section 19-3-5, and the superior court may annul a void marriage under Code Section 19-4-1, except where children are born or are to be born of the marriage. Later free consent plus cohabitation can make the marriage valid, and whether consent was truly voluntary is for the court to decide.
Does living together after finding out about the fraud matter?
Yes. Under Code Section 19-3-5, a later consent and ratification of the marriage, freely and voluntarily made and accompanied by cohabitation as spouses, renders a fraud-induced marriage valid. Freely ratifying the marriage after learning the truth, and living together as spouses, can therefore cure the defect.
Amendment History
Formerly Code 1863, § 1656; Code 1868, § 1700; Code 1873, § 1701; Code 1882, § 1701; Civil Code 1895, § 2414; Civil Code 1910, § 2933; Code 1933, § 53-103.