NC General Statutes

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-4 (2026)

What marriages may be declared void on application of either party

✓ current as of July 2026

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The district court, during a session of court, on application made as by law provided, by either party to a marriage contracted contrary to the prohibitions contained in the Chapter entitled Marriage, or declared void by said Chapter, may declare such marriage void from the beginning, subject, nevertheless, to G.S. 51-3. (1871-2, c. 193, s. 33; Code, s. 1283; Rev., s. 1560; C.S., s. 1658; 1945, c. 635; 1971, c. 1185, s. 21; 1973, c. 1; 1979, c. 525, s. 10.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1956–2014 · leading case: Pickard v. Pickard, 625 S.E.2d 869 (N.C. Ct. App. 2006).

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Pickard v. Pickard, 625 S.E.2d 869 (N.C. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 12× “A party to a marriage may seek an annulment in accordance with N.C. Gen.Stat. § 50-4 (2003). The statute provides: The district court, during a session of court, on application made as by law provided, by either party to a marriage contracted contrary to the prohibitions…”

Duncan v. Duncan, 754 S.E.2d 451 (N.C. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 15× “Here, in his counterclaim, Defendant prays the court for an order “to declare [the 1989 ceremony] invalid[,]” which we believe is an application under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-4 for an order to “declare [a voidable] marriage void[,]” to the extent that the parties’ marriage is based…”

Carpenter v. Carpenter, 93 S.E.2d 617 (N.C. 1956). · cites it 6× “G.S. § 50-4 is codified under Chapter 50, Divorce and Alimony, of the General Statutes, and is entitled "What marriages may be declared void on application of either party", and reads: "The superior court in term time, on application made as by law provided, by either party to a…”

Ivery v. Ivery, 129 S.E.2d 457 (N.C. 1963). · cites it 3× “— All marriages between a white person and a negro or Indian, or between a white person and person of negro or Indian descent to the third generation, inclusive, or between a Cherokee Indian of Robeson County and a negro, or between a Cherokee Indian of Robeson County and a…”

Hurston v. Hurston, 635 S.E.2d 451 (N.C. Ct. App. 2006). “§ 50-4. Where the district court concluded that the marriage between plaintiff and defendant was void ab initio, we now turn to a determination of whether plaintiff should be estopped from asserting the invalidity of the marriage as a defense.”

Geitner by & Through First Nat. v. Townsend, 312 S.E.2d 236 (N.C. Ct. App. 1984). “51-3 and G.S. 50-4, a marriage of a person incapable of contracting for want of understanding is not void, but voidable.”

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