How Long After Divorce Can You Remarry in Alabama?

In Alabama, you must wait 60 days after your divorce judgment is entered before you can legally marry someone new. The rule comes from Alabama Code Section 30-2-10, applies to every divorce granted in the state, and the court cannot waive or shorten it.¹ Two things can extend that wait: an appeal filed inside the 60 days, or a fault-based decree that names you the guilty party and bars remarriage. So the short answer for most people is 60 days, but check your decree before you plan anything.

When the 60-Day Clock Starts

The 60 days run from the date the court enters the divorce judgment. Not the date you separated. Not the date either spouse filed. The date on the judgment itself.¹ During that window, neither ex-spouse can marry anyone else. The one built-in exception is that the two former spouses can remarry each other at any point during the 60 days.

The statute uses mandatory language. There is no hardship waiver, no agreement between the parties that can shorten the period, and no judicial discretion to cut it short. If you have read that an Alabama judge can waive the waiting period in special cases, that is not accurate.

How an Appeal Extends the Wait

If either party files an appeal of the divorce within the initial 60-day window, the remarriage restriction does not lift at day 60. It continues for as long as the appeal is pending.¹ Depending on the appellate court’s schedule, that could mean months of additional waiting.

The reason is practical. An appeal puts the divorce itself back in question, and if one spouse remarried before the appellate court ruled, a reversal would create serious legal problems. Extending the restriction avoids that.

One detail matters here: the extension only applies to appeals filed inside the original 60-day window. An appeal filed after day 60 does not reimpose the ban, because by then the restriction has already expired.

The Guilty-Party Bar in Fault Divorces

Alabama divorce decrees can carry a second, more severe restriction: a permanent bar on the “guilty party” remarrying at all. This applies only in fault-based divorces where the court finds one spouse responsible for the breakdown of the marriage.²

Alabama recognizes both fault and no-fault grounds. Fault grounds include adultery, abandonment for at least one year, imprisonment, habitual substance abuse, and domestic violence, among others.³ No-fault grounds include irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and incompatibility of temperament.

The bar is not automatic even in a fault divorce. It only applies if the judge specifically wrote it into the decree. If your decree does not contain the prohibition, any marriage by the defendant after the 60-day period is valid.² If your divorce was fault-based, read the final judgment carefully before making plans.

What Happens If You Remarry Too Soon

A marriage to a new spouse performed in Alabama before the 60-day period expires is void, not voidable. That distinction matters. A voidable marriage stays legally valid until someone challenges it in court. A void marriage is treated as though it never existed.²

The fallout runs further than most people expect. Property rights, inheritance claims, insurance benefits, tax filing status, beneficiary designations, and immigration petitions tied to the marriage can all unravel. Cleaning it up may require a separate court proceeding to formally declare the marriage invalid, which adds cost and delay to what was supposed to be a fresh start.

Marrying in Another State During the Waiting Period

Alabama would generally recognize a marriage performed in another state during the 60 days as valid, but only if two conditions are met: the marriage satisfied all legal requirements of the state where it took place, and the couple did not travel there specifically to evade Alabama’s restriction.² Other states would also recognize the marriage, because Alabama’s 60-day rule has no legal force outside its borders.

The catch is the intent question. If you marry in Georgia on day 15 and someone later challenges the marriage, a court will look at why you left Alabama to do it. That factual inquiry is the kind of thing that leads to expensive litigation. Waiting the 60 days is the safer path.

How to Get Remarried Once the Wait Is Over

Alabama overhauled its marriage process in 2019. The state no longer issues traditional marriage licenses, and no ceremony is required. Couples complete a marriage certificate form, have their signatures notarized, and file it with the county probate judge’s office.⁴

Each party submits a notarized affidavit declaring that they are not currently married, are at least 18 years old (or 16 with parental consent), are legally competent, are not related to the other party in a prohibited way, and are entering the marriage voluntarily.⁵ The marriage becomes valid on the date both parties sign the form, provided it is recorded with the probate judge within 30 days of the last signature. A recording fee set by the county probate court is due at filing.

Couples may still hold a religious or civil ceremony, but it has no legal effect on the marriage’s validity. The form itself is the marriage.

For anyone remarrying after divorce, the practical point is to make sure the 60-day waiting period has fully run before signing the form. The affidavit requires you to swear you are not currently married, which will be truthful once the wait ends. Signing before it does can produce a void marriage, with all the consequences that follow.

1
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-2-10 – Sixty-Day Restriction on Remarriage of Parties After Grant of Divorce or Pending Appeal of Divorce
2
Social Security Administration. Summaries of State Laws on Divorce and Remarriage – Section: 1. Alabama
3
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-2-1 – Grounds; Jurisdiction for Divorce
4
Alabama Department of Public Health. Getting Married in Alabama? Changes You Need to Know
5
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 30-1-9.1 – Requirements for Marriage