A Texas marriage annulment is a court order declaring that your marriage was legally defective from the start and treating it as though it never happened. Judges do not grant one just because the marriage was brief or regretted. You have to point to a specific defect the Texas Family Code recognizes, show you stopped living with your spouse once you knew about it, and prove the grounds at a hearing.
Void or Voidable: Which One Applies
Texas law splits invalid marriages into two categories, and the difference decides whether you strictly need a court order at all.
A void marriage was never legally valid. Bigamy (one spouse was already married to someone else) and marriages between certain close relatives fall here. No court order is required to treat these as nonexistent, but getting a formal decree anyway creates a clean paper trail for updating records and heads off any later dispute about your marital status.
A voidable marriage is treated as valid until a judge says otherwise.1Legal Information Institute. Voidable Marriage Most annulment cases fall into this bucket. Walking away and assuming you are single is not enough. Until the decree is signed, you are still married in the eyes of the law.
Grounds the Court Will Accept
The grounds for annulling a voidable marriage are listed in Sections 6.101 through 6.111 of the Texas Family Code. Each has its own facts to prove, but they share a common thread: the person asking for the annulment must have stopped living with the other spouse after learning about the problem.
- Underage marriage without the required legal authorization.
- Intoxication so severe during the ceremony that one spouse could not consent, provided the petitioner has not voluntarily lived with the other spouse since sobering up.
- Permanent impotency that the other spouse did not know about at the wedding.
- Fraud, duress, or force, once the coerced spouse is free from the pressure and has not resumed living with the other party.
- Mental incapacity, or a mental illness or defect that was concealed, where the other spouse did not know.
- Concealed divorce: one spouse was divorced from someone else within 30 days before the wedding and hid it.2State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 6.109 – Concealed Divorce
- Marriage during the 72-hour waiting period. Texas requires a 72-hour gap between getting the license and the ceremony; skipping it is a ground, but only if you file within 30 days of the wedding.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Title 1, Subtitle C, Chapter 6, Subchapter B, Section 6.110 – Marriage Less Than 72 Hours After Issuance of License
“Irreconcilable differences,” incompatibility, and a short marriage are not on the list. Those are divorce territory.
The Cohabitation Trap
Most annulments do not fail on the grounds. They fail because the petitioner kept living with the spouse after discovering the defect.
For nearly every voidable ground, the petition itself makes you state that you have not voluntarily lived with your spouse since you learned about the fraud, since the effects of the intoxication ended, since you discovered the impotency, and so on.4TexasLawHelp. Original Petition to Annul Marriage Continue living together after the discovery and you effectively ratify the marriage, closing the door on annulment even though the defect was real.
The one hard filing deadline is the 72-hour rule: 30 days from the wedding.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Title 1, Subtitle C, Chapter 6, Subchapter B, Section 6.110 – Marriage Less Than 72 Hours After Issuance of License Other grounds have no fixed statutory clock, but the cohabitation rule functions as one.
Filing the Petition
The case begins with an Original Petition to Annul Marriage. TexasLawHelp posts free standardized forms, and there are separate versions depending on whether children are involved. Your District Clerk can point you to the right one.
The petition asks for both spouses’ full legal names, the date of the marriage, and the county where the ceremony took place.4TexasLawHelp. Original Petition to Annul Marriage You must identify the specific ground and confirm that you stopped living with your spouse once you knew about the defect. If a child was born or adopted during the marriage, or if a spouse is pregnant, the case must also include a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship covering custody, visitation, and support.5Texas Law Help. Annulling a Marriage in Texas – Section: What if there are children involved in the annulment?
Someone else can file on behalf of a person who cannot act for themselves, such as a parent filing for a minor child or a guardian filing for a mentally incapacitated spouse.
Where to File and What It Costs
File with the District Clerk in the county where the marriage took place, where the relevant events happened, or where either spouse lives. At least one spouse must live in Texas, or the marriage must have happened in Texas. Filing fees vary by county; in Dallas County, the fee is $350 without children and $401 with children.6Dallas County. District Civil and Family Court Filing Fees If you cannot afford the fee, submit a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.
Serving Your Spouse
After filing, your spouse must get formal notice of the suit. A constable, sheriff, or private process server delivers the petition and citation. If your spouse cooperates, they can sign a notarized Waiver of Service instead, which you file with the court.
The Hearing and the Decree
Texas does not impose a waiting period between filing an annulment petition and holding a hearing.7Texas Law Help. Annulling a Marriage in Texas Court scheduling usually adds a few weeks anyway, but there is no mandatory cooling-off period like the 60-day wait in a divorce.
At the hearing, the petitioner testifies under oath in what is called a “prove-up.” You walk the judge through the specific ground, confirm you stopped living with your spouse once you discovered the defect, and offer any supporting evidence. If the judge is satisfied, they sign the decree of annulment.
Get certified copies from the District Clerk once the decree is signed. You will need them for the Social Security Administration, the DMV, banks, and any other institution that has you on file as married.
Property Acquired During the Marriage
Because an annulment treats the marriage as if it never existed, there is no community estate to divide in the traditional sense. Each spouse keeps what they brought in and what they earned. Real life is messier: couples buy houses together, mix bank accounts, and take on joint debt. Texas courts have authority to divide property acquired during the annulled marriage in a way that is just and right.
A spouse who married in good faith, not knowing about the defect, may qualify as a “putative spouse.” That doctrine lets them claim the same property rights they would have had in a valid marriage.8Legal Information Institute. Putative Spouse Doctrine If significant assets were built up during the marriage, this status can matter a great deal.
Children Are Not Affected
An annulment does not change the legal status of children born during the marriage. They remain the legal children of both parents with full inheritance and support rights. Custody, visitation, and child support are decided inside the annulment case through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, so the judge can handle everything in one proceeding.5Texas Law Help. Annulling a Marriage in Texas – Section: What if there are children involved in the annulment?
Taxes and Social Security After the Decree
The retroactive nature of an annulment reaches into your tax history. The IRS treats an annulled marriage as though it never happened, so you are considered unmarried for every year the marriage existed, including years you filed jointly. File Form 1040-X for each affected year to change your filing status from married filing jointly to single or head of household. The deadline for claiming a refund is generally three years from the date you filed the original return or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504
If you were receiving Social Security benefits that stopped when you got married, an annulment can restart them. Benefits resume as of the month the decree is issued, and you have to file an application. If the marriage was void rather than voidable, benefits may be reinstated retroactively to the month they ended.10Social Security Administration. Reinstatement of Benefits When Marriage Terminates Social Security will not sort this out on its own; bring the decree in and apply.