W. Va. Code § 48-2-503

This is the official text of W. Va. Code § 48-2-503, part of West Virginia’s Va. Code — part of the compiled statutory law of West Virginia, published by the state as "Va. Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§48-2-503. Consanguineous marriage; penalty.

Official statutory text

(a) If a person marries another who is within the degrees of relationship described in section 2-302, and the relationship is founded on consanguinity, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500, or be confined in the county or regional jail for not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.

(b) If a person who is a resident of this state marries in another state or country, the person violates subsection (a) of this section if:

(1) The persons married are within the degrees of relationship described in section 2-302 and the relationship is founded on consanguinity;

(2) The person intends to evade the law of this state;

(3) The person intends to return and reside in this state; and

(4) The persons, after marrying, return to this state and cohabit as man and wife.

(c) For purposes of this section, the fact of cohabitation of the persons as man and wife is evidence of their marriage.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in West Virginia?

Find a West Virginia lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.