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The action to declare a marriage null is imprescriptible: it never expires

Last reviewed: September 12, 2026 — VerifiedPoder Judicial

In short

Article 403 lists three causes and no more. The marriage is null if there was no consent from either party; if it was celebrated in contravention of any of the impediments this Code sets; or if the formalities required for its constitution were not met. Article 404 says who may seek it, and the list is broader than people assume: either spouse, any person with a legitimate interest in the nullity of the tie, and the ministerio público. That is, the action is not the couple’s private property; a third party with a legitimate interest may bring it, though the article does not define what makes an interest legitimate. Article 405 fits in one line and carries the most weight: the action to declare the nullity of the marriage is imprescriptible. It does not expire, does not prescribe and is not cured by the passage of time, however many years the marriage has stood. And Article 407 adds a procedural guarantee: the ministerio público shall be a party in every marriage-invalidity proceeding in which the respondent spouse is a minor, incapacitated, or has been declared absent. It does not say it may be; it says it shall be a party. The contrast with the other route, voidability, is worth keeping in mind, because it works the other way round: there the action expires in a year and only a short list of people may bring it.

External link

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What is it?

They are Articles 403, 404, 405 and 407 of the Civil Code of 2020: for which causes a marriage is null, who may seek it, and why time does not fix it.

Who can do it?

Either spouse and any person with a legitimate interest in the nullity of the tie.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

Check the current cost with the official agency.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Check it fits the three causes

    Article 403: absence of consent, a Code impediment, or unmet formalities.

  2. Step 2: Check who may seek it

    Article 404: either spouse, any person with a legitimate interest, and the ministerio público.

  3. Step 3: Do not count the years

    Article 405: the action to declare the nullity of the marriage is imprescriptible.

  4. Step 4: Prepare proof of the cause

    Article 403 presumes nothing: which of the three causes applies must be established.

  5. Step 5: Expect the ministerio público

    Article 407: it shall be a party if the respondent spouse is a minor, incapacitated or declared absent.

  6. Step 6: And separate the other route

    Voidability is different: there the action expires in a year and the list of claimants is short.

Where to do it

These articles describe no procedure before any agency. The Code does not define here what a legitimate interest in the nullity of the tie is, which is what opens the door to a third party. It does not say before which forum the action is filed, with what pleading or at what fee. It does not say which of all the marriage formalities are the ones whose breach produces nullity, and you must go read them where they are set. And it does not say here what the judgment declaring nullity does: that is the following section, covered separately on this site. None of those gaps is filled here.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

The first thing to decide is which of the two routes the case takes, because the Code treats them as opposites. The nullity of Article 403 answers to three causes: that there was no consent from either party, that the marriage was celebrated against an impediment of the Code itself, or that the formalities for its constitution were not met. If the case fits there, two things favour whoever raises it. One: Article 405 says the action is imprescriptible, so there is no deadline that has run out, however many years the marriage has been on record. Two: Article 404 does not reserve the action to the couple, but gives it also to any person with a legitimate interest in the nullity of the tie and to the ministerio público. That matters a great deal when, for instance, the person who discovers the problem is an heir, a creditor or a relative. What the article does not do is define which interest is legitimate, so the text opens that door and someone else measures it. If instead the case is one the Code calls voidable — the minor married without permission, the guardian with their ward, the error about the person’s identity — then the rules change entirely: there the action expires in a year and only a few people may bring it. Confusing the two routes loses cases that were viable. And a procedural warning from Article 407 worth anticipating: if the respondent spouse is a minor, incapacitated or has been declared absent, the ministerio público shall be a party to the proceeding. It is not optional. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.

Common mistakes

  • Giving up because years have passed: Article 405 makes the action imprescriptible.
  • Believing only the spouses may seek nullity: Article 404 includes anyone with a legitimate interest.
  • Forgetting the ministerio público, which may also bring it.
  • Looking in Article 403 for more causes than the three it lists.
  • Confusing nullity with voidability: that one expires in a year and has other claimants.
  • Assuming any unmet formality voids: you must see which are required for the constitution.
  • Expecting Article 404 to define legitimate interest: it does not.
  • Looking here for the effects of the nullity judgment: they are in the following section.

Frequently asked questions

May a twenty-year-old marriage be voided?

If the cause is nullity, yes: Article 405 says the action to declare the nullity of the marriage is imprescriptible.

Who may seek the nullity?

Article 404: either spouse, any person with a legitimate interest in the nullity of the tie, and the ministerio público.

For which causes is a marriage null?

Article 403 names three: absence of consent, contravention of a Code impediment, or unmet formalities.

Does the ministerio público always take part?

Article 407 makes it a party when the respondent spouse is a minor or incapacitated, or has been declared absent.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

September 12, 2026

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