Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place.

What does annulment mean in marriage?

An annulment (or “nullity of marriage” or “nullity of domestic partnership”) is when a court says your marriage or domestic partnership is NOT legally valid. After an annulment, it is like your marriage or domestic partnership never happened because it was never legal.

What is difference between annulment and divorce?

Primary Differences Between Divorce and Annulment

annulment arise from the same conceptual difference -- a divorce ends a marriage. In contrast, an annulment asserts that no valid marriage ever existed in the first place.