Laws regarding incest in the United States vary widely between jurisdictions regarding both the definition of the offense and penalties for its commission.
Overview
In all but two states (and the special case of Ohio, which "targets only parental figures"), incest is criminalized between consenting adults. In New Jersey and Rhode Island, incest between consenting adults (16 or over for Rhode Island, 18 or over for New Jersey) is not a criminal offense, though marriage is not allowed in either state. New Jersey also increases the severity of underage sex offenses by a degree if they are also incestuous, and also criminalizes incest with 16-17 year olds (the normal age of consent in New Jersey is 16). Ohio allows incest between consenting adults only when one party is not a parental figure (see table below) to the other.
, cases of incest involving consenting adults are often not revealed to outside parties, and therefore prosecutions of these cases do not frequently occur. Cases of parent-adult child incest exposed to law enforcement are usually uncovered by the other parent.
Table
The table below summarizes these laws for individual U.S. States and the District of Columbia.
+Laws regarding incest in the United States: States : : : Jurisdiction Prohibited relationshipsState Criminal Incest Statutes , National District Attorneys association Prohibited acts PenaltiesAlabamaEither legitimately or illegitimately:
His ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption; or His brother or sister of the whole or half-blood or by adoption; or His stepchild or stepparent, while the marriage creating the relationship exists; or His aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the whole or half-blood. Marriage, intercourseA Class C felony, punishable by a prison term of "...not more than 10 years or less than 1 year and 1 day..." and a fine of up to $15,000. Alaska Either legitimately or illegitimately:
an ancestor or descendant of the whole or half blood; or a brother or sister of the whole or half blood; or an uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece by blood. Sexual penetration (being 18 years of age or older) A Class C felony, punishable by a prison term "between 1 to 5 years" and up to a $50,000 fine. American SamoaA person he knows to be:
his ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption; or his stepchild or stepparent, while the marriage creating that relationship exists and while the stepchild is 18 years of age or less; or his brother or sister of the whole or half-blood; or his uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the whole blood. Marriage, sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse A Class D felony, punishable by a prison term "not to exceed 5 years" and up to a $5,000 fine. Arizona Persons with degrees of consanguinity which makes marriage incestuous and void. These are:
between parents and children, including grandparents and grandchildren of every degree between brothers and sisters of the one-half as well as the whole blood, and between uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews and between first cousins Exception: first cousins may marry if both are 65 years of age or older, and can prove to a superior court judge in the state that one of the cousins is unable to reproduce. Marriage, intercourse (cited in state law as fornication), or adultery A class 4 felony, with an imprisonment term ranging between 1 and 3 and three-quarter years, depending on the severity. Arkansas The person committing the act being at least 16 years of age, knowingly, and without regard to legitimacy, including blood relationships:
An ancestor or a descendant; A stepchild or adopted child; A brother or sister of the whole or half blood; An uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece; or A stepgrandchild or adopted grandchild. Marriage, sexual intercourse, or deviate sexual activity with a prohibited person. A Class C felony punishable by imprisonment from 3 to 10 years for the first offense and a fine of up to $10,000. California Being 14 years of age or older, persons within degrees of consanguinity which make marriages incestuous and void, without regard to the legitimacy of the relationship. These are:
Parents and children Ancestors and descendants of every degree Siblings of the half or whole blood Uncles or aunts & nieces or nephews Marriage, sexual intercourse (cited in state law as fornication) or adultery "...imprisonment in the state prison" (specific penalty not described by state law) Registration as a sex offender (for life until January 1, 2021; at least 20 years from date of conviction [if only serving probation] or date of release as of January 1, 2021) Colorado Ancestor or descendant, including a natural child, child by adoption, or stepchild, a brother or sister of the whole or half blood, or an uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the whole blood ("descendant" includes a child by adoption and a stepchild, but only if the person is not legally married to the child by adoption or the stepchild). Marriage, sexual penetration, sexual intrusion, sexual contact Incest: 2y to 6y and $2,000 (minimum) to $500,000 fine; Aggravated incest: 4y to 12 y and $3,000 (minimum) to $750,000 fine. A conviction for incest or aggravated incest will also result in a sentence of lifetime supervision, which means electronic tagging for life, under the Lifetime Supervision of Sex Offenders Act 1998, which also applies to incest, under Part 10 of Title 18 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Connecticut Any person related within degrees specified in 46b-21; No man may marry his mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, niece, stepmother or stepdaughter, and no woman may marry her father, grandfather, son, grandson, brother, uncle, nephew, stepfather or stepson.