Bigamy concerns entering another marriage or registered domestic partnership while an existing marriage remains in effect, subject to statutory exceptions. Polygamy is a broader term for having multiple spouses; California criminal liability turns on the statutory elements and the facts.

California’s bigamy statute

Penal Code section 281 addresses a person who has a living spouse and marries or enters a registered domestic partnership with another person. Separation alone does not dissolve a marriage. The statute also addresses proof of the relationships and a second marriage or partnership occurring outside California.

Exceptions

Section 282 provides exceptions involving a former spouse absent for five successive years without being known to be alive during that period, and a former marriage or registered domestic partnership pronounced void, annulled, or dissolved by a competent court. These are specific statutory conditions, not a general exception whenever spouses have lost contact.

Possible punishment

Section 283 provides for a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment in county jail for up to one year, or imprisonment in state prison. The applicable charge, sentencing rules, and circumstances require separate analysis. A bigamy charge does not by itself establish a requirement to register as a sex offender.

Why the marital-status record matters

Before remarrying, confirm that a judgment has actually terminated the earlier marriage and check its effective date. A pending divorce, physical separation, or an agreement to divorce is not the same as a judgment ending marital status. Criminal liability and the family-law consequences for the later relationship are separate questions.

Sources: California Penal Code sections 281–283, reproduced in the linked authority pages. Reviewed October 23, 2026.