Prenuptial Agreement Requirements in District of Columbia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The District uses the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act

D.C. Law 11-82 enacted the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act of 1995, now codified at D.C. Code §§ 46-501 through 46-510. D.C. Code § 46-510 directs uniform construction, and § 46-509 makes the chapter applicable to agreements executed on or after February 9, 1996.

The chapter also covers prospective domestic partners, but this page focuses on ordinary agreements between prospective spouses.

Both signatures and marriage are separate requirements

Section 46-502 requires a writing signed by both parties and makes it enforceable without consideration. Section 46-501(3) defines the agreement as one made in contemplation of marriage and intended to take effect upon marriage; § 46-504 confirms that marriage is the event that activates it.

The paired definitions at § 46-501(3)-(4) cover the agreement and the broad property interests it may address.

A signed document therefore exists before the wedding, but it becomes a premarital agreement with operative effect when the marriage occurs.

The statute does not require a notary or witnesses

The section titled “Formalities,” § 46-502, requires the writing and both signatures. Chapter 5 adds no notary, acknowledgment, witness, attestation, oath, or recording requirement for basic validity between the parties.

Notarization may help authenticate signatures, but it is not part of the act's stated formation rule.

Disclosure uses a combined statutory test

Section 46-506(a)(2) does not make imperfect disclosure a standalone reason to void every agreement. The challenging party must show that the agreement was unconscionable when executed and establish all three listed circumstances: no fair and reasonable disclosure, no voluntary express written waiver of further disclosure, and no actual or reasonably available adequate knowledge.

The statute says the waiver must be express and in writing. It does not say the waiver must be in a document separate from the agreement.

Counsel and timing are not fixed statutory formalities

Sections 46-501 through 46-510 impose no mandatory independent counsel, written counsel advisement, fixed final-draft review period, or minimum number of days between signing and the wedding. That statutory silence does not eliminate § 46-506(a)(1)'s separate requirement of voluntary execution.

The District's statute should not be confused with jurisdictions that condition a support waiver on counsel or mandate a pre-wedding countdown.

The statute supplies the fairness test

The fairness source is statutory. Under § 46-506(a), involuntary execution is one independent route to nonenforcement. The second route requires unconscionability when the agreement was executed plus all three disclosure failures. The court decides unconscionability as a matter of law.

The statute does not state a general divorce-time unconscionability or changed-circumstances second look. Its support provision has a narrower express override tied to public-assistance eligibility.

A support waiver has a public-assistance safety valve

Section 46-503(a)(4) permits modification or elimination of spousal support. If that term causes a party to qualify for public assistance at separation or dissolution, § 46-506(b) permits the court to order support only to the extent necessary to avoid that eligibility.

That safety valve is narrower than a free-standing authority to rewrite any support term that later appears harsh.

Child support and custody remain outside private control

Section 46-503(b) says a premarital agreement may not adversely affect a child's support right. D.C. Code § 16-916.01(a) applies the child-support guideline and allows later modification of an agreement's support provision after a substantial and material change.

Custody remains a judicial best-interests determination under § 16-914(a)(1). The act's general subject-matter clause also prohibits provisions that violate public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty.

Changes after marriage require another signed writing

Under § 46-505, a premarital agreement may be amended or revoked after marriage only through a written agreement signed by both parties. The amendment or revocation needs no consideration.

The statute does not add notarization to that change mechanism.

What trips people up

• The disclosure elements are conjunctive. Execution-time unconscionability and all three disclosure failures are required under § 46-506(a)(2).
• The support override is limited. It reaches only the amount necessary to avoid public-assistance eligibility caused by the modification or waiver.
• The chapter numbers start at 46-501. References to a D.C. premarital act at §§ 46-701 or 46-706 are wrong.

Common questions

Does a D.C. prenup need notarization?

No. Section 46-502 requires a writing signed by both parties. It does not list a notary or witnesses as validity formalities.

Is independent counsel required?

The act contains no express counsel mandate or written counsel-waiver form. Voluntary execution remains necessary, and separate advice is prudent, but the statute does not make actual counsel a universal formation requirement.

What if the marriage is later declared void?

D.C. Code § 46-507 generally limits enforcement to what is necessary to avoid an inequitable result. The agreement can instead expressly provide that it remains enforceable if the marriage is later determined to be void.

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code §§ 46-501, 46-502, and 46-504 — definition, writing, both signatures, no consideration, and marriage-time effect. Official chapter text (accessed 2026-07-28).
• D.C. Code §§ 46-503 and 46-506 — permissible subjects, child-support protection, public-policy limit, voluntariness, unconscionability, disclosure, written waiver, knowledge, and the support safety valve. Official § 46-503 and official § 46-506 (accessed 2026-07-28).
• D.C. Code § 46-505 — signed-writing amendment and revocation rule. Official D.C. Law Library (accessed 2026-07-28).
• D.C. Code §§ 16-914 and 16-916.01 — custody best interests, child-support guideline, and modification. Official custody statute and official child-support guideline (accessed 2026-07-28).