Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949

Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1948
Parliament of South Africa
Long title Act to prohibit marriages between white and black people, and to provide for matters incidental thereto.
Citation	Act No. 55 of 1949
Enacted by	Parliament of South Africa
Assented to by	Governor-General Gideon Brand van Zyl
Royal assent	1 July 1949
Commenced	8 July 1949
Repealed	19 June 1985
Amended by
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1968
Repealed by
Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985
Related legislation
Immorality Act
Status: Repealed

The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No. 55 of 1949, was an apartheid-era law in South Africa that prohibited marriages between "whites" and "non-whites". It was among the first pieces of apartheid legislation to be passed following the National Party's rise to power in 1948. Subsequent legislation, especially the Population Registration and Immorality Acts of 1950, facilitated its implementation by requiring all individuals living in South Africa to register as a member of one of four officially defined racial groups and prohibiting extramarital sexual relationships between those classified as "white" on the one hand and those classified as "non-White" (Blacks, Coloureds, later also Asians) on the other. It did not criminalise sexual relationships between those classified as "non-Europeans".