<![CDATA[The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the limits of the authority of marriage registrars in dealing with child marriage. In Kota Baru District, Jambi City, the KUA document recorded that early marriage increased from 29 cases in 2018 to 58, 65, and 68 in 2019 to 2021, even though Law Number 16 of 2019 has raised the marriage age limit to 19 years. This article examines the driving factors for child marriage during the pandemic and how the head carries out its role to suppress the practice. The study uses an empirical juridical approach with qualitative data from interviews with seven informants, namely the head of KUA, two headmen, a family guidance officer, KUA staff, head of RT, and residents, equipped with observations and KUA documents. The findings suggest that child marriage is driven by the confluence of three pressures: family economic difficulties, weakening attachment to school due to online learning, and loose supervision that leads to out-of-wedlock pregnancies. Penghulu responds through age verification, refusal of registration, referral to religious courts for dispensation, and premarital guidance. The instrument works decisively, but is downstream, after the family has made a decision, so refusal is more likely to delay and divert cases than to prevent them. This article argues that the effectiveness of the penghulu is determined by its position in the chain of decisions, not solely by administrative firmness. Implicitly, prevention demands a shift of coaching from the registration desk to adolescents and parents before the marriage decision is made, accompanied by more documented coordination with religious courts.]]>
