Common Law Marriage by State: Where It's Recognized (2026)
Common law marriage is recognized in only about 9 states and DC. Learn which states allow it, which abolished it, the 7-year myth debunked, and how proof works.
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Common Law Marriage Laws
52 articles
Common Law Marriage in Alabama: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Alabama abolished new common law marriages on January 1, 2017, under Ala. Code 30-1-20. Pre-2017 CLMs remain valid. Learn the rules, requirements, and how to prove one.
7 min read
Common Law Marriage in Alaska: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Alaska does not allow common law marriages to be formed within the state. AS 25.05.011 requires a license; AS 25.05.061 requires solemnization. Learn the rules for 2026.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Arizona: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Arizona does not recognize common law marriage formed in-state; A.R.S. 25-111 requires a license and ceremony. Arizona does recognize valid common law marriages from other states.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Arkansas: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Arkansas does not recognize common law marriage formed in-state; Ark. Code 9-11-107 and Fryar v. Roberts (2001) require a license. Arkansas recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in California: Is It Recognized? (2026)
California has not recognized common law marriage formation since 1895. Learn what Cal. Fam. Code §§ 300 and 308 say, how out-of-state common-law marriages are treated, and how to prove one in CA.
Common Law Marriage in Colorado: Requirements & How It Works (2026)
Colorado recognizes common law marriage. The 2021 Hogsett test requires mutual intent to be married plus conduct manifesting that intent. No minimum years required. Both parties must be 18+ (C.R.S. § 14-2-109.5).
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Connecticut: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Connecticut has never recognized common law marriage formation. Learn what Connecticut courts held in McAnerney v. McAnerney, how out-of-state CLMs are treated, and the 7-year myth.
Common Law Marriage in Delaware: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Delaware has never recognized common law marriage formation in-state. Under 13 Del. C. 101, a license and solemnization are required. Delaware does recognize valid common law marriages formed in other states under 13 Del. C. 126.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Florida: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Florida abolished common law marriage after January 1, 1968, under Fla. Stat. 741.211. Common law marriages formed before that date remain valid. Florida recognizes valid common law marriages from other states.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Georgia: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Georgia abolished new common law marriages on Jan 1, 1997 under OCGA 19-3-1.1. Couples who formed a CLM before that date remain legally married. Georgia recognizes valid CLMs from other states.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Hawaii: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Hawaii has never recognized common law marriage formation. H.R.S. § 572-1 requires a license and ceremony. Hawaii does recognize valid common law marriages formed in states that permit them.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Idaho: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Idaho abolished common law marriage on January 1, 1996. Marriages formed before that date remain valid. Idaho recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Illinois: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Illinois abolished common law marriage after June 30, 1905, under 750 ILCS 5/214. Illinois recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages via comity.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Indiana: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Indiana abolished common law marriage after Jan 1, 1958 under IC 31-11-8-5. Pre-1958 CLMs remain valid. Indiana recognizes valid common law marriages from other states.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Iowa: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Iowa recognizes common law marriage. Requirements under In re Marriage of Winegard (Iowa 1979): present intent, continuous cohabitation, and public holding out as spouses. No minimum years required.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Kansas: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Kansas recognizes common law marriage under K.S.A. 23-2502 and In re Estate of Keller (2002). Learn the 3 requirements, how to prove it, and how it ends.
Common Law Marriage in Kentucky: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Kentucky abolished common law marriage effective January 1, 1990 (KRS 402.005/402.020). Pre-1990 CLMs remain valid. Kentucky recognizes valid out-of-state CLMs.
Common Law Marriage in Louisiana: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Louisiana has never recognized common law marriage. La. Civ. Code arts. 86-87 require a formal ceremony. Learn what Louisiana recognizes and why it has never allowed informal marriage.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Maine: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Maine has never recognized common law marriage. 19-A M.R.S. sec. 651 requires a license and solemnization. Learn what Maine does and does not recognize, and what rights cohabiting couples have.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Maryland: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Maryland does not allow common law marriage to be formed in-state but recognizes valid common law marriages from other states. Md. Code, Family Law § 2-401 requires a license.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Massachusetts: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Massachusetts abolished common law marriage in 1977. No new CLM can be formed in-state; pre-July 12, 1977 unions remain valid. Massachusetts recognizes valid out-of-state CLMs.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Michigan: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Michigan abolished common law marriage effective January 1, 1957 (MCL 551.2). Pre-1957 CLMs remain valid. Michigan recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Minnesota: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Minnesota abolished common law marriage effective April 26, 1941 (Minn. Stat. 517.01). Pre-1941 CLMs remain valid. Minnesota recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Mississippi: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Mississippi abolished common law marriage in 1956 under Miss. Code 93-1-15. CLMs formed before April 5, 1956 remain valid. Mississippi recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Missouri: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Missouri does not recognize common law marriage. RSMo 451.040 has declared common-law marriages null and void since 1921. Missouri does recognize valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Montana: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Montana recognizes common law marriage under MCA 40-1-403. Learn the 3 requirements (capacity, mutual agreement, public repute), debunk the 7-year myth, and how it ends.
7 min read
Common Law Marriage in Nebraska: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Nebraska has not recognized new common law marriages since 1923 (Neb. Rev. Stat. 42-104). Learn what that means, the 7-year myth, and how Nebraska treats valid out-of-state CLMs.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Nevada: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Nevada abolished common law marriage on March 29, 1943, under NRS 122.010. Learn what that means for pre-1943 marriages and out-of-state common law marriages recognized in Nevada.
10 min read
Common Law Marriage in New Hampshire: Is It Recognized? (2026)
New Hampshire does not recognize common law marriage for living couples. RSA 457:39 allows posthumous inheritance recognition only after 3 years of cohabitation before death.
10 min read
Common Law Marriage in New Jersey: Is It Recognized? (2026)
New Jersey abolished common-law marriage on December 1, 1939 (N.J.S.A. 37:1-10). No new CLM can form in NJ, but pre-1939 CLMs remain valid and NJ recognizes valid out-of-state CLMs.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in New Mexico: Is It Recognized? (2026)
New Mexico has never recognized common-law marriage. NMSA 40-1-1 requires a license and ceremony. NM recognizes valid out-of-state CLMs under comity per Matter of Lambs Estate and Rivera v Rivera.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in New York: Is It Recognized? (2026)
New York abolished common law marriage formation on April 29, 1933, under Dom. Rel. Law Section 11. New York recognizes valid common law marriages from other states. Learn the rules.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in North Carolina: Is It Recognized? (2026)
North Carolina has never recognized common law marriage formation. N.C.G.S. Section 51-1 requires a ceremony. NC recognizes valid out-of-state CLMs. Learn the rules.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in North Dakota: Is It Recognized? (2026)
North Dakota does not recognize common law marriage formed in-state. NDCC 14-03-10 requires a license and solemnization. North Dakota does recognize valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Ohio: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Ohio abolished common law marriage on October 10, 1991 under ORC 3105.12. Pre-cutoff Ohio CLMs remain valid. Ohio recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Oklahoma: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Oklahoma recognizes common law marriage. Learn the three requirements under Standefer v. Standefer (2001 OK 37), how to prove one, why the 7-year rule is a myth, and how it ends.
11 min read
Common Law Marriage in Oregon: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Oregon does not recognize common law marriage -- ORS Chapter 106 requires a license and ceremony. Learn what rights unmarried partners have in Oregon and when Oregon recognizes out-of-state common law marriages.
9 min read
Common Law Marriage in Pennsylvania: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Pennsylvania abolished common law marriage effective January 1, 2005, under 23 Pa.C.S. section 1103. Pre-2005 CLMs remain valid. Learn requirements, how to prove one, and out-of-state recognition.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Rhode Island: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Rhode Island still recognizes new common law marriages under Sardonis v. Sardonis (1970). Learn the two-part test, how to prove it, the 7-year myth, and how a CLM ends.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in South Carolina: Is It Recognized? (2026)
South Carolina abolished new common law marriages on July 24, 2019, in Stone v. Thompson. Pre-2019 CLMs remain valid but require clear and convincing proof. Learn the rules.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in South Dakota: Is It Recognized? (2026)
South Dakota does not recognize new common law marriages. SDCL 25-1-29 abolished formation after July 1, 1959. South Dakota does recognize valid out-of-state CLMs.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Tennessee: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Tennessee does not allow couples to form a common-law marriage. Under Tenn. Code Ann. section 36-4-104, marriage requires a license. Tennessee does recognize valid common-law marriages from other states.
Common Law Marriage in Texas: Requirements & How It Works (2026)
Texas recognizes common-law marriage as "informal marriage" under Tex. Fam. Code section 2.401. Learn the three requirements, the Declaration of Informal Marriage option, and the 2-year separation rule.
Common Law Marriage in the District of Columbia: Is It Recognized? (2026)
The District of Columbia recognizes common law marriage. DC requires a present-tense mutual agreement to be spouses plus cohabitation, proved by clear and convincing evidence. No minimum years required.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Utah: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Utah recognizes unsolemnized marriage under Utah Code 30-1-4.5 / 81-2-408, but it requires a court order. File within one year after the relationship ends. The process is abolished after May 5, 2027.
10 min read
Common Law Marriage in Vermont: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Vermont does not recognize common law marriage formation. A valid Vermont marriage requires a license and solemnization under Title 15 V.S.A. Vermont does recognize a valid common law marriage formed in another state.
9 min read
Common Law Marriage in Virginia: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Virginia does not recognize common law marriage formed within the state. Va. Code section 20-13 requires a license and solemnization. Virginia does recognize a valid common law marriage formed in another state.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in Washington State: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Washington does not recognize common law marriage. RCW 26.04 requires a license. Washington does recognize the committed intimate relationship (CIR) for property division, and recognizes valid out-of-state common law marriages.
8 min read
Common Law Marriage in West Virginia: Is It Recognized? (2026)
West Virginia does not recognize common law marriage formed within the state. W. Va. Code section 48-2-101 requires a license; an unlicensed marriage is void. West Virginia does recognize valid common law marriages formed in other states.
10 min read
Common Law Marriage in Wisconsin: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Wisconsin abolished common law marriage in 1917. Wis. Stat. section 765.01 requires a license and solemnization; no new common law marriage can be formed in Wisconsin. Wisconsin does recognize valid common law marriages formed in other states.
9 min read
Common Law Marriage in Wyoming: Is It Recognized? (2026)
Wyoming does not recognize common law marriage formation. Wyo. Stat. section 20-1-101 requires a license and ceremony. Wyoming does recognize valid common law marriages from other states.
8 min read