Common Law Marriage by State: Where It's Recognized (2026)

A common law marriage is a legally recognized marriage formed without a license or ceremony, through mutual agreement, cohabitation, and publicly presenting as a married couple. Only a minority of states still allow couples to form one today, but every state recognizes a valid common law marriage formed in a state that permits it.

Information last verified on June 2, 2026.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers the law of common law marriage across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It addresses which jurisdictions allow formation of a new common law marriage, which have abolished it, grandfather dates for pre-abolition marriages, and out-of-state recognition. It does not cover common law marriage in Canadian provinces or other countries. For related topics, see our guides on alimony laws by state and child support laws.

What Is a Common Law Marriage?

A common law marriage is a marriage formed without a marriage license or formal ceremony. The couple instead satisfies a set of legal elements recognized by their state. Although the precise elements vary by jurisdiction, courts generally require four things: legal capacity to marry (meaning both parties are of legal age and neither is already married), a present mutual agreement to be married now (not a promise to marry in the future), cohabitation, and openly holding out to the world as husband and wife (or, in modern usage, as spouses). The present-agreement element is the most important. Courts in Texas, for example, have held that the parties must have agreed to be married in the present tense, not merely to live together (Tex. Fam. Code section 2.401).

Critically, common law marriage is not defined by any number of years of living together. The requirement is the quality of the relationship, specifically the mutual intent to be married, not its duration. A couple that has lived together for twenty years with no intent to be married has no common law marriage. A couple that has lived together for six months, agreed they are married, and presented themselves publicly as married may have a valid one, depending on their state's law.

Once a common law marriage is validly formed, it is legally equivalent to a marriage obtained by license and ceremony. The spouses have the same rights and obligations: property rights, inheritance rights, the right to bring a wrongful death claim, the duty of spousal support, and all other consequences of legal marriage. That equivalence cuts both ways: a common law marriage also ends only through a formal legal divorce. There is no such thing as a "common law divorce." The parties must go to court.

Which States Still Recognize a New Common Law Marriage?

As of 2026, the following jurisdictions allow a couple to form a new common law marriage:

Colorado allows common law marriage for parties who are both at least 18 years old (C.R.S. section 14-2-109.5, added in 2021 following In re Marriage of Hogsett, 2021 CO 1). The Colorado Supreme Court in Hogsett clarified that courts must look at the totality of the circumstances, including factors such as joint tax returns, joint bank accounts, shared residence, and statements to others, rather than relying on any single piece of evidence.

Iowa recognizes common law marriage based on the intent of the parties, cohabitation, and public holding out as married. Iowa courts have applied this standard since at least In re Marriage of Winegard, 257 N.W.2d 609 (Iowa 1977).

Kansas recognizes common law marriage for parties who are both at least 18 years old (K.S.A. section 23-2502). Kansas courts have emphasized that all three elements (capacity, present agreement, and holding out) must be proven simultaneously, not sequentially.

Montana recognizes common law marriage under MCA section 40-1-403. Montana courts have held that the party asserting a common law marriage must prove it by a preponderance of the evidence.

Rhode Island recognizes common law marriage based on serious intent and conduct under Sardonis v. Sardonis, 106 R.I. 469 (1970). Notably, a Rhode Island bill (H5258) that would have abolished common law marriage died in the 2025 legislative session, leaving the practice in place.

Texas calls it an "informal marriage" and provides two routes to establish one under Tex. Fam. Code section 2.401: the couple can file a signed declaration of informal marriage with the county clerk, or they can prove an agreement to be married, cohabitation in Texas as spouses, and representation to others in Texas that they are married. Texas also has a unique two-year provision: if the couple separates and neither files a proceeding to prove the marriage within two years of separation, there is a rebuttable presumption that the parties never agreed to be married (Tex. Fam. Code section 2.401(b)).

Utah recognizes what it calls an "unsolemnized marriage" but with an important procedural requirement. Under Utah Code section 81-2-408 (renumbered from section 30-1-4.5 effective September 1, 2024), a court or administrative body must enter an order validating the marriage. A party must file a petition during the relationship or within one year after the relationship ends. Without that order, the marriage is not automatically recognized. Utah Code section 81-2-408(4) also sunsets this pathway: an individual may not file that petition on or after May 5, 2027.

The District of Columbia recognizes common law marriage based on a present agreement to be married, cohabitation, and clear-and-convincing evidence of the relationship, as established in East v. East, 536 A.2d 1103 (D.C. 1988), drawing on the earlier holding in Hoage v. Murch Bros. & Nichols, 50 App. D.C. 380 (1920).

Oklahoma is contested. Oklahoma courts have consistently upheld common law marriage based on case law including Standefer v. Standefer, 2001 OK 37, 26 P.3d 104, and multiple legislative attempts to abolish it have failed. However, some Oklahoma agencies and employers have taken conflicting positions. The current legal status in Oklahoma courts is that common law marriage is recognized, but parties in Oklahoma should be aware of the contested environment.

New Hampshire occupies a unique category. Under RSA section 457:39, New Hampshire recognizes a common law marriage only for the purpose of inheritance at death: if a couple cohabited and acknowledged each other as spouses for at least three years before one partner dies, the survivor may be treated as a surviving spouse for inheritance purposes. New Hampshire does not recognize a common law marriage as a valid subsisting marriage for living couples.

States That Abolished Common Law Marriage (with Grandfather Dates)

A number of states recognized common law marriage historically but abolished it going forward while preserving the validity of marriages formed before a cutoff date. The following states fall into this category:

Alabama abolished common law marriage effective January 1, 2017 (Ala. Code section 30-1-20). Marriages formed before that date remain valid.

South Carolina abolished common law marriage prospectively on July 24, 2019, following Stone v. Thompson, 428 S.C. 79 (2019). The South Carolina Supreme Court held that common law marriage was prospectively abolished as of the date of that decision. Marriages formed before July 24, 2019 remain valid, but parties seeking to prove a pre-2019 common law marriage in South Carolina bear a clear-and-convincing burden of proof.

Pennsylvania recognized common law marriage until January 1, 2005 (23 Pa. C.S. section 1103). Marriages validly formed in Pennsylvania before that date remain recognized.

Ohio recognized common law marriage until October 10, 1991 (Ohio Rev. Code section 3105.12). Pre-cutoff marriages remain valid.

Georgia recognized common law marriage until January 1, 1997 (Ga. Code Ann. section 19-3-1.1).

Idaho recognized common law marriage until January 1, 1996 (Idaho Code section 32-201).

Florida has not recognized common law marriage formed in Florida since January 1, 1968 (Fla. Stat. section 741.211).

Indiana recognized common law marriage until January 1, 1958 (Ind. Code section 31-11-8-5).

Kentucky recognized common law marriage until January 1, 1990, when the state began requiring a marriage license for every Kentucky marriage.

Massachusetts recognized common law marriage until July 12, 1977.

Michigan recognized common law marriage until January 1, 1957 (Mich. Comp. Laws section 551.2).

Minnesota recognized common law marriage until April 26, 1941 (Minn. Stat. section 517.01).

Mississippi recognized common law marriage until approximately April 5, 1956 (Miss. Code section 93-1-15).

Nevada recognized common law marriage until March 29, 1943 (Nev. Rev. Stat. section 122.010).

New Jersey recognized common law marriage until December 1, 1939 (N.J.S.A. section 37:1-10).

New York recognized common law marriage until April 29, 1933 (N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law section 11).

South Dakota recognized common law marriage until July 1, 1959 (S.D. Codified Laws section 25-1-29).

Alaska required a marriage license after January 1, 1964 (Alaska Stat. section 25.05.061).

Additional states where common law marriage was abolished or never allowed at various earlier dates include Nebraska (1923), Missouri (1921), Wisconsin (1917), Illinois (after June 30, 1905 under 750 ILCS 5/214), North Dakota (approximately 1890), and others listed in the full comparison table below.

States that never recognized common law marriage formation at all include Arizona, Arkansas, California (since 1895), Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, among others. Washington recognizes a "committed intimate relationship" for property division purposes only, which is not a marriage.

The 7-Year Cohabitation Rule Is a Myth

Perhaps the most persistent misconception in U.S. family law is that a couple becomes "common law married" after living together for seven years. No state has ever imposed a seven-year requirement, or any other fixed time period, for forming a common law marriage. The myth appears to derive from a misremembering of older English common law or from confusion with statutes of limitations and adverse possession rules that involve seven-year periods in unrelated areas of law.

The actual legal requirements, in every state that recognizes common law marriage, focus on the parties' intent and conduct, not on the calendar. Courts look for a mutual present agreement to be married, cohabitation, and holding out to friends, family, neighbors, employers, and the public as a married couple. Evidence courts have relied on includes jointly filed tax returns listing marital status as "married," shared last names, joint bank accounts or credit cards describing the parties as spouses, lease agreements or mortgage applications signed as husband and wife, testimony from friends and family about how the parties described each other, and anniversary celebrations or other conduct consistent with marriage.

None of that evidence requires any particular length of cohabitation. The absence of the seven-year myth matters practically: a person who has lived with a partner for three years in Colorado, for example, may already have a valid common law marriage, while a person who has lived with a partner for ten years in California has no common law marriage at all, regardless of duration, because California does not allow one to form.

Does Another State Recognize Your Common Law Marriage?

Yes. Every U.S. state and the District of Columbia recognizes a common law marriage that was validly formed in a state that allows it. This principle has two legal foundations. The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 1) requires each state to give effect to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. In addition, the common-law doctrine of comity provides that states will recognize marriages valid where celebrated.

As a practical matter, this means that a couple who formed a valid common law marriage in Texas and then moved to California are legally married in California. A California court will apply California law to any divorce proceeding, but California will not deny that the marriage exists. The same principle applies to inheritance rights, insurance beneficiary designations, hospital visitation rights, spousal privilege in court, and all other consequences of marriage.

One important nuance: courts in the new state apply the law of the state where the marriage was formed to determine whether it was validly formed. So if a couple claims a common law marriage was formed in Texas while they were living in Texas, a court in their new state will ask whether the requirements of Texas law were met, including the Texas requirement of cohabitation in Texas as spouses and representation to others in Texas.

For couples in states that no longer recognize new common law marriages, this recognition rule can have significant practical importance. A couple that formed a valid common law marriage in Pennsylvania before January 1, 2005, and later moved to Florida, has a legally recognized marriage in Florida, even though neither Pennsylvania nor Florida would allow a new common law marriage to form today.

How a Common Law Marriage Is Proved and How It Ends

Because there is no marriage license or certificate for a common law marriage, the existence of one must often be proved through circumstantial evidence. Courts have considered a wide range of evidence:

• Joint tax returns filed as "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately"
• Joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, or joint titles to property
• Lease agreements, mortgage applications, or other documents describing the parties as spouses
• Insurance policies naming the other party as spouse
• Testimony from friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors about how the parties represented their relationship
• Use of the same last name, or a name change
• Birth certificates for children listing both parties as parents and describing their relationship
• Written statements or social media posts describing the parties as married

The burden of proof varies by state. Colorado courts, following Hogsett, use a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard and examine the totality of circumstances. Some other states, including South Carolina for pre-2019 marriages, apply a clear-and-convincing standard because of the potential for fraudulent claims.

Ending a common law marriage requires a formal legal divorce, exactly as with a ceremonially solemnized marriage. A common law marriage does not end when the parties stop living together, when they decide they are "no longer married," or after any passage of time. The parties remain legally married until a court enters a divorce decree. This means that all of the legal consequences of marriage, including property division, potential spousal support obligations, and the inability to legally remarry, continue until a divorce is obtained.

The practical consequence of this rule is that a person who was in a common law marriage in a state that recognized it, separated without obtaining a divorce, and later married someone else in a ceremonial marriage may have committed bigamy. Courts take this risk seriously. Anyone who believes they may have formed a common law marriage should consult a family law attorney about their legal status before entering a new marriage.

Common Law Marriage by State: Full Comparison Table

The table below shows the common law marriage status for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Each state name links to a detailed state guide. The "Recognizes a new CLM?" column reflects whether a couple can form a new common law marriage in that state as of June 2026. The "Out-of-state CLM recognized?" column is "Yes" for every jurisdiction because all jurisdictions recognize a valid CLM formed elsewhere.

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about common law marriage laws across the United States. It does not constitute legal advice. Family law varies significantly by state and changes over time. The information on this page reflects statutes and case law as verified on June 2, 2026. If you have questions about your specific situation, whether a common law marriage exists, how to dissolve one, or what rights you or your partner may have, consult a licensed family law attorney in your state.