Common Law Marriage in Maryland: Is It Recognized? (2026)

Maryland does not allow couples to form a common law marriage within the state. Md. Code, Family Law section 2-401 requires every person who intends to marry in Maryland to obtain a marriage license, and Maryland courts have long held that no informal alternative exists. Maryland does, however, give full legal recognition to a common law marriage that was validly formed in another state, a distinction that matters in inheritance, divorce, and property cases involving couples who relocate to Maryland.

Information last verified on June 2, 2026.

Does Maryland recognize common law marriage?

Maryland does not allow common law marriage to be formed within the state. The controlling provision is Md. Code, Family Law section 2-401, which states that an individual may not marry in Maryland without a license issued by the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the marriage is to be performed. Violating this requirement is a misdemeanor. Maryland Family Law section 2-101 defines a license as a license to marry issued in this state, making clear that the licensing requirement is an affirmative prerequisite, not an optional formality.

Maryland courts have reinforced this statutory framework through case law. In Goldin v. Goldin, 78 Md. App. 754 (1989), the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland declined to recognize a claimed common law marriage formed in Maryland, holding that Maryland does not recognize common law marriage. The court relied on the established principle that Maryland has never adopted a common law marriage doctrine and that the formal licensing and ceremony requirements under the Family Law article are the exclusive pathway to a valid in-state marriage.

Because Maryland never enacted a statute recognizing common law marriage formation, there is no cutoff date of the kind that exists in states like Alabama (January 1, 2017) or Pennsylvania (January 1, 2005). There are no grandfathered Maryland common law marriages. A couple that lived together in Maryland for decades, held themselves out publicly as married, and never obtained a license simply has not formed a legally valid marriage under Maryland law.

Why Maryland never recognized common law marriage

Maryland is a state that never adopted common law marriage as a legal institution. Unlike states that recognized the doctrine historically and then abolished it by statute, Maryland never enacted a common law marriage statute in the first place. The requirement for a license and a ceremony performed by an authorized official has been a continuous feature of Maryland marriage law.

Maryland Family Law section 2-101 defines an authorized official as an individual authorized by state law to perform a marriage ceremony, signaling that Maryland treats the ceremonial requirement as integral to a valid marriage. The statutory scheme under Title 2 of the Family Law article addresses license issuance (sections 2-401 through 2-501), solemnization requirements, and the duties of clerks, without any provision for informal marriage formation. Courts have read this comprehensive statutory framework as occupying the field and excluding any extra-statutory pathway to marriage.

The absence of a common law marriage doctrine in Maryland reflects a consistent legislative choice rather than an oversight. Couples in Maryland who want the legal protections of marriage must go through the formal licensing process.

Does Maryland recognize a common law marriage from another state?

Yes. Maryland gives full legal effect to a common law marriage that was validly formed in a state that permits such marriages. This recognition follows from two independent sources: the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution, which requires each state to honor the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state, and the equitable doctrine of comity, under which courts recognize legal relationships that were created validly in another jurisdiction.

This point is significant in Maryland practice because couples frequently form relationships in one state and later move to Maryland. A couple who entered a valid common law marriage in Texas under Texas Family Code section 2.401, or in Colorado under C.R.S. section 14-2-109.5, and who later establishes Maryland residency, retains full marital status in Maryland. Maryland courts will treat them as legally married for purposes of divorce proceedings, property division, spousal support under Md. Code, Family Law section 11-101, intestate inheritance under Maryland estate law, and all other legal incidents of marriage.

To invoke Maryland recognition, the party asserting the marriage must establish that it was valid under the law of the state where it was formed. Each state that permits common law marriage has its own requirements. Texas requires agreement to be married, cohabitation in Texas, and representation to others that the parties are married. Colorado requires mutual agreement, cohabitation in Colorado, and a mutual and open assumption of marital relations. A party claiming recognition in Maryland must prove those out-of-state elements to the satisfaction of a Maryland court.

How to prove a common law marriage formed in another state

Because a common law marriage leaves no license, certificate, or official record, the burden of proof falls on the party who asserts the marriage. Courts evaluating a claimed out-of-state common law marriage in Maryland consider several categories of evidence. No single item is decisive; courts examine the totality of the relationship.

Evidence courts commonly consider includes:

• Joint federal and state tax returns filed as married filing jointly or married filing separately
• Joint bank accounts, joint mortgage or lease agreements, or jointly titled real property or vehicles
• Insurance policies listing the partner as a spouse or beneficiary described as a spouse
• Statements on loan applications, credit applications, employer benefit forms, or government documents identifying the relationship as a marriage
• Testimony from family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, or clergy who knew the couple as a married pair
• Written correspondence, cards, social media profiles, or other documents in which the parties refer to each other as husband, wife, or spouse
• Use of a shared surname or acknowledgment of the partner's surname in formal documents
• Affidavits executed by both parties affirming the existence of a marital relationship

Maryland courts will evaluate this evidence against the elements required by the state where the marriage was allegedly formed. The party asserting the marriage bears the burden of proof.

The 7-year cohabitation myth

One of the most persistent misconceptions in family law is the belief that living together for 7 years automatically creates a common law marriage. This is not true in any jurisdiction in the United States, and it is especially inapplicable in Maryland, which does not recognize common law marriage formation at all.

No state that permits common law marriage sets a minimum cohabitation period as a requirement or as an automatic trigger. The elements that actually matter in states that allow common law marriage are the mutual present agreement of the parties to be married, cohabitation within the state, and public conduct that represents the relationship as a marriage. How long a couple has lived together may be relevant as circumstantial evidence of intent, but no threshold period of years converts cohabitation into marriage in any jurisdiction.

In Maryland, a couple that lives together for 7 years, 17 years, or 37 years without obtaining a Maryland marriage license has not formed a legal marriage in Maryland, regardless of any mutual intent or public representation.

How a common law marriage ends

A valid common law marriage, wherever it was formed, can only be terminated by a formal legal divorce, annulment, or the death of a spouse. There is no such thing as a common law divorce or an informal dissolution. Simply separating, moving apart, or beginning a new relationship does not end a legal marriage.

This rule has serious practical consequences in Maryland. A person who formed a valid common law marriage in another state, moved to Maryland, and separated informally without filing for divorce remains legally married under Maryland law. A subsequent ceremonial marriage by that person in Maryland would be void or voidable because the prior valid marriage still subsists.

Maryland courts handle divorces involving common law marriages formed in other states using the same procedures and legal standards that govern any Maryland dissolution action. The court applies Maryland's divorce grounds and financial provisions, including the alimony factors under Md. Code, Family Law section 11-106, to the dissolution of an out-of-state common law marriage once it has jurisdiction over the parties.

For context on the financial consequences of a Maryland divorce, see Maryland alimony laws and Maryland child support laws.

For a comparison of which states recognize common law marriage, see Common law marriage by state.

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Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about common law marriage recognition in Maryland and is not legal advice. Marriage and family law determinations are fact-specific and depend on individual circumstances, including the law of the state where any claimed common law marriage was formed. This information was verified as of June 2, 2026. Consult a licensed Maryland family law attorney for advice about your specific situation.

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Sources

• Maryland Code, Family Law section 2-401, Marriage license requirement. Maryland General Assembly. mgaleg.maryland.gov
• Maryland Code, Family Law section 2-101, Definitions. Maryland General Assembly. mgaleg.maryland.gov
• Maryland Code, Family Law section 2-201, Valid marriages. Maryland General Assembly. mgaleg.maryland.gov
• Maryland Code, Family Law sections 11-101 through 11-110, Alimony. Maryland General Assembly. mgaleg.maryland.gov
• Goldin v. Goldin, 78 Md. App. 754 (1989). Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.
• U.S. Constitution, Article IV, section 1, Full Faith and Credit Clause. Cornell Legal Information Institute. law.cornell.edu
• Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-2-109.5, Common law marriages. Colorado General Assembly. leg.colorado.gov
• Texas Family Code section 2.401, Informal marriage. Texas Legislature. statutes.capitol.texas.gov

Last updated: June 2, 2026.