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

Virginia does not recognize common law marriage formed within the state, and has never done so. Va. Code section 20-13 requires every marriage in the Commonwealth to be solemnized under a valid license. Virginia does, however, recognize a common law marriage that was validly formed in another state.

Information last verified on June 2, 2026.

Does Virginia recognize common law marriage?

Virginia does not allow couples to form a common law marriage within the state. Va. Code section 20-13 states that every marriage in the Commonwealth shall be under a license and solemnized in the manner provided by law. Virginia has maintained this requirement throughout its modern statutory history and has never enacted a provision permitting informally formed marriages.

Because Virginia never recognized common law marriage formation, there is no equivalent to the grandfather dates found in states that abolished a prior rule. Alabama ended common law marriage formation as of January 1, 2017, meaning couples who formed a valid common law marriage in Alabama before that date retain that status. Virginia has no parallel cutoff because there was never a rule to abolish. A couple that cohabits in Virginia for any length of time, uses the same last name, files joint tax returns, and tells everyone they are married has still not formed a legally valid marriage under Virginia law unless they obtained a license and participated in a solemnization.

The license requirement under Va. Code section 20-13 is not a technicality. Virginia courts have treated solemnization as a jurisdictional prerequisite to marriage rather than a curable formality. An attempted marriage ceremony without a valid license is void, not merely voidable, under Va. Code section 20-45.1.

Why Virginia requires a license and solemnization

Virginia marriage law is codified in Title 20 of the Code of Virginia. Chapter 2 sets out the licensing and solemnization framework. Under Va. Code section 20-14, the marriage license must be obtained from the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the female party resides, or in certain circumstances where the male party resides or where the marriage will take place. The license must then be presented to an authorized solemnizer before the marriage is contracted.

Authorized solemnizers under Va. Code section 20-25 include ordained ministers of any religious denomination, judges of circuit courts, district courts, and the Court of Appeals, and other officials authorized by statute. The requirement for a named, legally authorized officiant means that a mutual agreement between two private individuals, no matter how sincere, cannot constitute a valid marriage ceremony in Virginia.

This statutory framework has been in place since at least the early twentieth century and reflects a legislative choice to make the public record of marriage a precondition to marriage itself. Virginia family law practitioners have consistently noted that the absence of a license means the absence of a marriage, regardless of how the parties have conducted their lives together.

Does Virginia recognize a common law marriage from another state?

Yes. Virginia gives full legal effect to a common law marriage that was validly formed in a state that permits such marriages. This recognition rests on two foundations. First, the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution, Article IV, section 1, requires each state to give credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. Second, Virginia applies the common law principle of comity, under which courts recognize legal relationships that were valid where created.

Practically, this means that a couple who formed a valid common law marriage in Colorado, Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, or another state that allows common law marriage formation, and who later moves to Virginia, retains that married status in Virginia. Virginia courts treat the couple as legally married for all purposes including divorce, equitable distribution of property, spousal support, inheritance rights under the Virginia Code, and spousal evidentiary privileges.

To invoke Virginia recognition, the party asserting the marriage must show that the relationship met the requirements of the state where it was formed. A Texas informal marriage, for example, requires proof under Texas Family Code section 2.401 of a mutual agreement to be married, cohabitation in Texas, and representation to others that the parties were married. A Colorado common law marriage requires proof under C.R.S. section 14-2-109.5 of mutual consent and cohabitation, both parties being at least 18, and not being otherwise prohibited from marrying.

How to prove a common law marriage formed in another state

Because a common law marriage produces no license or certificate, the party asserting the marriage carries the burden of proof. Virginia courts evaluating a claimed out-of-state common law marriage apply the evidentiary standard of the state where the marriage was formed, but the types of evidence courts across jurisdictions commonly examine are similar.

Evidence courts regularly consider includes:

• Joint federal and state income tax returns filed as married
• Joint bank accounts, joint mortgage or lease documents, or jointly titled real property
• Insurance policies listing the partner as a spouse or beneficiary in a spousal capacity
• Loan applications, credit applications, or government benefit forms identifying the relationship as a marriage
• Testimony from family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, or clergy who knew and treated the couple as married
• Written correspondence, cards, or social media posts in which the parties refer to each other as husband, wife, or spouse
• Use of a shared last name
• Affidavits signed by both parties acknowledging the marriage

No single document is determinative. Virginia courts examine the totality of the relationship, focusing on whether the parties genuinely agreed to be married and consistently held themselves out as married, under the standard of the state where the marriage allegedly formed.

The 7-year myth

A widely repeated misconception holds that cohabiting for 7 years automatically creates a common law marriage. This is false in every state in the United States, including the states that still allow common law marriage formation. No jurisdiction sets a minimum number of years of cohabitation as a trigger or requirement for a common law marriage.

In the states that do allow common law marriage, the requirements focus on the intent and conduct of the parties: a present mutual agreement to be married, cohabitation, and public representation of the marriage as existing. The length of the relationship may be considered as circumstantial evidence of intent and holding out, but no threshold period by itself creates a marriage.

In Virginia the point is especially clear because the state does not recognize common law marriage formation at all. A couple that lives together in Virginia for 7 years, 17 years, or 47 years, without a license and ceremony, has not formed a marriage under Virginia law. Duration of cohabitation is legally irrelevant to marriage formation in the Commonwealth.

How a common law marriage ends

A valid common law marriage, wherever it was formed, can only be dissolved by a formal divorce, annulment, or the death of one spouse. There is no such thing as a common law divorce or an informal dissolution of a marriage.

This rule has significant practical consequences in Virginia. A person who entered a valid common law marriage in Colorado or Texas, moved to Virginia, and then simply separated without filing for divorce is still legally married under Virginia law. If that person later marries someone else in Virginia, the second marriage is void because a prior valid marriage continues to exist.

Divorce proceedings to dissolve a common law marriage validly formed in another state proceed in Virginia courts in the same manner as a divorce from a ceremonially solemnized marriage. Virginia applies its own law on grounds for divorce under Va. Code section 20-91, equitable distribution under Va. Code section 20-107.3, and spousal support under Va. Code section 20-107.1 to dissolve the marriage and divide the parties' interests.

For more on what that process involves financially, see Virginia alimony laws and Virginia child support laws.

For a state-by-state 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 Virginia 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 Virginia family law attorney for advice about your specific situation.

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Sources

• Code of Virginia section 20-13, License and solemnization required. Virginia General Assembly. law.lis.virginia.gov
• Code of Virginia section 20-45.1, Void and voidable marriages. Virginia General Assembly. law.lis.virginia.gov
• Code of Virginia section 20-25, Persons other than ministers who may perform rites. Virginia General Assembly. law.lis.virginia.gov
• Code of Virginia section 20-107.1, Court may decree support and maintenance of spouse. Virginia General Assembly. law.lis.virginia.gov
• Code of Virginia section 20-107.3, Court may decree as to property and debts of parties. Virginia General Assembly. law.lis.virginia.gov
• U.S. Constitution, Article IV, section 1 (Full Faith and Credit Clause). Cornell Legal Information Institute. law.cornell.edu
• Texas Family Code section 2.401, Informal Marriage. Texas Legislature. statutes.capitol.texas.gov
• Colorado Revised Statutes section 14-2-109.5, Common law marriages. Colorado General Assembly. leg.colorado.gov

Last updated: June 2, 2026.