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, but Virginia law distinguishes between a couple who never married at all and a couple whose licensed marriage carried a defect. Section 20-13 requires every marriage in the Commonwealth to be under a license and solemnized in the manner provided by law, and a couple who never obtained a license and never went through any solemnization has no marriage under Virginia law, no matter how long they lived together.

Where a couple did obtain a Virginia license and did go through a ceremony, Va. Code section 20-31 protects the resulting marriage. Titled 'Belief of parties in lawful marriage validates certain defects,' it provides that a marriage solemnized under a Virginia license is not void on account of 'any want of authority' in the person who solemnized it, 'or any defect, omission or imperfection in such license,' so long as the marriage is in all other respects lawful and the parties believed in good faith that they had been lawfully joined. Virginia courts also apply a strong presumption in favor of the validity of a marriage. In MacDougall v. Levick, 294 Va. 283, 805 S.E.2d 775 (2017), the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld a marriage in which the couple obtained their license 16 days after the wedding ceremony, holding the marriage was neither void nor voidable and declining to read an unwritten sequencing requirement into section 20-13. None of that reaches a couple who never obtained a license and never solemnized anything, which is why cohabitation alone still creates nothing in Virginia.

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 may be obtained from the clerk (or deputy clerk) of the circuit court of any county or city in Virginia; the statute imposes no residency requirement tied to either party. The license is then presented to an authorized solemnizer, who performs the solemnization and completes the marriage certificate.

Ministers are authorized to solemnize Virginia marriages under separate provisions of the Code of Virginia. Va. Code section 20-25, titled 'Persons other than ministers who may perform rites,' authorizes an additional group of solemnizers: individuals granted a circuit court clerk's order, along with judges and justices of Virginia's courts of record and district courts, certain resident federal judges, and specified current or former officials such as members of the General Assembly, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, Virginia's members of Congress, and circuit court clerks. 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. The practical consequence for a cohabiting couple is unchanged by section 20-31 or by the presumption of validity: where there was never a license and never any solemnization, there is no marriage to save, 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 partner asserting the marriage carries the burden, so have a Virginia family lawyer match your records to that state's requirements in a free case evaluation (attorney advertising).

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.

Last updated: June 2, 2026.

More Virginia Laws

• Virginia Alimony Laws
• Virginia Divorce Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Virginia have common law marriage?

No. Virginia has never recognized common law marriage formed within the state. Va. Code section 20-13 requires every marriage in the Commonwealth to be solemnized under a valid license. No period of cohabitation in Virginia creates a legal marriage without those steps.

What if I had a common law marriage in another state and then moved to Virginia?

Virginia will recognize a common law marriage that was validly formed in another state under the Full Faith and Credit Clause and comity principles. You retain full married status in Virginia for purposes of divorce, inheritance, equitable distribution, and spousal support. You must file for a formal divorce in Virginia or another court of competent jurisdiction to end that marriage.

Is 7 years of living together considered common law marriage in Virginia?

No. This is a myth. No state sets a required number of cohabitation years as a trigger for common law marriage, and Virginia does not allow common law marriage formation at all. Living together in Virginia for any number of years, without a license and ceremony, does not create a legal marriage.

Can I claim property rights from a long-term relationship in Virginia?

Not on the basis of an informally formed Virginia marriage, because Virginia does not recognize common law marriage formation. Unmarried cohabitants in Virginia generally do not have spousal property rights. If the relationship involved a period of cohabitation in a state that allows common law marriage and you met that state's requirements, you may be able to assert a valid common law marriage before a Virginia court, but you would need to establish that the marriage was validly formed under that other state's law.

Which states allow common law marriage that Virginia would recognize?

As of 2026, states that still allow the formation of new common law marriages include Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma (courts recognize it, though some agencies are inconsistent), Rhode Island, Texas (called informal marriage under Texas Family Code section 2.401), and Utah (requires a court order). The District of Columbia also recognizes common law marriage formation. A marriage validly formed in any of those jurisdictions will be recognized in Virginia.

Do I need a divorce if I have a common law marriage from another state?

Yes. A valid common law marriage, like any legal marriage, can only be dissolved by divorce, annulment, or death. There is no informal or automatic dissolution. If you fail to divorce before remarrying in Virginia, the second marriage will be void.

What is the difference between a domestic partnership and a common law marriage in Virginia?

Virginia does not have a statewide domestic partnership or civil union registry. Some local jurisdictions or employers may offer limited domestic partner benefits, but these do not confer marital status. Neither a domestic partnership nor long-term cohabitation has the legal effect of marriage in Virginia. Only a formally licensed and solemnized marriage, or a common law marriage validly formed elsewhere, creates full marital rights.