Common-Law Marriage

Common-Law Marriage: Married Without a Licence

A common-law marriage is a legally valid marriage formed without a marriage licence or ceremony. Where it is recognised, the couple is married in every legal sense — for taxes, inheritance, insurance, immigration and benefits — and can only end the relationship through a formal divorce.

The persistent myth is that living together for seven years creates one automatically. No state has ever had such a rule.

What Actually Creates One

In the states that still recognise it, three elements must generally be present at the same time: the couple must be legally free and mutually intend to be married now rather than at some future point; they must live together; and they must hold themselves out publicly as married — using the same surname, referring to each other as spouses, filing joint tax returns, naming each other as spouse on insurance and employment records. Cohabitation on its own, however long, creates nothing.

Where It Is Recognised

Only a small minority of states permit new common-law marriages, among them Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and the District of Columbia. New Hampshire recognises it for inheritance purposes only. Several states — including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Idaho, Florida and South Carolina — abolished it but grandfathered marriages formed before a cut-off date, which remain valid indefinitely.

Critically, every state recognises a common-law marriage that was validly formed elsewhere. A couple married by common law in Texas stays married after moving to California, even though California does not allow new ones.

Proving It Without a Certificate

There is no marriage certificate to order, which is the practical difficulty. Proof is assembled from evidence: joint tax returns, deeds and leases in both names, insurance and pension beneficiary designations, affidavits from people who knew the couple as married, and in some states a registered declaration of informal marriage filed with the county clerk. Texas offers exactly such a declaration, and where a state provides one, filing it is far simpler than proving the marriage after the fact.

Ending One

There is no common-law divorce. A common-law marriage ends only by death, annulment or a formal divorce decree — which means proving the marriage existed before you can dissolve it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does living together for seven years make us married?

No. That rule does not exist in any state and never has. Mutual present intent and public holding-out are what matter.

Can I get a marriage certificate for a common-law marriage?

Not in the ordinary sense, because no licence was issued. Some states let you file a declaration or obtain a court determination that the marriage exists.

Will Social Security recognise it?

Social Security applies the law of the state where the couple lived. If the marriage was valid there, survivor and spousal benefits generally follow — with proof required.

What happens if we move to a state that does not allow it?

The marriage remains valid. Recognition of a marriage validly formed in another state does not depend on whether the new state permits new ones.

Related Terms

Marriage Certificate, Marriage License, Divorce Decree, Single Status Affidavit, Sworn Statement