Introduction
A common law marriage is a legally recognized marriage between two people who are married without a large ceremony and without being registered as a religious marriage. To undergo a common law marriage, the couple in question does not need a marriage license.
Common law marriages are only legal in a small handful of states, and the trend over the last century has been that fewer and fewer states permit common law marriages. Common law marriages do not involve any formality, official documentation of legality, or the intermediary of a civil or religious service to recognize the union shared between two people.
In this way, common law marriages consist of two people who live together, who also act and arrange the affairs of their lives as though they were married. From the perspective of common law marriages, if two people who cohabitate and live in the aforementioned way, then that means they are married.
Because common law marriages aren’t recognized by the state in which they occur, there is no possibility for a formal divorce to occur if one of the two individuals in the marriage decides they want to leave, presumably making it more likely that the two will separate. If this occurs, then the couple simply separates and must then determine how to split their joint assets between the two of them.
To learn more about common law marriage, scroll the data in the charts.
State | Common Law Marriage Status | Community Property Status | Minimum Marriage Age |
---|---|---|---|
Colorado | Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Iowa | Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Kansas | Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Montana | Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
New Hampshire | Allowed | No | 14 Years Old |
South Carolina | Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Texas | Allowed | Yes | 16 Years Old |
Utah | Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Alaska | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Arizona | Not Allowed | Yes | 16 Years Old |
Arkansas | Not Allowed | No | 17 Years Old |
California | Not Allowed | Yes | |
Connecticut | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Delaware | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Hawaii | Not Allowed | No | 15 Years Old |
Idaho | Not Allowed | Yes | 16 Years Old |
Illinois | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Kentucky | Not Allowed | No | 18 Years Old |
Louisiana | Not Allowed | Yes | 18 Years Old |
Maine | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Maryland | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Massachusetts | Not Allowed | No | 14 Years Old |
Michigan | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Minnesota | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Mississippi | Not Allowed | No | |
Missouri | Not Allowed | No | 15 Years Old |
Nebraska | Not Allowed | No | 17 Years Old |
Nevada | Not Allowed | Yes | 16 Years Old |
New Jersey | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
New Mexico | Not Allowed | Yes | 16 Years Old |
New York | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
North Carolina | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
North Dakota | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Oklahoma | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Oregon | Not Allowed | No | 17 Years Old |
Rhode Island | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
South Dakota | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Tennessee | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Vermont | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Virginia | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Washington | Not Allowed | Yes | 17 Years Old |
West Virginia | Not Allowed | No | 18 Years Old |
Wisconsin | Not Allowed | Yes | 16 Years Old |
Wyoming | Not Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Alabama | Previously Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Florida | Previously Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Georgia | Previously Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Indiana | Previously Allowed | No | 17 Years Old |
Ohio | Previously Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Pennsylvania | Previously Allowed | No | 16 Years Old |
Common Law Marriage Status by State
Alabama
Common Law Marriage Status
Previously Allowed
16 Years Old
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Common Law Marriage Status
Not Allowed
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Common Law Marriage Status
Previously Allowed
16 Years Old
Georgia
Common Law Marriage Status
Previously Allowed
16 Years Old
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Common Law Marriage Status
Previously Allowed
17 Years Old
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Common Law Marriage Status
Not Allowed
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Common Law Marriage Status
Previously Allowed
16 Years Old
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Common Law Marriage Status
Previously Allowed
16 Years Old