Common Law Marriage States

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Table

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.

StateCommon Law Marriage StatusCommunity Property StatusMinimum Marriage Age
ColoradoAllowedNo 16 Years Old
IowaAllowedNo 16 Years Old
KansasAllowedNo 16 Years Old
MontanaAllowedNo 16 Years Old
New HampshireAllowedNo 14 Years Old
South CarolinaAllowedNo 16 Years Old
TexasAllowedYes 16 Years Old
UtahAllowedNo 16 Years Old
AlaskaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
ArizonaNot AllowedYes 16 Years Old
ArkansasNot AllowedNo 17 Years Old
CaliforniaNot AllowedYes
ConnecticutNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
DelawareNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
HawaiiNot AllowedNo 15 Years Old
IdahoNot AllowedYes 16 Years Old
IllinoisNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
KentuckyNot AllowedNo 18 Years Old
LouisianaNot AllowedYes 18 Years Old
MaineNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
MarylandNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
MassachusettsNot AllowedNo 14 Years Old
MichiganNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
MinnesotaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
MississippiNot AllowedNo
MissouriNot AllowedNo 15 Years Old
NebraskaNot AllowedNo 17 Years Old
NevadaNot AllowedYes 16 Years Old
New JerseyNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
New MexicoNot AllowedYes 16 Years Old
New YorkNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
North CarolinaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
North DakotaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
OklahomaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
OregonNot AllowedNo 17 Years Old
Rhode IslandNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
South DakotaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
TennesseeNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
VermontNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
VirginiaNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
WashingtonNot AllowedYes 17 Years Old
West VirginiaNot AllowedNo 18 Years Old
WisconsinNot AllowedYes 16 Years Old
WyomingNot AllowedNo 16 Years Old
AlabamaPreviously AllowedNo 16 Years Old
FloridaPreviously AllowedNo 16 Years Old
GeorgiaPreviously AllowedNo 16 Years Old
IndianaPreviously AllowedNo 17 Years Old
OhioPreviously AllowedNo 16 Years Old
PennsylvaniaPreviously AllowedNo 16 Years Old

Common Law Marriage Status by State

Alabama

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Previously Allowed

16 Years Old

Alaska

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Arizona

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Arkansas

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

17 Years Old

California

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

Colorado

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

Connecticut

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Delaware

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Florida

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Previously Allowed

16 Years Old

Georgia

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Previously Allowed

16 Years Old

Hawaii

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

15 Years Old

Idaho

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Illinois

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Indiana

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Previously Allowed

17 Years Old

Iowa

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

Kansas

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

Kentucky

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

18 Years Old

Louisiana

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

18 Years Old

Maine

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Maryland

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Massachusetts

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

14 Years Old

Michigan

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Minnesota

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Mississippi

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

Missouri

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

15 Years Old

Montana

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

Nebraska

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

17 Years Old

Nevada

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

New Hampshire

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

14 Years Old

New Jersey

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

New Mexico

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

New York

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

North Carolina

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

North Dakota

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Ohio

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Previously Allowed

16 Years Old

Oklahoma

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Oregon

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

17 Years Old

Pennsylvania

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Previously Allowed

16 Years Old

Rhode Island

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

South Carolina

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

South Dakota

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Tennessee

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Texas

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

Utah

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Allowed

16 Years Old

Vermont

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Virginia

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Washington

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

17 Years Old

West Virginia

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

18 Years Old

Wisconsin

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old

Wyoming

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Common Law Marriage Status

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Not Allowed

16 Years Old