Common law marriage is permitted in several U.S. states. Not all states address this arrangement with a statute but use public policy or case law to determine validity.

One aspect to consider is the fact that some states may consider you married without you taking the step of going through the formal step of marriage. It’s a concept known as common law marriage.

Americans are steadily delaying the age of first marriage. From 1983 to 2023, the median age increased by about five years to 30.2 years for men and 28.4 years for women, according to the U.S. Census.

But in states where common-law marriage is still recognized, even that guy is optional. Common-law marriage is an old principle that has slowly been struck from the ledgers of most states across ...

Currently, common law marriage is recognized only in Alabama, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire (only for inheritance purposes), Oklahoma, Rhode Island ...

Idaho does not recognize common-law marriages, and it does not sound like you met the requirements prior to 1996. The only way to be sure you are married is to go through the formal marriage process.

For instance, in mid-June 2025 one X user wrote " We would free so many people if common law marriage kicked in by default at the 5-year mark," reaching over 1.2 million views.

A sound common-law marriage is usually composed of: 1) a man and a woman both legally competent to make the contract (age, absence of other matrimonial obligations, etc.); 2) their actual and ...

Not only has D.C. recognized same-sex marriage for more than a decade, it also allows the date of formation of a same-sex common law marriage to be retroactive to the original formation date even ...

Texas’ definition of a common law marriage is one where neither of the partners was married, both are ages 18 or older, they agree to be married, they live together in Texas and “represent ...

Pennsylvania also abolished common law marriage in 2005, but it continues to recognize any common law marriages that were created on or before Jan. 1, 2005—which would include Zadnik and Conway ...