State rankings
Common Law Marriage States
Common Law Marriage States: compare 51 US states on 2 metrics.
Recognized
2 values across 51 entries
Data
Click a column to sort.
51 states
 Alabama | Yes | — |
 Alaska | No | — |
 Arizona | No | — |
 Arkansas | No | — |
 California | No | — |
 Colorado | Yes | — |
 Connecticut | No | — |
 Delaware | No | — |
 District of Columbia | Yes | — |
 Florida | No | — |
 Georgia | Yes | If created before 01-01-1997 |
 Hawaii | No | — |
 Idaho | Yes | if the relationship began prior 1/1/96 |
 Illinois | No | — |
 Indiana | No | — |
 Iowa | Yes | — |
 Kansas | Yes | — |
 Kentucky | No | — |
 Louisiana | No | — |
 Maine | No | — |
 Maryland | No | — |
 Massachusetts | No | — |
 Michigan | No | — |
 Minnesota | No | — |
 Mississippi | No | — |
 Missouri | No | — |
 Montana | Yes | — |
 Nebraska | No | — |
 Nevada | No | — |
 New Hampshire | Yes | For inheritance purposes only |
 New Jersey | No | — |
 New Mexico | No | — |
 New York | No | — |
 North Carolina | No | — |
 North Dakota | No | — |
 Ohio | Yes | If created before 10-10-1991 |
 Oklahoma | Yes | If created before 11-01-1998. Oklahoma’s laws and court decisions may be in conflict about whether common law marriages formed after 11-01-1998 will be recognized. There are some conflicting laws - discuss with a family law attorney |
 Oregon | No | — |
 Pennsylvania | Yes | If created before 01-01-2005 |
 Rhode Island | Yes | — |
 South Carolina | Yes | — |
 South Dakota | No | — |
 Tennessee | No | — |
 Texas | Yes | — |
 Utah | Yes | — |
 Vermont | No | — |
 Virginia | No | — |
 Washington | No | — |
 West Virginia | No | — |
 Wisconsin | No | — |
 Wyoming | No | — |
Quick answers
- Where does this common law marriage states data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Unmarried Equality; Sterling Lawyers, Inc.