Does Moving States Affect a Common Law Marriage?
Why a valid common law marriage travels with you across state lines.
A common law marriage made validly in one state is a marriage everywhere in the United States.
Full Faith and Credit
The U.S. Constitution requires each state to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. A marriage that was valid where it was formed is treated as valid in every state — including states that do not allow new common law marriages themselves.
Moving after the marriage
If you validly formed a common law marriage in Texas and later move to California, California recognizes the marriage. You are married in California for taxes, inheritance, and divorce, just as a couple with a license would be.
The catch: where and when it formed
Recognition depends on the law of the state where the marriage was formed, at the time it was formed. A couple who merely lived together in a state that never recognized common law marriage did not form a marriage there, so there is nothing for another state to recognize. The key question is always: did a valid marriage exist under the law of the state where the couple lived as spouses?
Source
U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1 (Full Faith and Credit Clause); applied in common law marriage cases across state lines (verified 2026-06).