§ 19-3-1.1.Common-law marriage; effectiveness
Chapter 3. Marriage Generally · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 1996 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-3-1.1
Plain-English Summary
A common-law marriage is generally understood as one formed by the couple’s own agreement and conduct, without a license or ceremony. Georgia used to allow them. This section closed that door: no common-law marriage can be entered into in Georgia on or after January 1, 1997.
The cutoff doesn’t reach backward. A common-law marriage that was otherwise valid and entered into before January 1, 1997, isn’t affected and continues to be recognized. That matters for long-term couples who began living together as spouses before 1997. Recognition means the law treats such a couple as married. This section creates no separate way to end that kind of marriage, so a spouse who wants to end one generally looks to the divorce chapter, Chapter 5 of Title 19, as with any other marriage the state recognizes.
The section doesn’t list what made a pre-1997 common-law marriage valid. The general requirements of Code Section 19-3-1 — parties able to contract, an actual contract, and consummation according to law — still frame the question, and the capacity rules in Code Section 19-3-2 apply. A person who claims such a marriage should be ready to prove it was formed before the cutoff. The ban reaches common-law marriages entered into “in this state”; a relationship formed elsewhere raises questions this section doesn’t answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Georgia recognize common-law marriage?
A common-law marriage formed in Georgia counts only if it was entered into before January 1, 1997. No common-law marriage can be entered into in Georgia on or after that date, but an otherwise valid common-law marriage entered into before it continues to be recognized. So for a Georgia relationship, the date the marriage was entered into decides the question.
We’ve lived together for years. Are we married under Georgia law?
Not by living together alone, if your relationship began in Georgia on or after January 1, 1997. Since that date, a Georgia marriage requires a license and ceremony under Article 2 of Chapter 3. If you began living as spouses before 1997, an otherwise valid common-law marriage formed then is still recognized.
Do I need a divorce to end a common-law marriage from before 1997?
Generally, yes, if the marriage was valid. This section says otherwise valid pre-1997 common-law marriages continue to be recognized, which means the law treats the couple as married, and it creates no separate way to end such a marriage. The usual route is the one for any recognized marriage: divorces are granted by the superior court under Code Section 19-5-1, on the grounds listed in Code Section 19-5-3.
What did a common-law marriage need before 1997?
This section doesn’t say. It refers only to “otherwise valid” common-law marriages. The general essentials in Code Section 19-3-1 — parties able to contract, an actual contract, and consummation according to law — and the capacity rules in Code Section 19-3-2 frame the question. Whether a particular couple met them depends on the facts a court finds.
Why does the date January 1, 1997, matter so much?
It is the dividing line. A common-law marriage entered into in Georgia before January 1, 1997, can still be valid and recognized. One attempted on or after that date can’t be formed at all. So a person claiming a common-law marriage needs to show when it began, not only that the couple lived as spouses.
Amendment History
Laws 1996, p. 1414, § 1.