Which states recognize common law marriage?

States that still create them

Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia. New Hampshire recognises them only after one partner dies, for inheritance. Utah requires a court or administrative order, which changes the practical picture — you cannot simply assert it later without having established it.

States that abolished them but honour older ones

Pennsylvania (created before 1 January 2005), Ohio (before 22 October 1991), Indiana (before 1958), Georgia (before 1997), Florida (before 1968), Idaho (before 1996), South Carolina (before July 2019), Alabama (before January 2017). If the relationship met the requirements before the cut-off, the marriage remains valid.

Why the list is not the whole answer

The place where the marriage was formed is what matters, not where you live now. A couple who met Texas requirements while living in Texas stays married after moving to New York, and needs a New York divorce to end it. Conversely, moving to Texas after years of living together elsewhere does not retroactively create a marriage.

Texas has a paper route

Texas allows a signed Declaration of Informal Marriage to be recorded with the county clerk, which removes most of the later argument about whether the marriage existed. In states without such a form, couples who want the status documented usually rely on joint filings and consistent paperwork instead.

If you do not want one

In a recognising state, a cohabitation agreement stating that the parties are not married and do not intend to be is the standard protection, particularly where property is shared.