Common Law Marriage in Arkansas: Is It Recognized? (2026)

Arkansas does not recognize common law marriage formed within the state. Arkansas Code section 9-11-201 requires a marriage license, and the Arkansas Supreme Court said in Rockefeller v. Rockefeller (1998) that Arkansas has refused to allow parties to create a common law marriage within the boundaries of the state. Arkansas does recognize a common law marriage that was validly formed in another state.

Information last verified on June 2, 2026.

Does Arkansas recognize common law marriage?

Arkansas does not allow couples to form a common law marriage within the state. Arkansas Code section 9-11-201(a) requires all persons contracting marriage in Arkansas to first obtain a license from the clerk of a county court, and in Rockefeller v. Rockefeller, 335 Ark. 145, 980 S.W.2d 255 (1998), the Arkansas Supreme Court said that Arkansas has refused to allow parties to create a common-law marriage within the boundaries of the state. The court pointed to Arkansas Code sections 9-11-201 to 9-11-211 as the statutory means of creating a legal marriage and declined the invitation to recognize a de facto marriage instead.

Fryar v. Roberts, 346 Ark. 432, 57 S.W.3d 727 (2001), is sometimes cited for the same rule, and it is worth being precise about what that case actually decided. Fryar involved a licensed, ceremonial marriage that was later attacked because the executed license was not returned to the county clerk as Arkansas Code section 9-11-218 directs. The Arkansas Supreme Court held that the failure to comply with section 9-11-218 cannot render a marriage void, and it reversed the trial court's summary judgment order. Fryar is authority about licensing formalities, not a case in which a couple lost a claim built on years of cohabitation.

Arkansas Constitution Amendment 83, adopted by voters in November 2004, provides that marriage consists only of the union of one man and one woman, and that legal status for unmarried persons which is identical or substantially similar to marital status shall not be valid or recognized in Arkansas, except that the legislature may recognize a common law marriage from another state between a man and a woman. Although Amendment 83's man-and-woman restriction was fundamentally altered by the United States Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), which requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriages, the underlying statutory and case-law prohibition on common law marriage formation in Arkansas remains intact. Arkansas Code section 9-11-201 continues to require a marriage license, and Rockefeller remains the Arkansas Supreme Court authority on that point.

Why Arkansas has never recognized common law marriage formation

Unlike states that recognized common law marriage for a time and later abolished it by setting a prospective cutoff date, Arkansas has refused to let parties create one inside the state. In Rockefeller v. Rockefeller the Arkansas Supreme Court described that refusal as a continuing one and treated Arkansas Code sections 9-11-201 to 9-11-211 as the route to creating a legal marriage. There is therefore no grandfather date for Arkansas-formed unions.

The license requirement serves several practical purposes: it creates a clear public record of marital status, it makes the legal implications of marriage clear to both parties at the outset, and it avoids the evidentiary difficulties that arise when parties dispute whether a marriage was ever formed.

Because Arkansas has never permitted common law marriage formation, a couple that cohabits in Arkansas for any length of time, presents themselves publicly as married, files joint tax returns, and genuinely believes they are married has nonetheless not formed a legally recognized marriage under Arkansas law without a license.

Does Arkansas recognize a common law marriage from another state?

Yes. The on-point Arkansas statute is Arkansas Code section 9-11-107(a), which provides that all marriages contracted outside this state that would be valid by the laws of the state or country in which the marriages were consummated and in which the parties then actually resided shall be valid in all the courts in this state. That statute, reinforced by the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution and the principle of comity, is why a common law marriage validly formed in a state that permits such marriages is treated as a marriage in Arkansas.

Read section 9-11-107(a) closely, because it carries a condition that is easy to miss. The marriage must have been valid where it was consummated and where the parties then actually resided. A couple who never actually lived in the permitting state, and who point only to a brief visit there, may have difficulty satisfying the statute even if that state's own elements would otherwise be met.

Section 9-11-107(b) still says on its face that the section shall not apply to a marriage between persons of the same sex. That subsection, like Arkansas Code sections 9-11-109 and 9-11-208 and the man-and-woman language of Amendment 83, is unenforceable after Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). Arkansas has no lawful basis to withhold recognition from a lawful marriage formed in another state because of the sex of the spouses. The text simply remains on the books unrepealed.

Amendment 83 speaks directly to this situation as well. Its section 2 bars legal status for unmarried persons that is identical or substantially similar to marital status, except that the legislature may recognize a common law marriage from another state between a man and a woman. The sex restriction in that carve-out cannot be enforced after Obergefell. A same-sex couple who validly formed a common law marriage in a state that permits it receives the same recognition in Arkansas as an opposite-sex couple; there is no separate or uncertain standard.

For a couple, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, who validly formed a common law marriage in a state that permits it, such as Colorado, Texas, Iowa, or another recognized common law marriage state, and who actually resided in that state, that marital status is recognized in Arkansas. Arkansas courts treat the couple as legally married for purposes of divorce, property division, spousal support, inheritance rights, intestate succession, and all other legal incidents of marriage.

To establish Arkansas recognition, a party must show that the marriage met all the requirements of the state where it was formed, and that the parties actually resided there. For instance, a couple asserting a Texas informal marriage under Texas Family Code section 2.401 must show they agreed to be married, cohabited in Texas, and represented to others that they were married.

How to prove a common law marriage formed in another state

A common law marriage leaves no license or official certificate, so the burden of proving the marriage rests on the party asserting it. The elements and standard of proof are governed by the law of the state where the marriage was formed, but courts examining the evidence typically look at the same general categories.

Evidence commonly considered includes:

• Joint federal or state tax returns filed as "married filing jointly" or "married filing separately"
• Joint bank accounts, joint deeds, joint mortgage or lease agreements
• Life insurance policies or retirement account beneficiary designations listing the partner as a spouse
• Loan applications or government-benefits forms identifying the relationship as a marriage
• Testimony from family members, friends, coworkers, neighbors, or clergy who regarded the couple as married
• Correspondence, cards, or social media records in which the parties referred to each other as husband, wife, or spouse
• Use of a shared last name
• Birth certificates of children listing both parties as parents with the same last name

No single item is conclusive. Courts assess the totality of the evidence against the requirements of the state where the marriage was allegedly formed.

The 7-year myth

A persistent belief holds that cohabiting for 7 years automatically creates a common law marriage. This is false everywhere in the United States. No state, including the states that still permit common law marriage formation, sets a minimum number of years of cohabitation as a threshold or automatic trigger.

The states that allow common law marriage formation focus on the intent and conduct of the parties: a present mutual agreement to be married, cohabitation in the permitting state, and public representation of the marriage. Duration of cohabitation can be relevant as circumstantial evidence of intent, but no fixed number of years is required.

In Arkansas, this point is especially clear because the state does not allow common law marriage formation at all. No period of cohabitation in Arkansas, whether 7 years or 47 years, creates a legal marriage without a license.

How a common law marriage ends

A valid common law marriage, wherever it was formed, can only be terminated by formal divorce proceedings. There is no such thing as a "common law divorce" and no informal mechanism to dissolve a marriage. Simply separating, dividing property informally, or ceasing to live together does not end a legal marriage.

This has important practical consequences for Arkansas residents. A person with a valid out-of-state common law marriage who moves to Arkansas and "separates" without filing for divorce is still legally married under Arkansas law. Attempting to marry a new partner in Arkansas without obtaining a divorce would create a void or voidable second marriage.

Arkansas divorce proceedings for a valid common law marriage formed in another state follow the same rules as any other Arkansas divorce. The court has jurisdiction over property located in Arkansas, applies Arkansas divorce law, and can issue orders regarding spousal support under Arkansas Code Title 9.

For more on the financial aspects of dissolving a marriage in Arkansas, see Arkansas alimony laws and Arkansas child support laws.

For a state-by-state comparison of common law marriage recognition across all 50 states and DC, see Common law marriage by state.

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Disclaimer: This page provides general legal information about common law marriage recognition in Arkansas and is not legal advice. Marriage and family law determinations are fact-specific and depend on individual circumstances, including the law of the state where any claimed common law marriage was formed. This information was verified as of June 2, 2026. Consult a licensed Arkansas family law attorney for advice about your specific situation.

Last updated: June 2, 2026.

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• Arkansas Alimony Laws
• Arkansas Divorce Laws