A non-covenant marriage is the standard marriage recognized in every U.S. state. The label only exists to distinguish it from covenant marriage, a stricter alternative offered in three states: Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. If you got married anywhere in the country without signing a special declaration of intent and completing mandatory premarital counseling, you have a non-covenant marriage. That describes roughly 99 percent of married Americans.
Why the Term Exists
You will not find “non-covenant marriage” in most state codes. The phrase surfaced as a retronym after Louisiana created covenant marriage in 1997, with Arizona and Arkansas following. Everywhere else, there is no second category to contrast with, so the standard marriage needs no qualifier. Even inside those three states, most couples choose the standard form. Unless you live in Arizona, Arkansas, or Louisiana and specifically opted into a covenant marriage, the rules below describe your marriage.
How You Form One
The core requirements are consistent across the country, though details vary by jurisdiction.
The License
You apply at a local government office, usually the county clerk or registrar. Both partners typically appear in person with valid government-issued ID. Fees vary, and some locations discount the fee if you complete a premarital education course. Some states issue the license the same day; others impose a waiting period of one to three days. Once issued, most licenses stay valid for 30 to 90 days.
Eligibility
Both parties generally must be at least 18. A growing number of states set 18 as an absolute floor; most still allow minors to marry under limited circumstances, typically with parental consent or a court order and a minimum age. Neither party can already be married to someone else, and most states prohibit marriage between close relatives. Almost no state still requires a blood test or medical exam.
The Ceremony
The marriage must be solemnized by an authorized officiant such as a judge, justice of the peace, or member of the clergy. The ceremony can be as simple or elaborate as you want. The legal requirement is that the officiant signs the marriage certificate and that it gets filed with the appropriate government office.
How It Differs From Covenant Marriage
The differences fall into two categories: what it takes to get in, and what it takes to get out.
Getting In
Entering a non-covenant marriage requires a license and a ceremony, and nothing more. A covenant marriage adds two requirements: the couple must complete premarital counseling with a licensed counselor or member of the clergy, and both spouses must sign a legal declaration affirming their intent to remain married and to seek counseling if the marriage runs into trouble. That declaration becomes part of the marriage record.
Getting Out
This is where the gap really matters. In a non-covenant marriage, either spouse can file for divorce without proving the other did anything wrong. Every state now allows no-fault divorce. You generally need only state that the marriage is irretrievably broken or that you have irreconcilable differences.
Covenant marriages make divorce considerably harder. The grounds are limited to serious fault-based reasons like adultery, abuse, abandonment for a specified period, or a felony conviction resulting in imprisonment. Couples must also attend marital counseling before a court will grant the divorce. A spouse in a covenant marriage who simply wants out because the relationship is not working faces a much longer and more restrictive legal process.
Common Law Marriage Is Something Else
People sometimes confuse “non-covenant” with “common law,” but these describe entirely different things. A common law marriage is one formed without a license or ceremony: the couple lives together, holds themselves out as married, and meets whatever additional requirements their state imposes. Only a small number of jurisdictions currently allow new common law marriages to be established, including Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Texas, and the District of Columbia. Most states have abolished common law marriage entirely, though they may still recognize one validly formed in another state or before a cutoff date.
A non-covenant marriage, by contrast, always involves the formal licensing and ceremony process. Asking whether a marriage is “non-covenant” is asking whether the couple opted out of the covenant framework, not whether they skipped the paperwork.
Ending a Non-Covenant Marriage
Divorce in a non-covenant marriage addresses three issues: how to divide property, whether either spouse will receive support, and, if children are involved, custody and child support.
Property Division
How a court splits your assets depends on which system your state follows. The majority of states use equitable distribution, where a judge divides marital property in a way that is fair but not necessarily equal, considering factors like each spouse’s income, the length of the marriage, and each person’s contributions. Nine states use a community property system, where most assets acquired during the marriage are owned equally and split down the middle.
Spousal Support
A court may order one spouse to pay alimony to the other, particularly when there is a significant income gap or when one spouse sacrificed career opportunities during the marriage. Alimony can be temporary, lasting just long enough for the receiving spouse to become self-supporting, or it can run longer depending on the circumstances. Rules and formulas vary widely by jurisdiction.
Child Custody and Support
When minor children are involved, the court sets a custody arrangement and calculates child support. Custody decisions center on the best interests of the child. Support is typically calculated using a formula based on both parents’ incomes and the amount of time each parent spends with the child. These obligations exist regardless of the type of marriage.
How Prenuptial Agreements Change the Defaults
Property division and support rules are defaults. They apply unless you and your spouse agreed to something different before the wedding. A prenuptial agreement lets you override many of them. You might specify that certain assets stay separate, cap or waive spousal support, or set out how a family business would be handled in a divorce.
For a prenup to hold up, it generally needs to be in writing, signed voluntarily by both parties, and based on a full and honest disclosure of each person’s financial situation. An agreement signed under pressure, or one where a spouse hid significant assets, is vulnerable to being thrown out. Courts will also scrutinize agreements that are overwhelmingly one-sided.
Federal Benefits That Attach to Marriage
Regardless of which state you live in, a valid non-covenant marriage unlocks federal benefits. Some apply the moment you are legally married; others require the marriage to have lasted a minimum period.
Taxes
Married couples can file a joint federal tax return. For 2026, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $32,200, compared to $16,100 for a single filer.1Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026, Including Amendments From the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Federal law also allows unlimited transfers of assets between spouses during life or at death without triggering gift or estate taxes, a provision known as the marital deduction.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 2056 – Bequests, Etc., to Surviving Spouse The gift tax marital deduction works the same way for transfers between living spouses.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 2523 – Gift to Spouse For context, the 2026 federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 per person.
Social Security
Marriage gives you access to Social Security spousal and survivor benefits. After at least one year of marriage, you can claim spousal benefits based on your spouse’s earnings record.4Social Security Administration. What Are the Marriage Requirements to Receive Spouse’s Benefits Survivor benefits require a shorter marriage period of just nine months before the spouse’s death.5Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Survivor Benefits If you divorce after at least 10 years of marriage, you may still claim benefits on your ex-spouse’s record.
Immigration
If you are a U.S. citizen, your spouse qualifies as an “immediate relative” for immigration purposes, which means there is no annual cap on the number of spouse-based green cards issued.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen
Leave and Inherited Retirement Accounts
The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees to take unpaid leave to care for a spouse with a serious health condition.7U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act Advisor A surviving spouse can also roll an inherited IRA into their own account, an option available only to spouses, which provides more flexibility in how and when to take distributions.8Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary
Where Covenant Marriage Is Actually Offered
Only Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana offer covenant marriage. Legislation has been introduced in other states over the years, but none have adopted it. Everywhere else, every marriage is what those three states would call “non-covenant.” Even in the three states, couples who married under the standard rules can convert to a covenant marriage later by filing a declaration and completing counseling. The reverse is not possible: you cannot convert a covenant marriage into a non-covenant one to access easier divorce grounds.