A declaration of marriage is a signed, sworn document that records an existing informal or common-law relationship as a legal marriage, without a wedding ceremony or a conventional marriage license. Texas and Montana are the two states that offer this specific filing. Once a county clerk or district court clerk records the declaration, it carries the same legal weight as a marriage certificate for taxes, Social Security, inheritance, insurance, and name changes.
Where You Can File One
Only two states use a dedicated declaration form. Texas calls its version the Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage, signed at the county clerk’s office.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-402 – Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage Montana calls its version the Declaration of Marriage Without Solemnization, filed with the clerk of the district court.2Montana Judicial Branch. Marriage – Common Law Marriage – Getting Married
About eight other states recognize common-law marriage in some form, including Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Oklahoma, and New Hampshire, but most do not provide a specific declaration form to file.3National Conference of State Legislatures. Common Law Marriage by State Alabama appears on older lists but stopped recognizing new common-law marriages after January 1, 2017. In states that do not recognize common-law marriage at all, no declaration is possible and no amount of cohabitation creates a legal marriage; a license and ceremony are the only route.
Who Can File
Both states impose the same core requirements, and the declaration form itself walks you through them.
Age
Both parties must be at least 18. Texas allows no judicial exception: anyone under 18 cannot be a party to an informal marriage or sign the form.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-401 – Proof of Informal Marriage
No Existing Marriage
Neither of you can be currently married to someone else. In Texas, a legally married person cannot execute a declaration with a different partner, and doing so can expose both parties to bigamy charges.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-401 – Proof of Informal Marriage
Agreement, Cohabitation, and Holding Out
You must have agreed to be married, lived together after that agreement, and represented yourselves to others as spouses. This is what separates an informal marriage from a long-term relationship. Shared last names, joint tax returns, introducing each other as a spouse, and listing each other on insurance policies all count. Living together for years without presenting yourselves publicly as married is not enough.
No Prohibited Family Relationship
You cannot be closely related. The Texas form includes a checklist where each party confirms the other is not an ancestor, descendant, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or stepchild.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-402 – Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage Montana has a comparable prohibition.
What the Form Asks For
Texas
Texas uses a standardized form from the bureau of vital statistics, available through any county clerk. Each party provides full legal name (including maiden surname), residential address, date of birth, place of birth with city, county, and state, and Social Security number, along with the type of ID presented.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-402 – Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage
The form contains a printed oath: you swear that you agreed to be married on or about a specific date, lived together afterward, and represented to others in Texas that you were married, and that you have not been married to anyone else since that date. Either party can request that their identifying information be kept confidential.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-402 – Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage
Montana
Montana’s form is shorter but adds witnesses. It must list each party’s name, age, and residence; a statement confirming the marriage; each party’s father’s name and mother’s maiden name with addresses; and a statement that both parties are legally competent to marry. Two witnesses must attest to the declaration alongside the couple’s signatures.2Montana Judicial Branch. Marriage – Common Law Marriage – Getting Married
The date you put on the form matters. It establishes when the marriage began, which in turn determines when marital property rights started. Picking an inaccurate date, or backdating it, can create real problems later during a divorce or property dispute.
How to File
Both of you must appear together at the clerk’s office. In Texas, you sign the declaration under oath before the county clerk, who certifies the document with the date and location.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-402 – Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage In Montana, the declaration is formally acknowledged before the clerk of the district court, with both witnesses present.2Montana Judicial Branch. Marriage – Common Law Marriage – Getting Married
Bring government-issued photo ID. A driver’s license, passport, or state ID is accepted in most offices, and military IDs are commonly accepted as well.
Fees vary. In Texas counties, recording an informal marriage declaration typically runs about $45 to $50, depending on the county. Montana charges $53.
Everything you sign is under oath. False information on the form is perjury, which under federal law carries up to five years in prison, and state penalties are treated with similar seriousness.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1621 – Perjury Generally
After the clerk records it, the declaration becomes a permanent part of the county’s marriage records, and you receive a certified copy. That copy functions as your marriage certificate. Use it to update a Social Security card, change your driver’s license, add a spouse to employer health insurance, or prove marital status for inheritance and benefit claims. If your personal copy is lost, you can order a replacement certified copy from the county for a small fee.
What the Filed Declaration Does for You
Once recorded, a declaration gives you a single document that answers questions you would otherwise have to prove with testimony and paperwork.
For federal taxes, the IRS treats a common-law marriage the same as a ceremonial one. If you are in a common-law marriage recognized by the state where you live or the state where the marriage began, the IRS considers you married for the full tax year, and you must file as Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 501 – Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information That remains true if you later move to a state that does not recognize common-law marriage.
For Social Security, the agency applies the law of the state where the couple lived when the claim is filed or when the worker became entitled to benefits. When both spouses are living, SSA typically requires a statement from each spouse about the relationship plus a statement from a blood relative of each. Joint mortgage documents, insurance policies, and shared bank records help.7Social Security Administration. Development of Common-Law (Non-Ceremonial) Marriages A filed declaration shortcuts most of this because it is direct state proof that the marriage existed.
For moving between states, the general rule is that a marriage valid where it was created is valid elsewhere. USCIS applies this explicitly, recognizing a common-law marriage established in a state that allows it even after the couple moves to a state that does not.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 2 – Marriage and Marital Union for Naturalization Most states follow a similar approach. A recorded declaration gives you documented proof instead of forcing you to reconstruct witness evidence years later.
Ending an Informal Marriage Later
A declared or otherwise established informal marriage carries the full legal weight of a formal one. You cannot end it by moving out or agreeing it is over. You need a court-ordered divorce to divide property, set custody, or obtain spousal support, and private agreements between separating partners are not enforceable in family court without one.
Texas adds a specific deadline for couples who never filed a declaration. If you separate and no one files a court proceeding to prove the informal marriage within two years, the law presumes the marriage never existed.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 2-401 – Proof of Informal Marriage The presumption can be rebutted with evidence, but the burden is heavy. A filed declaration removes the question entirely: the record settles both that the marriage existed and when it began, and the court moves straight to property and custody instead of litigating whether you were ever married.