Can couples living together in Missouri and Illinois be legally married without a license?

MISSOURI -Marriage between two people living together without purchasing a marriage license or without a ceremony is valid or legal in only a select number of states.

This specific kind of marriage is known as common-law or “non-ceremonial” marriage, and Missouri and Illinois are two states that do not recognize common-law marriages and consider them “null or void” according to Missouri and Illinois law.

There are only eight states in the U.S. that recognize common-law marriages as legal, which are Kansas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, Montana, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia.

In Colorado , the couple does not need to be living together for a certain amount of time before entering into a common-law marriage. These marriages are considered just as valid as ceremonial marriages in the state.

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