Family · Common-Law Marriage

Common-Law Marriage in Michigan

Whether Michigan lets a couple become married without a license, whether it honors a common-law marriage formed elsewhere, the elements that count, and why the seven-year rule is a myth. Cited to the statute or controlling law.

Confirmedagainst Mich. Comp. Laws §551.2Reviewed by Cholilurrohman · July 2026

Is common-law marriage valid? · Michigan

Michigan abolished common-law marriage effective January 1, 1957, so consent alone stopped being enough on that date. A Michigan common-law marriage formed before then stays valid, and Michigan also recognizes one validly formed in another state that permits it.

Abolished

Recognized?Abolished

Cutoff dateJan 1, 1957

StatuteMich. Comp. Laws §551.2

The rules and exceptions in Michigan

Whether you can form one here, whether a marriage from another state is recognized, and the elements that actually matter.

The rule in this state	What it means
What replaced consent alone	MCL 551.2 says consent must be followed by obtaining a marriage license and by solemnization as authorized by the chapter. From January 1, 1957 a Michigan marriage takes three things together, consent, a license, and solemnization.
Marriage is still framed as a civil contract	The opening words of MCL 551.2, unchanged since 1846, call marriage a civil contract to which the consent of parties capable in law of contracting is essential. The 1956 amendment did not remove consent as a requirement. It removed consent as a sufficient condition.
Pre-1957 Michigan common-law marriages survive	Nothing in MCL 551.2 invalidates one. The statute is written prospectively, restricting only what happens on and after January 1, 1957. A couple whose Michigan common-law marriage was complete before that date is married, and it can still surface in probate, pension, and survivor-benefit matters.
An out-of-state marriage must satisfy that state’s law	Michigan applies the rule that a marriage valid where contracted is valid everywhere. The couple has to prove the elements of the other state’s common-law marriage doctrine as that state defines them, not as Michigan might.

Exceptions and details	What it means
A valid out-of-state common-law marriage is recognized	In People v. Schmidt the couple moved from Michigan to Alabama, formed a common-law marriage there, and Michigan gave it full marital effect after they returned. The court held such a marriage must be given the same legal significance as one solemnized by ceremony.
The Foreign Marriages act does not do this work	MCL 551.271 validates a marriage of Michigan residents solemnized in another state by an authorized officiant. A common-law marriage has no officiant, so it falls outside that section. Michigan’s recognition rests on the judge-made rule that a marriage valid where contracted is valid everywhere, not on MCL 551.271.
Pre-1957 Michigan marriages are grandfathered	This is the exception the statute creates by writing a forward-looking date into the operative sentence. A Michigan common-law marriage contracted before January 1, 1957 remains valid and is not disturbed.

The date to remember is 1957, not 1956

The operative sentence sets the cutoff at January 1, 1957. The history line shows the amending act as 1956 PA 44, effective August 11, 1956, which is the legislative mechanics behind the rule. A source that gives 1956 as the abolition date has read the history line instead of the statute. The date a couple needs is January 1, 1957.

The Court of Appeals says the same thing

People v. Schmidt states that although common-law marriages have been proscribed in Michigan since 1957, Michigan follows the general rule that a marriage valid where it is contracted is valid everywhere, and so recognizes a common-law marriage contracted in another state that would be valid there.

Recognition survives because the Legislature has never barred it

The Schmidt court noted that the Legislature could refuse to recognize out-of-state common-law marriages if it chose to, as it has purported to do with same-sex marriages. It has not done so for common-law marriages generally, which is why the recognition rule holds.

What a Michigan couple has instead

Nothing in Michigan converts long cohabitation into marriage, and there is no number of years. Couples who want the legal consequences without a ceremony are left with contract and property remedies. That is the practical cost of the 1957 line.

What you can do right now

Concrete, neutral steps to confirm your marital status in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.

Do not count on cohabitation making you married
Michigan created no new common-law marriage after January 1, 1957. Without a license and solemnization, living together does not make you spouses in Michigan.
If your marriage predates 1957, it still counts
A Michigan common-law marriage completed before January 1, 1957 remains valid and can still matter in probate and survivor-benefit disputes today.
If you formed one out of state, keep proof
If you validly formed a common-law marriage in a state that allows one, gather records showing it met that state’s requirements. Under People v. Schmidt, Michigan recognizes it.
Talk to a Michigan family lawyer about status
Whether an out-of-state common-law marriage is recognized turns on that state’s law and your facts. A licensed Michigan family attorney can assess it for divorce or inheritance.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. The elements, the dates, and out-of-state recognition can change the answer, so confirm your status with a licensed attorney.

What people get wrong about Michigan common-law marriage

Michigan is unusual in that its abolition date is written directly into the operative sentence of the statute rather than buried in an effective-date line. MCL 551.2 says in so many words that consent alone is not enough to effectuate a legal marriage on and after January 1, 1957. From that date a Michigan marriage requires consent, a license, and solemnization, and no amount of living together substitutes for the license and ceremony. The statute is prospective, so a Michigan common-law marriage that was complete before January 1, 1957 is untouched and remains valid, which still surfaces occasionally in probate and pension cases. The date trips people up, because the amending act, 1956 PA 44, took effect in August 1956, but the substantive rule is keyed to January 1, 1957. Anyone quoting 1956 has read the history line instead of the statute. Michigan also recognizes a common-law marriage validly formed in another state that permits one. That rule comes from case law, People v. Schmidt, not from the Foreign Marriages act, which by its terms covers only marriages solemnized elsewhere and so cannot reach a common-law union. A couple relying on it has to prove the other state’s requirements were met.

Common questions

Does Michigan recognize common-law marriage?

Not new ones. Michigan abolished common-law marriage effective January 1, 1957 under MCL 551.2. A marriage formed before that date stays valid, and Michigan recognizes a common-law marriage validly formed in another state that allows one.

When did Michigan abolish common-law marriage?

January 1, 1957. That date is written into MCL 551.2 itself. The amending act, 1956 PA 44, took effect in August 1956, but the rule keys to January 1, 1957, so 1956 is the wrong date to cite.

We were common-law married in another state and moved to Michigan. Are we married?

Generally yes. Under People v. Schmidt, Michigan follows the rule that a marriage valid where contracted is valid everywhere and gives an out-of-state common-law marriage the same effect as a ceremonial one.

Is a Michigan common-law marriage from before 1957 still valid?

Yes. MCL 551.2 only restricts marriages on and after January 1, 1957. One completed before that date remains valid and can still matter in probate and survivor-benefit questions.

Primary source

→ Mich. Comp. Laws §551.2 (1956 PA 44); People v. Schmidt, 228 Mich. App. 463, 579 N.W.2d 431 (1998)

Michigan Compiled Laws · Chapter 551 (Marriage), §551.2 · legislature.mi.gov

Cholilurrohman
Every figure on this page is checked line-by-line against the current statute. Editorial standards →

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