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FACT BRIEF

Does Nevada recognize common law marriages?

By Todd Butterworth
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NO

According to the Legislative Counsel Bureau, Nevada does not recognize common law marriages begun after March 29, 1943. The National Conference of State Legislatures defines a common law marriage as "a legally recognized marriage between two people who have not purchased a marriage license or had their marriage solemnized by a ceremony."

Since 2009, Nevada has recognized domestic partnerships, which confer most of the same legal rights and responsibilities as marriages, although a domestic partner cannot be covered by their partner's health insurance. Individuals who are not already in a marriage or domestic partnership, are over the age of 18, are not close relatives, and share a residence are eligible to enter into a domestic partnership.

As of March 2020, eight states recognized common law marriage. Six states allow domestic partnerships, while an additional five permit for civil unions, another type of legal union.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Nevada Legislature Research Division, Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau
National Conference of State Legislatures Common Law Marriage by State
National Conference of State Legislatures Civil Unions and Domestic Partnership Statutes
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The Nevada Independent
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.