---
title: O.C.G.A. § 19-3-1.1. Common-law marriage; effectiveness.
collection: code
id: 19-3-1.1
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 19-3-1.1 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-3-1.1
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-3-1.1.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/19-3-1.1/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t18-t19-(v16)-2022-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=b0848ebd_0#page=312
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: DOMESTIC RELATIONS / MARRIAGE GENERALLY / GENERAL PROVISIONS
---

# O.C.G.A. § 19-3-1.1. Common-law marriage; effectiveness.

No common-law marriage shall be entered into in this state on or after January 1, 1997. Otherwise valid common-law marriages entered into prior to January 1, 1997, shall not be affected by this Code section and shall continue to be recognized in this state.

## History

Code 1981, § 19-3-1.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 1414, § 1.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 1996, p. 1414, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “The Department of Human Resources is authorized and directed to implement a state-wide education program through the broadcast and print media to inform state residents regarding the Code section enacted by this Act and the elements of a valid common-law marriage.”

## Law Reviews

For annual survey article discussing wills, trusts and administration of estates, see 52 Mercer L. Rev. 481 (2000).

For article, “Marriage, Death and Taxes: The Estate Planning Impact of Windsor and Obergefell on Georgia’s Same Sex Spouses,” see 21 Ga. St. Bar. J. 9 (Oct. 2015).

For article, “Cohabitation Worldwide Today,” see 35 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 299 (2019).