A common law partner is a person who is in a conjugal relationship with another person (opposite or same sex) and has done so continuously for a period of at least one year. Common-law marriage is a legal marriage that takes effect without the prerequisites of a marriage license or participation in a marriage ceremony. The term "common-law marriage" is often used incorrectly to describe various types of couple relationships, such as cohabitation (whether or not registered) or other legally formalized relations. In England and Wales, the term "common-law marriage" has been used to refer to unmarried, cohabiting heterosexual couples, but this is merely a social usage and does not confer on cohabiting parties any of the rights or obligations enjoyed by spouses or civil partners.

To enter into a common-law marriage, a couple generally has to satisfy these requirements: be eligible to be married and cohabitate in one of the places that recognize common-law marriage, intend to be married, and hold themselves out in public as a married couple. In other words, a couple who lives together for a day, a week, a year - states dont have a time requirement - agrees to be married and tells family and friends they are. Fewer than a dozen states and the District of Columbia recognize common-law marriages in the United States.

It is important to note that common-law spouses have fewer rights than married partners, and the legal status of living together with someone is sometimes also called cohabitation. Couples who live together are sometimes called common-law partners, but this is just another way of saying a couple is living together. If youre an unmarried partner, you can be called as a witness for or against the other partner in both civil and criminal cases, and you can be forced to appear and give evidence.