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Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

23 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1103 (2026)

 Common-law marriage.

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 1103.  Common-law marriage.

No common-law marriage contracted after January 1, 2005, shall be valid. Nothing in this part shall be deemed or taken to render any common-law marriage otherwise lawful and contracted on or before January 1, 2005, invalid.

(Nov. 23, 2004, P.L.954, No.144, eff. 60 days)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 31 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1991–2024 · leading case: In Re: Est. of Carter, S., Appeal of: Hunter, M., 159 A.3d 970 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017).
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In Re: Est. of Carter, S., Appeal of: Hunter, M., 159 A.3d 970 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017). · cites it 3× “See 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103. However, section 1103 of the Marriage Law permits the legal recognition of common law marriages contracted before January 1, 2005.”
PNC Bank Corp. v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd., 831 A.2d 1269 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2003). · cites it 4× “23 Pa.C.S. § 1103. Pennsylvania, however, is one of the minority of states that continue to recognize common law marriages.”
PPL v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd., 5 A.3d 839 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2010). · cites it 4× “" 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103. In light of the Legislature's action, this Court has determined that any common law marriage contract entered into prior to January 1, 2005 remained valid thereby superseding the PNC Bank *844 decision.”
Serrano v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd., 94 A.3d 425 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2014). · cites it 21× “2007), Claimant contends the Board and the WCJ erred in finding her 2008 common-law marriage invalid despite the language in Section 1108 of the Marriage Law, 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103, which protected “otherwise lawful” common-law marriages contracted on or before January 1, 2005.”
Lennitt v. Commonwealth Dep't of Corr., 964 A.2d 37 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2008). · cites it 3× “Respondents assert that the applicable statutory provision setting forth the current state of the law regarding common-law marriage in Pennsylvania is Section 1103 of the Domestic Relations Code, 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103. Section 1103 provides that “[n]o common-law marriage contracted…”
Costello v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd., 916 A.2d 1242 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007). · cites it 4× “by amending Section 1103 of the Marriage Law, 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103; and whether it would be inequitable to apply the holding of PNC Bank Corp.”
Vignola v. Vignola, 39 A.3d 390 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012). “5 Before we address Nancy Vignola’s issues, we note the alleged common law marriage predates 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103 (“No common-law marriage contracted after *393 January 1, 2005, shall be valid.”
Caspar v. Snyder, 77 F. Supp. 3d 616 (E.D. Mich. 2015). “12 (B)(2) (1991); 23 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 1103 (2004); S.D. Codified Laws § 25-1-29 (1959).”
Kapres v. Heller, 612 A.2d 987 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992). · cites it 2× “Variable standards for determining age of capacity are not new to commonlaw or statutory law in Pennsylvania or elsewhere.”
In Re: Est. of J.F. Pancari, Sr., K.D. Gazda v. Scott Twp. Police Pension Fund, 176 A.3d 404 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2017). · cites it 3× “Section 1103 of the Marriage Law, 23 Pa. C.S. § 1103. 3 Board’s September 26, 2014 decision, by its designated hearing examiner, was an adjudication, triggering a right of appeal to the court of common pleas.”
Perrotti v. Meredith, 868 A.2d 1240 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2005). “” 23 Pa.C.S. § 1103. This amendment in no way impacts the case presently before us, in that Kathleen claims that the alleged marriage took place in April of 1998.”
Pa. Emps. Benefit Trust Fund v. Brown (In re Brown), 591 B.R. 587 (Bankr. M.D. Penn. 2018). “23 Pa.C.S. § 1103 provides: No common-law marriage contracted after January 1, 2005, shall be valid.”
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