What are marriages that are exempted from marriage license requirements?
Technically speaking, the only marriage that could be considered “exempt” from a marriage license requirement (meaning free from the requirement to obtain a marriage license as a condition of marrying) would be a common law marriage (in jurisdictions where common law marriage is still allowed and recognized).
To understand what a common law marriage is, you would need to understand what it is not. A common law marriage is not a “solemnized” marriage. A “solemnized” marriage is a marriage performed according to a formal, official, legally recognized marriage ceremony by one vested with authority by the state to perform marriages.
A common law marriage is a marriage that, unlike a solemnized marriage, which arises upon the completion of the formal, legally recognized wedding ceremony, is recognized by the law retroactively, long after two people have been living together in a conjugal relationship (i.e., living in a relationship like that of a married couple without being formally and legally and lawfully wedded). Not all states in the U.S.A. recognize common law marriage. The state where I practice family law (Utah) does.
Here are the requirements for having a relationship recognized as a common law marriage as they are provided in Utah Code § 30-1-4.5: A marriage which is not solemnized according to this chapter shall be legal and valid if a court or administrative order establishes that it arises out of a contract between a couple where both are of legal age, capable of giving consent, legally capable of entering a solemnized marriage, have cohabited, mutually assume marital rights, duties, and obligations, and hold themselves out as and have acquired a uniform and general reputation as spouses. The determination or establishment of a marriage under this section must occur either during the relationship or within one year following the termination of that relationship.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277