Can couples living together in Missouri and Illinois be legally married without a license?

MISSOURI -Marriage between two people living together without purchasing a marriage license or without a ceremony is valid or legal in only a select number of states.

This specific kind of marriage is known as common-law or "non-ceremonial" marriage, and Missouri and Illinois are two states that do not recognize common-law marriages and consider them "null or void" according to Missouri and Illinois law.

There are only eight states in the U.S. that recognize common-law marriages as legal, which are Kansas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, Montana, Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia.

In Colorado, the couple does not need to be living together for a certain amount of time before entering into a common-law marriage. These marriages are considered just as valid as ceremonial marriages in the state.