Some State laws recognize marriages entered into without a ceremony (called common-law marriages). SSA uses Form SSA753 to obtain third-party statements about intent and cohabitation, which are the basic tenets for determining if a relationship is a common-law marriage. SSA ultimately uses the information to determine if a valid marital relationship exists for entitlement to spouse/widow(er) benefits. The respondents are third party individuals/households. We are making non-substantive changes to make the form a fillable PDF.
US Code:
42 USC 416
Name of Law: Social Security Act
When we last cleared this IC in 2024, the burden was 6,000 hours. However, we are currently reporting a burden of 56,990 hours. This change stems an increase in the number of responses from 40,000 to 179,969. There is no change to the burden time per response. Although the number of responses changed, SSA did not take any actions to cause this change. These figures represent current Management Information data.
$1,304,236
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Faye Lipsky 410 965-8783 faye.lipsky@ssa.gov
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
03/23/2026
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