Marital status
indicates whether the person is married (examples: married, single, divorced, and widowed)
Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. Married, single, divorced, and widowed are examples of civil status.
Civil status and marital status are terms used in forms, vital records, and other documents to ask or indicate whether a person is married or single. In the simplest contexts, no further distinction is made. A status of married means that a person was wed in a manner legally recognized by their jurisdiction. A person's specified civil status might also be married if they are in a civil union or common-law marriage. The civil status of a person who is legally separated is married.
Whether a cohabiting couple (such as in a domestic partnership) have a civil status of "married" depends on the circumstances and the jurisdiction. In addition to those who have never married, single status applies to people whose relationship with a significant other is not legally recognized.
Questions about civil status appear on questionnaires for quantitative research, such as census forms and market research instruments.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Marital status” is indicates whether the person is married (examples: married, single, divorced, and widowed). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Marital, status and indicates, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “indicates whether the person is married (examples: married, single, divorced, and widowed)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 22, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q11920938.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Marital status”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Marital status primary sources, Marital status archive and Marital research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Marital status”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Marital status” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.