How to Register as Domestic Partners in California

To register as domestic partners in California, you and your partner complete the Declaration of Domestic Partnership (Form DP-1), have both signatures notarized, and submit the form to the California Secretary of State with a $33 filing fee, or $10 if either of you is 62 or older.¹ Your partnership becomes effective the day the Secretary of State’s office receives your completed paperwork and payment, not the day you sign or mail it.

Who Can Register

California Family Code Section 297 sets the eligibility rules. Both of you must be at least 18, share a common residence, and be capable of consenting to the partnership.² Neither partner can already be married or in another domestic partnership that hasn’t been legally ended, and the two of you cannot be blood relatives who would be barred from marrying each other in California.

Since January 1, 2020, domestic partnership has been open to all eligible couples regardless of gender or age combination.³ The old rule that limited opposite-sex partnerships to couples where at least one partner was 62 or older no longer applies.

“Common residence” is defined generously. You share one even if the lease or title is in only one partner’s name, or if one of you has additional residences elsewhere, and you don’t lose it if a partner temporarily moves out but intends to return.²

A person under 18 can register, but only after obtaining a court order. The court interviews each partner separately, has Family Court Services assess whether force or coercion is involved, and requires written consent from at least one parent or guardian unless no capable parent or guardian exists.⁴

What You’ll Need on the Form

Form DP-1 is a PDF on the Secretary of State’s website.¹ It asks for each partner’s full legal name, mailing address, and date of birth. There is also an optional section where either or both partners can change their middle or last name as part of the registration.⁵

Both partners must sign, and both signatures must be notarized. Any commissioned notary public can handle this; UPS stores, banks, and mobile notaries typically do it for a small fee. Payment goes in the same envelope: $33 if both partners are under 62, or $10 if either partner is 62 or older, by check or money order.⁵

A Confidential Filing Option

If you’d rather your partnership not appear in public records, use the Confidential Declaration of Domestic Partnership (Form DP-1A) instead. A confidential filing is a permanent record that cannot be publicly inspected absent a court order for good cause, and even the partners themselves can only obtain copies by appearing in person at the Secretary of State’s office or submitting a notarized written request.³

If You Already Registered in Another State

You don’t need to file in California if you already have one. California recognizes a civil union, domestic partnership, or similar legal relationship from another state as a valid California domestic partnership, as long as it’s substantially equivalent to one.⁶

Submitting the Form

Two routes are available:

By mail: send the notarized form and payment to Secretary of State, Domestic Partners Registry, P.O. Box 942870, Sacramento, CA 94277-2870. Processing takes several business days to a few weeks.¹
In person: drop off your documents at the Sacramento or Los Angeles offices. In-person submissions are typically processed within 30 minutes, but you need to arrive by 4:30 p.m. and pay an additional $15 special handling fee.⁷

Keep the effective-date rule in mind. The partnership starts the day the office receives the paperwork, not the day you mail it. If you need the partnership in place by a specific date, file in person.

After You’re Registered

Once your filing is processed, the Secretary of State mails you two documents: a plain copy of your filed Declaration of Domestic Partnership and a Certificate of Registration of Domestic Partnership.⁵ The certificate is your legal proof of partnership for adding your partner to health insurance, updating employer benefits, and estate matters.

Need more certified copies later? You can order them from the Secretary of State at $1 for the first page, $0.50 for each additional page, and a $5 certification fee per document.¹

Registration counts as a qualifying life event for health insurance. Through Covered California, you can enroll in a plan or change your existing coverage within 60 days of your registration date.⁸ Many employer plans open a special enrollment window too, so talk to your HR department promptly; miss the window and you’re usually waiting for the next open enrollment period.

Registration also activates California’s community property rules for you both. Income earned and debts incurred during the partnership generally belong to the two of you equally, while assets owned before registration remain separate property.⁹ Anything acquired during the partnership using shared funds, including wages, retirement contributions, and real estate, is presumed to be community property.

For California state taxes, you’ll file using the married/RDP filing jointly or married/RDP filing separately status, just like married couples.¹⁰

Before You Choose Partnership Over Marriage

California treats registered domestic partners identically to spouses for state-level purposes, including inheritance, hospital visitation, medical decision-making, and parental rights.⁹ The federal government does not. The Secretary of State’s own FAQ states that “the federal government does not always treat registered Domestic Partners the same as spouses for legal or tax purposes.”¹¹ A few consequences are worth knowing before you file:

Federal taxes: you cannot file a federal return as married. Each partner files individually as single or, if they qualify, head of household. In practice that means one joint California return plus two separate federal returns each year.¹²
Employer health coverage: when a partner is added to an employee’s employer plan, the fair market value of the employer’s contribution for that coverage is treated as taxable income to the employee unless the partner qualifies as a tax dependent.¹²
Immigration: federal immigration law requires a legal marriage for spousal visa petitions. The USCIS Policy Manual lists civil, common law, customary, and same-sex marriages as qualifying relationships, but not domestic partnerships. If your partner needs immigration status, marriage is the path that provides it.¹³
FMLA: the federal Family and Medical Leave Act defines “spouse” by state marriage law and excludes domestic partners, so there is no federal right to take FMLA leave to care for a seriously ill partner. Some California employers extend comparable leave under state law or company policy.¹⁴

How to End a Domestic Partnership

There are two routes, and most couples will only qualify for one.

A streamlined termination through the Secretary of State is available if the partnership has lasted five years or less, you have no children together (including adopted children), neither partner is pregnant, neither of you owns real property (other than a short-term lease), your shared debts and assets fall below statutory thresholds, and you’ve both signed an agreement dividing everything up.¹⁵ Both partners sign a Notice of Termination and both waive any claim to support from the other. The termination takes effect six months after filing, and either partner can revoke it during that waiting period.

If you don’t meet every one of those conditions, you’ll need a court dissolution proceeding, which works essentially the same as a divorce. Community property, support, and custody are handled through family court under the same rules that apply to married couples ending a marriage.⁹

1
California Secretary of State. Forms and Fees
2
California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 297
3
California Secretary of State. Confidential Declaration of Domestic Partnership (Form DP-1A)
4
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 297.1
5
California Secretary of State. Instructions for Completing the Declaration of Domestic Partnership (Form DP-1)
6
California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 299.2
7
California Secretary of State. Domestic Partners Registry
8
Covered California. Just Married? Health Insurance for Your Spouse and You
9
California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 297.5
10
California Franchise Tax Board. Married/RDP Filing Jointly
11
California Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions – Domestic Partners Registry
12
IRS. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for Registered Domestic Partners and Individuals in Civil Unions
13
USCIS. Policy Manual Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 6 – Spouses
14
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28L – Leave Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
15
California Legislative Information. California Family Code 299