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Download Domestic Partnership Registration Form
Download Domestic Partnership Termination Form
(these are PDF files, requiring Adobe Acrobat or equivalent program to display and print)
FACTS ABOUT DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION
WITH THE CITY OF SEATTLE
Office of the City Clerk, Seattle, Washington
WHAT IS DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP?
The City of Seattle's Domestic Partnership Registration program allows unmarried couples in committed, on-going family relationships to document their relationships. Couples may consist of a man and a woman, two men, or two women.
Domestic Partnership Registration is voluntary, and does not create any new or different legal rights or responsibilities, or any contractual relationships or obligations between those registered.
IS THIS THE SAME AS THE WASHINGTON STATE PROGRAM?
No. The City of Seattle's registration program does not create any new or different legal rights.
The Washington State Domestic Partnership Registration program, authorized by Chapter 156, Laws of 2007, provides access to certain rights and benefits, such as those associated with hospital visitation, health care decision-making, organ donation decisions, and other issues related to illness, incapacity, death, and in some cases collecting social security and pension benefits. To learn more about the State program, contact the Secretary of State Corporations Division, at (360) 753-7115, or visit their Web site at http://secstate.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships/.
WHO ARE DOMESTIC PARTNERS UNDER THE CITY PROGRAM?
Under Seattle City Ordinance No.117244, Domestic Partners are defined as any two people who:
- are both eighteen years of age or older;
- neither of whom is married to any person;
- are not related by blood to one another in a manner that would bar their marriage in Washington State;
- have a relationship of mutual support, caring, and commitment; and
- do not have any other domestic partner.
DO WE HAVE TO BE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE?
No. The City of Seattle's Domestic Partnership Registration program is open to all persons anywhere who wish to participate.
IS DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION CONFIDENTIAL?
No. When an application for Domestic Partnership Registration is filed with the Office of the City Clerk, it becomes a public
record under Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Section 42.56.
HOW DO WE REGISTER AS DOMESTIC PARTNERS WITH THE CITY OF SEATTLE?
Obtain a Domestic Partnership Registration form from:
Fill out the names and address in legible writing. Both partners must sign the form in front of a Notary Public and have both signatures notarized. Hand deliver or mail the notarized form, with a $25 registration fee, to the Office of the City Clerk to the address above. The fee may be paid by money order or check payable to the City of Seattle, or by cash if paid in person.
When we have your application form and fee payment, the City Clerk will mail to you, at the address listed on your application form, a certificate of registration.
HOW DO I TERMINATE OUR MY DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION?
To terminate a Domestic Partnership Registration, obtain a Domestic Partnership Termination Form from the Office of the City Clerk (address and phone number above), or download the Domestic Partnership Termination Form.
At least one partner must sign the termination form and have that signature notarized. Signature and notarization of signature by the second partner is optional.
Mail or hand deliver the completed termination form to the Office of the City Clerk. There is no associated fee.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION, CALL:
SEATTLE CITY CLERK (206) 684-8344
TDD (206) 233-0025
Seattle Commission for Lesbian and Gays (206) 6840390 (VOICE TDD)
Washington State Secretary of State Corporations Division (360) 753-7115
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