Yes, you can get married if you have a domestic partnership, but what you need to do first depends on who you’re marrying. If you’re marrying your current domestic partner, many jurisdictions let you apply for a marriage license without dissolving the partnership first. If you’re marrying someone else, you have to legally end the partnership before applying for a marriage license, and skipping that step can expose you to criminal bigamy charges and a marriage that a court could later void.
If You’re Marrying Your Current Partner
Converting a domestic partnership into a marriage is usually the simpler path. A number of jurisdictions allow domestic partners to apply for a marriage license and marry each other without first terminating the partnership. The partnership merges into the marriage by operation of law once the marriage is solemnized, and the legal rights that accrued during the partnership carry forward. You don’t lose credit for the time you spent as partners when it comes to things like property rights or benefit eligibility.
Some states went further after the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. At least five states automatically converted existing civil unions into marriages, so those couples became legally married without filing anything.1Justia. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) Others gave couples the option to marry each other, with the civil union merging into the marriage once the marriage certificate was recorded.
Even where no formal dissolution is required, filing a termination anyway can be worth the trouble. A domestic partnership that still shows as active on a state registry alongside your marriage certificate can confuse insurers, benefit administrators, and government agencies that aren’t set up to process overlapping statuses. A quick termination filing eliminates the ambiguity.
If You’re Marrying Someone Else
The rule flips when the person you want to marry isn’t your domestic partner. You must dissolve the existing partnership before applying for a marriage license with someone new. This isn’t optional.
In jurisdictions where domestic partnerships carry legal weight similar to marriage, entering a new marriage while still legally bound to a domestic partner can constitute bigamy. A few states that treat domestic partnerships as legally equivalent to marriage have updated their bigamy laws to include partnerships. Even where the bigamy statute only references marriage, an unresolved domestic partnership can create grounds to challenge the validity of your new marriage or to complicate property and benefit disputes later.
The safest approach is to treat your domestic partnership the way you’d treat a prior marriage: end it formally, get the paperwork in hand, and then apply for the marriage license.
How to Dissolve a Domestic Partnership
Ending a domestic partnership doesn’t always require the full divorce process. The procedure depends on your jurisdiction and how entangled your finances and family life are.
Administrative Dissolution
Some jurisdictions offer a streamlined administrative process. One or both partners file a termination statement with the registering agency, pay a modest fee, and the partnership ends without ever going before a judge. This works best when both partners agree to separate and there are no contested issues like property division, shared debts, or children. Filing fees for administrative dissolutions are often under $50.
A few jurisdictions also recognize automatic termination when either partner marries someone else, meaning the new marriage dissolves the partnership by operation of law. Most jurisdictions don’t have this rule, so don’t rely on it without confirming.
Court-Based Dissolution
When partners share significant property, owe debts together, or have children, the process starts to look like a traditional divorce. One or both partners file a petition in court, and a judge oversees the division of assets, support obligations, and custody arrangements. Residency requirements often apply, typically six months to a year in the jurisdiction before filing.
A handful of jurisdictions offer summary dissolution for partnerships that meet strict criteria: a short duration (often five years or less), no children, limited shared debt, and modest community property. Both partners must agree to the terms and waive rights to spousal support and appeal. It’s faster and cheaper than a contested proceeding, but the eligibility rules disqualify many couples.
What It Costs
Court filing fees vary widely, and contested cases involving attorneys, mediators, or multiple hearings can run into the thousands. A short partnership with no shared assets and mutual agreement can move through the administrative or summary route for very little. Budget for the process the way you would for a divorce if your situation is more complex.
The Bigamy Risk
Bigamy is a criminal offense in every U.S. state and territory. Prison sentences can be as short as 30 days or as long as 10 years, and fines range from $500 to six figures. In some states, a bigamy conviction is a felony that carries lasting consequences beyond the sentence itself, including potential loss of professional licenses and disqualification from public office.
Most bigamy statutes target people who marry while already married. A smaller number of states have expanded their statutes to explicitly include domestic partnerships, making it a crime to marry or enter a new partnership while a prior partnership remains active.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9A.64.010 – Bigamy Even in states where the criminal statute doesn’t mention partnerships, a marriage obtained while a prior legal relationship exists can be challenged as void or voidable, meaning a court could unwind the legal rights and protections you thought the marriage gave you.
Criminal prosecution isn’t the only risk. Unresolved domestic partnerships create vulnerabilities around property ownership, beneficiary designations, health care decision-making authority, and custody. A former partner who never received a formal dissolution keeps whatever legal rights the partnership granted, and those rights can collide with the rights of a new spouse.
Getting the Marriage License After Dissolution
Once your partnership is formally dissolved, you can apply for a marriage license like anyone else. Most jurisdictions require standard documentation: valid government-issued identification, proof of age, and payment of the license fee, which typically falls between $35 and $100.
The extra step for former domestic partners is proving the prior relationship has ended. Many jurisdictions require you to present a certified court order of dissolution or a termination certificate. Some ask for this documentation only if the dissolution occurred within a recent window, such as the past two years. If you’re marrying the same person you were partnered with, you may only need to present your original declaration of domestic partnership.
Some jurisdictions impose a waiting period between when the license is issued and when the ceremony can take place. If you have a specific wedding date, apply early enough to account for processing time, any waiting period, and requests for additional documentation.
Federal Benefits You Gain by Marrying
One of the strongest reasons to convert a domestic partnership into a marriage is the federal benefits gap. The federal government does not treat domestic partners as spouses, and partners miss out on protections that married couples take for granted.
- Taxes. Domestic partners cannot file federal returns as married filing jointly or married filing separately. Each partner files as single or, if eligible, head of household, which often means a higher combined tax bill and the loss of deductions and credits available to married couples.3Internal Revenue Service. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for Registered Domestic Partners and Individuals in Civil Unions
- Social Security. Married spouses can claim spousal and survivor benefits. Domestic partners generally cannot, though some same-sex couples in non-marital legal relationships may qualify if they meet specific requirements.4Social Security Administration. Do I Qualify for Benefits as a Spouse
- Retirement pensions. Federal law requires employer-sponsored pension plans to offer surviving spouses a joint and survivor annuity and a pre-retirement survivor annuity. These protections do not extend to domestic partners.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 1055 – Requirement of Joint and Survivor Annuity and Preretirement Survivor Annuity
- COBRA health coverage. Federal COBRA rules require employers with 20 or more workers to offer temporary continuation of health coverage to employees, spouses, and dependent children after qualifying events. Domestic partners are not qualified beneficiaries.6U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers
- Federal employee benefits. Only legally married spouses are eligible family members under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Domestic partners cannot enroll regardless of enrollment type.7U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Will Domestic Partners/Non-Married Partners Be Eligible for Coverage Under a Self Plus One Enrollment
Family and medical leave, immigration sponsorship, and veterans’ dependency benefits are additional areas where only married spouses qualify. For couples who have spent years as domestic partners, the cumulative cost of these gaps can be significant, especially around retirement and end-of-life planning.
Check Whether Your Partnership Is Still Active
If you’re unsure whether your domestic partnership is still on the books, check with the agency where you originally registered. Assumptions about automatic expiration or conversion are where people get tripped up. Unless you received written confirmation that your partnership was terminated or converted to a marriage, treat it as still active and take the steps to formally resolve it before applying for a new marriage license.
City and county partnership registries add another wrinkle. A city-registered partnership may carry different rights than a state registration and may need to be terminated through that city’s clerk rather than the state system. If you registered in more than one place, close each registration separately.