How to Fill Out Form NP/SF DP-2: Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership

To end a California registered domestic partnership without going to court, both partners sign and notarize Form NP/SF DP-2 (Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership) and mail it to the Secretary of State. There is no filing fee. The partnership does not end on the day you file: a six-month waiting period begins on the filing date, and if neither partner revokes during that window, the termination becomes effective automatically. This administrative route is only available to partnerships that meet every condition in California Family Code Section 299. Partnerships that fall outside those limits have to go through Superior Court, using the same dissolution process as a divorce.

Who Qualifies to Terminate Through the Secretary of State

Family Code Section 299 sets ten conditions, and all of them have to be true on the date you file. Miss one and the administrative path closes.¹

The partnership must be no more than five years old on the filing date, and both partners must want it to end. Neither of you can be pregnant, and you cannot have children together, whether born before or after registration or adopted afterward.

Financial limits keep this route to simpler estates:

Neither partner may own any interest in real estate anywhere. The only exception is a residential lease without a purchase option that expires within one year of filing.
Community property, measured at fair market value and including retirement accounts but excluding car loans and other encumbrances, must total less than roughly $57,000. Neither partner’s separate property can exceed that same amount.²
Community debt incurred after registration, excluding car debt, cannot exceed the Judicial Council’s current adjusted threshold. The statutory base is $4,000, adjusted biennially using the California Consumer Price Index.
Both partners must waive any right to future financial support from each other.¹

These dollar amounts are tied to Section 2400, which the Judicial Council recalculates on January 1 of each odd-numbered year. Confirm the current figures through the Judicial Council or the California Courts self-help site before you file.

What to Settle Before Filing

Two things have to be done before you fill in the form, and the form itself asks you to certify under penalty of perjury that both are complete.

You and your partner need a signed written agreement dividing your property and debts, and you need to have carried it out: title transfers, bills of sale, and any other paperwork that actually moves assets. The Secretary of State does not divide anything for you. You are telling the state that the division is already done.¹

Both partners also have to read the Secretary of State’s brochure on terminating a domestic partnership. It is bundled with Form NP/SF DP-2 as a single PDF on the Secretary of State’s domestic partnership forms page. Signing the form is a declaration that you have read and understood it.³

Have these ready as well:

Your Secretary of State file number from the original registration. The form asks for it but marks it “if known.”
Your date of registration, since the five-year limit runs from that date.
A mailing address for each partner, where the state will send the confirmation and any correspondence.³

Completing and Notarizing Form NP/SF DP-2

Download the form from the Secretary of State’s domestic partnership forms page at sos.ca.gov. The PDF is fillable; you can type into it before printing.⁴

The form is short. In the “Return To” block at the top, put the name and address of whoever should receive the filed copy back from the state. Enter the Secretary of State file number if you have it. The body is a declaration that you are terminating the partnership, that you have read the brochure, and that you meet every condition in Section 299(a). Both partners print and sign their names on the same physical form. A separate signed copy from one partner will be rejected.

Both signatures must be notarized. Bring the unsigned form to a notary public, show government-issued ID, and sign in front of the notary, who will stamp and sign a certificate of acknowledgment attached to the form.⁵

You do not have to use the same notary. The Secretary of State accepts separate certificates of acknowledgment, so one partner can be notarized in Los Angeles and the other in San Francisco on different days. California caps notary fees at $15 per signature.⁶

Check the notarization before mailing. The seal and signature on the acknowledgment have to be legible. Missing or incomplete notarization, a blank return address, and signatures on separate forms are the usual reasons filings are kicked back.

How and Where to Submit the Form

Mail the completed, notarized form to:

Secretary of State
P.O. Box 942870
Sacramento, CA 94277-2870⁷

There is no filing fee. Do not send a check or money order.⁸

You can drop the form off in person at the Sacramento or Los Angeles offices, but over-the-counter processing adds a $15 special handling fee. If you mail it, certified mail or another trackable service gives you proof of the date the state received it, which is the date your six-month clock starts.⁸

The Six-Month Waiting Period

Filing does not end the partnership. A mandatory six-month waiting period begins on the date the Secretary of State files the notice. During those six months you are still legally domestic partners, so community property rules and other legal obligations stay in effect.¹

If neither partner revokes, the partnership ends automatically when the six months expire. The Secretary of State then sends both partners a confirmation that the termination is effective.

Revoking Before It Takes Effect

Either partner can cancel the termination at any time during the six-month window, for any reason. File a Notice of Revocation of Termination of Domestic Partnership (Form NP/SF DP-3) with the Secretary of State and mail a copy to the other partner by first-class mail. There is no fee.⁴

After the Partnership Ends

The Secretary of State’s confirmation notice is your official proof that the partnership has been legally terminated. Keep it. You will need it to update your status with employers, insurers, financial institutions, and government agencies.

Filing Form NP/SF DP-2 does not change your name, update your tax filing status with the IRS or Franchise Tax Board, or notify any other agency for you. Each of those is a separate step.³

If you had health coverage under your partner’s employer plan, it typically ends when the partnership terminates. Federal COBRA continuation does not extend to domestic partners, because COBRA defines qualified beneficiaries as spouses and dependent children. Some employers voluntarily offer COBRA-like continuation for domestic partners, but they are not required to. Contact the plan administrator well before the six months are up so you can line up a marketplace plan, coverage through your own employer, or Medi-Cal.

If you and your partner can no longer agree on how to divide property or debts, or if something changes during the waiting period so that you no longer meet the Section 299 requirements, the administrative route closes and one of you will need to file for dissolution in Superior Court.³

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 299 – Termination
2
California Courts. Find Out if You Qualify for Summary Dissolution
3
California Secretary of State. Terminating a California Registered Domestic Partnership
4
California Secretary of State. Forms – Domestic Partners Registry
5
California Courts. Summary Dissolution to End a Domestic Partnership
6
California Secretary of State. 2026 California Notary Public Handbook
7
California Secretary of State. Contact Information – Domestic Partners Registry
8
California Secretary of State. Forms and Fees – Domestic Partners Registry