Registering a Domestic Partnership in Somerville

What You Need to Know Before You Get Started

To enter into a domestic partnership in Somerville, you and your partner(s) must proclaim under the pains and penalties of perjury that:

• You are 18 years of age or older and mentally competent to contract;
• You are in a relationship of mutual support, caring and commitment and intend to remain in such a relationship; 
• You consider yourselves to be a family;
• You haven’t been in a domestic partnership that was terminated in the last 90 days unless the termination resulted from the death of a domestic partner; and
• You aren’t closely related. (That means you can’t enter into a domestic partnership with any parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, parent’s spouse, grandparent’s spouse, child’s spouse, grandchild’s spouse, partner’s parent, partner’s grandparent, partner’s child, partner’s grandchild, sibling, sibling’s child, or parent’s sibling.)

Register Your Domestic Partnership

1. Download the Domestic Partnership Registration Form from the City’s website and fill it out with a black pen as clearly as you can. Print the name and birthdate of each partner, the address of the common household, and contact information for the City Clerk’s use. DO NOT sign the form until you are in the presence of a Notary Public.
2. You can register your Domestic Partnership Monday-Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 7 p.m., and Friday 8:30 a.m. - 12 noon. All the partners need to appear together in person either at the office of the city clerk, or each before a notary public licensed in Massachusetts or in the jurisdiction in which that domestic partner resides. Make sure you each bring a valid government-issued photo ID with you.
3. Place the form in an envelope with a $50 check or money order payable to the City of Somerville. Add $15 for each Domestic Partnership Certificate that you wish to receive.
4. Return the envelope with the form and payment via mail to:
   Somerville City Clerk, 93 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA, 02143
5. We’ll register your Domestic Partnership on the date we receive it. If you ordered one or more Domestic Partnership Certificates, we will mail them to your household.

If you registered your domestic partnership in Somerville, you can get a certified copy from the City Clerk’s Office. There are 2 ways to do this:

• Online: Use our online portal.
• By Mail: Mail us this form. Don’t forget to include a check or money order (not cash) for the $15 fee. Make checks payable to “City of Somerville.”

Domestic partnerships can be terminated in two ways:

1. The death of a domestic partner immediately terminates the domestic partnership for all partners. The remaining domestic partner(s) must notify the City Clerk of the death.
2. The filing of a Domestic Partnership Termination Statement by any domestic partner terminates the domestic partnership for all partners immediately upon the receipt of the Termination Statement by the City Clerk.

A domestic partner whose partnership is terminated must wait 90 days before registering a new domestic partnership.