Domestic Partnership Registry – Frequently Asked Questions

What is the definition of a Domestic Partner?
The term domestic partner is defined to mean two individuals who are residents of the City of Lawrence, who have reached 18 years of age, who have the mental capacity to contract, and who live together in a relationship of indefinite duration, with a mutual commitment in which the partners share the necessities of life and are financially interdependent. Domestic partners are not married to another person, do not have another domestic partner and are not related by blood more closely than would bar their marriage in the State of Kansas.

Do partners have to be residents of the City of Lawrence, Kansas?
Yes. The ordinance adopted by the City Commission includes a requirement that both individuals in the domestic partnership be residents of the City of Lawrence.

Is the term resident defined?
Yes. A resident is someone who has established, at least 60 days consecutive days prior to filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership, a present and fixed residence within the city limits of Lawrence, Kansas, where the person intends to remain for an indefinite period and to which the person intends to return following absence.

Is a domestic partnership registration confidential?
No. When an application for Domestic Partnership Registration is filed with the City Clerk’s Office, it becomes a public record pursuant to the Kansas Open Records Act.

How do we register as domestic partners?
The most convenient and easiest way to register is online here. If you do not have a credit card or PayPal account you can register in person at the City Clerk’s Office, 3rd Floor, City Hall between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and pay your registration fee by cash or check.

How will I know I am registered?
When you submit your registry information online you should receive a confirmation email within minutes. Within two weeks of your online or in person registry, you will receive a Certificate of Domestic Partnership Registry from the City Clerk’s Office and two wallet sized cards which will contain your registry number.

What is the cost of registering?
The registration fee is $75.

What is the effect of registering?
Registration creates no legal rights, other than the right to have the registered domestic partnership included in the City’s Domestic Partner Registry.

What if we wish to terminate our domestic partner registration?
One or both partners may jointly or separately terminate the registered domestic partnership by completing the Request for Removal from the Domestic Partnership Registry online here. If filed by only one partner, the partner who filed the request shall, within five days, send a copy of the filed Request to the other partner’s last known address. A domestic partnership registration will also terminate upon the death of one of the partners and upon notification to the City.