N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-1 Short title.
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Domestic Partnership Act." L.2003,c.246,s.1.
N.J. Stat. tit. 26, ch. 8A
N.J. Stat. tit. 26, ch. 8A
in effectN.J. Stat. § 26:8A-2 Findings, declarations relative to domestic partners.
2. The Legislature finds and declares that: a. There are a significant number of individuals in this State who choose to live together in important personal, emotional and economic committed relationships with another individual; b. These familial relationships, which are known as domestic partnerships, assist the State by their establishment of a private network of support for the financial, physical and emotional health of their participants; c. Because of the material and other support that these familial relationships provide to their participants, the Legislature believes that these mutually supportive relationships should be formally recognized by statute, and that certain rights and benefits should be made available to individuals participating in them, including: statutory protection against various forms of discrimination against domestic partners; certain visitation and decision-making rights in a health care setting; and certain tax-related benefits; and, in some cases, health and pension benefits that are provided in the same manner as for spouses; d All persons in domestic partnerships should be entitled to certain rights and benefits that are accorded to married couples under the laws of New Jersey, including: statutory protection through the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.) against various forms of discrimination based on domestic partnership status, such as employment, housing and credit discrimination; visitation rights for a hospitalized domestic partner and the right to make medical or legal decisions for an incapacitated partner; and an additional exemption from the personal income tax and the transfer inheritance tax on the same basis as a spouse. The need for all persons who are in domestic partnerships, regardless of their sex, to have access to these rights and benefits is paramount in view of their essential relationship to any reasonable conception of basic human dignity and autonomy, and the extent to which they will play an integral role in enabling these persons to enjoy their familial relationships as domestic partners and to cope with adversity when a medical emergency arises that affects a domestic partnership, as was painfully but graphically illustrated on a large scale in the aftermath of the tragic events that befell the people of our State and region on September 11, 2001; e. The Legislature, however, discerns a clear and rational basis for making certain health and pension benefits available to dependent domestic partners only in the case of domestic partnerships in which both persons are of the same sex and are therefore unable to enter into a marriage with each other that is recognized by New Jersey law, unlike persons of the opposite sex who are in a domestic partnership but have the right to enter into a marriage that is recognized by State law and thereby have access to these health and pension benefits; and f. Therefore, it is the public policy of this State to hereby establish and define the rights and responsibilities of domestic partners. L.2003,c.246,s.2.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-3 Definitions relative to domestic partners.
3. As used in sections 1 through 9 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 through C.26:8A-9) and in R.S.26:8-1 et seq.: "Affidavit of Domestic Partnership" means an affidavit that sets forth each party's name and age, the parties' common mailing address, and a statement that, at the time the affidavit is signed, both parties meet the requirements of this act for entering into a domestic partnership and wish to enter into a domestic partnership with each other. "Basic living expenses" means the cost of basic food and shelter, and any other cost, including, but not limited to, the cost of health care, if some or all of the cost is paid as a benefit because a person is another person's domestic partner. "Certificate of Domestic Partnership" means a certificate that includes: the full names of the domestic partners, a statement that the two individuals are members of a registered domestic partnership recognized by the State of New Jersey, the date that the domestic partnership was entered into, and a statement that the partners are entitled to all the rights, privileges and responsibilities accorded to domestic partners under the law. The certificate shall bear the seal of the State of New Jersey. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Health. "Domestic partner" or "partner" means a person who is in a relationship that satisfies the definition of a domestic partnership as set forth in this act. "Have a common residence" means that two persons share the same place to live in this State, or share the same place to live in another jurisdiction when at least one of the persons is a member of a State-administered retirement system, regardless of whether or not: the legal right to possess the place is in both of their names; one or both persons have additional places to live; or one person temporarily leaves the shared place of residence to reside elsewhere, on either a short-term or long-term basis, for reasons that include, but are not limited to, medical care, incarceration, education, a sabbatical, or employment, but intends to return to the shared place of residence. "Jointly responsible" means that each domestic partner agrees to provide for the other partner's basic living expenses if the other partner is unable to provide for himself. "Notice of Rights and Obligations of Domestic Partners" means a form that advises domestic partners, or persons seeking to become domestic partners, of the procedural requirements for establishing, maintaining, and terminating a domestic partnership, and includes information about the rights and responsibilities of the partners. L.2003, c.246, s.3; amended 2012, c.17, s.354.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-4 Affidavit of Domestic Partnership; establishment, requirements.
4. a. Two persons who desire to become domestic partners and meet the requirements of subsection b. of this section may execute and file an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership with the local registrar upon payment of a fee, in an amount to be determined by the commissioner, which shall be deposited in the General Fund. Each person shall receive a copy of the affidavit marked "filed." b. A domestic partnership shall be established when all of the following requirements are met: (1) Both persons have a common residence and are otherwise jointly responsible for each other's common welfare as evidenced by joint financial arrangements or joint ownership of real or personal property, which shall be demonstrated by at least one of the following: (a) a joint deed, mortgage agreement or lease; (b) a joint bank account; (c) designation of one of the persons as a primary beneficiary in the other person's will; (d) designation of one of the persons as a primary beneficiary in the other person's life insurance policy or retirement plan; or (e) joint ownership of a motor vehicle; (2) Both persons agree to be jointly responsible for each other's basic living expenses during the domestic partnership; (3) Neither person is in a marriage recognized by New Jersey law or a member of another domestic partnership; (4) Neither person is related to the other by blood or affinity up to and including the fourth degree of consanguinity; (5) Both persons are of the same sex and therefore unable to enter into a marriage with each other that is recognized by New Jersey law, except that two persons who are each 62 years of age or older and not of the same sex may establish a domestic partnership if they meet the requirements set forth in this section; (6) Both persons have chosen to share each other's lives in a committed relationship of mutual caring; (7) Both persons are at least 18 years of age; (8) Both persons file jointly an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership; and (9) Neither person has been a partner in a domestic partnership that was terminated less than 180 days prior to the filing of the current Affidavit of Domestic Partnership, except that this prohibition shall not apply if one of the partners died; and, in all cases in which a person registered a prior domestic partnership, the domestic partnership shall have been terminated in accordance with the provisions of section 10 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-10). c. A person who executes an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership in violation of the provisions of subsection b. of this section shall be liable to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000. The penalty shall be sued for and collected pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). L.2003,c.246,s.4.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-4.1 Limitation on domestic partnerships on or after February 19, 2007; effect of law establishing civil unions.
91. On or after the effective date of this act, no domestic partnerships shall be registered under P.L.2003, c. 246 (C.26:8A-1 et al.), except that two persons who are each 62 years of age or older may establish a domestic partnership pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 et al.). This act shall not alter the rights and responsibilities of domestic partnerships existing before the effective date of this act, except that eligible domestic partners shall be given notice and opportunity to enter into a civil union pursuant to the provisions of this act. Entry into a civil union, when joined by both parties to an existing domestic partnership, shall operate to terminate the domestic partnership. L.2006, c.103, s.91.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-5 Notice of termination of domestic partnerships to third parties; requirements.
5. a. A former domestic partner who has given a copy of the Certificate of Domestic Partnership to any third party to qualify for any benefit or right and whose receipt of that benefit or enjoyment of that right has not otherwise terminated, shall, upon termination of the domestic partnership, give or send to the third party, at the last known address of the third party, written notification that the domestic partnership has been terminated. A third party that suffers a loss as a result of failure by a domestic partner to provide this notice shall be entitled to seek recovery from the partner who was obligated to send the notice for any actual loss resulting thereby. b. Failure to provide notice to a third party, as required pursuant to this section, shall not delay or prevent the termination of the domestic partnership. L.2003,c.246,s.5.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-6 Obligations of domestic partners.
6. a. The obligations that two people have to each other as a result of creating a domestic partnership shall be limited to the provisions of this act, and those provisions shall not diminish any right granted under any other provision of law. b. Upon the termination of a domestic partnership, the domestic partners, from that time forward, shall incur none of the obligations to each other as domestic partners that are created by this or any other act. c. A domestic partnership, civil union or reciprocal beneficiary relationship entered into outside of this State, which is valid under the laws of the jurisdiction under which the partnership was created, shall be valid in this State. d. Any health care or social services provider, employer, operator of a place of public accommodation, property owner or administrator, or other individual or entity may treat a person as a member of a domestic partnership, notwithstanding the absence of an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership filed pursuant to this act. e. Domestic partners may modify the rights and obligations to each other that are granted by this act in any valid contract between themselves, except for the requirements for a domestic partnership as set forth in section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4). f. Two adults who have not filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership shall be treated as domestic partners in an emergency medical situation for the purposes of allowing one adult to accompany the other adult who is ill or injured while the latter is being transported to a hospital, or to visit the other adult who is a hospital patient, on the same basis as a member of the latter's immediate family, if both persons, or one of the persons in the event that the other person is legally or medically incapacitated, advise the emergency care provider that the two persons have met the other requirements for establishing a domestic partnership as set forth in section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4); however, the provisions of this section shall not be construed to permit the two adults to be treated as domestic partners for any other purpose as provided in P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-1 et al.) prior to their having filed an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership. g. A domestic partner shall not be liable for the debts of the other partner contracted before establishment of the domestic partnership, or contracted by the other partner in his own name during the domestic partnership. The partner who contracts for the debt in his own name shall be liable to be sued separately in his own name, and any property belonging to that partner shall be liable to satisfy that debt in the same manner as if the partner had not entered into a domestic partnership. L.2003,c.246,s.6.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-7 Preparation of forms and notices.
7. a. The commissioner shall cause to be prepared, in such a manner as the commissioner determines appropriate: (1) blank forms, in quadruplicate, of Affidavits of Domestic Partnership and Certificates of Domestic Partnership corresponding to the requirements of this act; and (2) copies of the Notice of the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Partners. b. The commissioner shall ensure that these forms and notices, along with such sections of the laws concerning domestic partnership and explanations thereof as the commissioner may deem useful to persons having duties to recognize domestic partners under those laws, are printed and supplied to each local registrar, and made available to the public upon request. L.2003,c.246,s.7.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-8 Duties of local registrar.
8. a. The local registrar shall: (1) stamp each completed Affidavit of Domestic Partnership received with the date of its receipt and the name of the registration district in which it is filed; and (2) immediately provide two copies of the stamped Affidavit of Domestic Partnership to the person who files that document. b. Upon the filing of an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership and payment of the appropriate filing fee, the local registrar shall immediately complete a Certificate of Domestic Partnership with the domestic partners' relevant information and the date that the domestic partnership was established. The local registrar shall then issue to the domestic partners two copies of the certificate and two copies of the Notice of the Rights and Obligations of Domestic Partners. Copies of the Certificate of Domestic Partnership shall be prepared and recorded in the local registrar's records and with the State registrar. c. Each local registrar shall, on or before the 10th day of each calendar month, or sooner if requested by the Department of Health and Senior Services, transmit to the State registrar the original of all the Affidavits of Domestic Partnership and Certificates of Domestic Partnership received or prepared by the local registrar for the preceding month. L.2003,c.246,s.8.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-9 Duties of State registrar.
9. The State registrar shall cause all Affidavits of Domestic Partnership and Certificates of Domestic Partnership received to be alphabetically indexed by the surname of one of the partners, and shall establish a cross-referencing system to allow the records to be identified by the surname of the second partner. The State registrar shall also cause to be transcribed or otherwise recorded from the certificates any of the vital facts appearing thereon as the commissioner may deem necessary or useful. L.2003,c.246,s.9.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-10 Jurisdiction of Superior Court relative to termination of domestic partnerships.
10. a. (1) The Superior Court shall have jurisdiction over all proceedings relating to the termination of a domestic partnership established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4), including the division and distribution of jointly held property. The fees for filing an action or proceeding for the termination of a domestic partnership shall be the same as those for filing an action or proceeding for divorce pursuant to N.J.S.22A:2-12. (2) The termination of a domestic partnership may be adjudged for the following causes: (a) voluntary sexual intercourse between a person who is in a domestic partnership and an individual other than the person's domestic partner as defined in section 3 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-3); (b) willful and continued desertion for a period of 12 or more consecutive months, which may be established by satisfactory proof that the parties have ceased to cohabit as domestic partners; (c) extreme cruelty, which is defined as including any physical or mental cruelty that endangers the safety or health of the plaintiff or makes it improper or unreasonable to expect the plaintiff to continue to cohabit with the defendant; except that no complaint for termination shall be filed until after three months from the date of the last act of cruelty complained of in the complaint, but this provision shall not be held to apply to any counterclaim; (d) separation, provided that the domestic partners have lived separate and apart in different habitations for a period of at least 18 or more consecutive months and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; and provided further that, after the 18-month period, there shall be a presumption that there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; (e) voluntarily induced addiction or habituation to any narcotic drug, as defined in the "New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances Act," P.L.1970, c. 226 (C.24:21-2) or the "Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987," N.J.S.2C:35-1 et al., or habitual drunkenness for a period of 12 or more consecutive months subsequent to establishment of the domestic partnership and next preceding the filing of the complaint; (f) institutionalization for mental illness for a period of 24 or more consecutive months subsequent to establishment of the domestic partnership and next preceding the filing of the complaint; or (g) imprisonment of the defendant for 18 or more consecutive months after establishment of the domestic partnership, provided that where the action is not commenced until after the defendant's release, the parties have not resumed cohabitation following the imprisonment. (3) In all such proceedings, the court shall in no event be required to effect an equitable distribution of property, either real or personal, which was legally and beneficially acquired by both domestic partners or either domestic partner during the domestic partnership. (4) The court shall notify the State registrar of the termination of a domestic partnership pursuant to this subsection. b. In the case of two persons who are each 62 years of age or older and not of the same sex and have established a domestic partnership pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4), the domestic partnership shall be deemed terminated if the two persons enter into a marriage with each other that is recognized by New Jersey law. c. The State registrar shall revise the records of domestic partnership provided for in section 9 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-9) to reflect the termination of a domestic partnership pursuant to this section. L.2003,c.246,s.10.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-11 Applicability of act.
58. a. The provisions of sections 41 through 56, inclusive, of P.L.2003, c. 246 shall only apply in the case of two persons who are of the same sex and have established a domestic partnership pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2003, c.246 (C.26:8A-4). b. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not be deemed to be an unlawful discrimination under the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.). L.2003,c.246,s.58.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-12 Rules, regulations; responsible agencies.
59. a. The Commissioner of Health, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of sections 1 through 10 and 13 through 35 of this act. b. The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of sections 47 through 52, 55 and 56 of this act. c. The New Jersey Individual Health Coverage Program Board, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of section 53 of this act. d. The New Jersey Small Employer Health Benefits Program Board, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of section 54 of this act. L.2003, c.246, s.59; amended 2012, c.17, s.355.
N.J. Stat. § 26:8A-13 Dependent health benefits for domestic partners continued after retirement from certain local public employment.
3. In cases where entities choose to provide dependent health benefits coverage to employees' domestic partners pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1979, c.391 (C.18A:16-12) or N.J.S.40A:10-16, such coverage shall continue during the employees' retirement under the provisions of sections 7 and 8 of P.L.1979, c.391 (C.18A:16-18 and C.18A:16-19), N.J.S. 40A:10-22 and N.J.S. 40A:10-23. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit an entity's right to extend benefits to, or withdraw benefits from, an employee or dependents of an employee. L.2005,c.334,s.3.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-activity/statutesFetched: 10/17/2026