Adding or Removing a Domestic Partner

Entering into a Domestic Partnership

If you want to enroll a registered domestic partner to your health plans (meaning that you have registered with the state), you may submit a copy of your state registration.

If you want to enroll a non-registered domestic partner to your health plans, you must complete the Affidavit for Enrollment of Domestic Partners.

  • You will need to review the affidavit with your domestic partner to confirm that you qualify, based on the listed criteria. Domestic partners may be same-sex, opposite sex, or non-binary.
  • Children of your domestic partner may also be eligible for health coverage, if your domestic partner is also on the plan.
    •  If you are enrolling your domestic partner’s child(ren), you must provide a copy of their birth certificate in order to show their relationship to your domestic partner.

You have 60 days from the date of your signed affidavit or state registration to turn in a copy of your documentation and make changes to your benefit elections. Any change you make must be consistent with the qualifying life event change. Your new elections will be effective the 1st of the month after you have submitted your documentation.

If you miss your window to submit documentation, your next opportunity to make changes will be during Open Enrollment.

Terminating a Domestic Partnership

If your domestic partnership has terminated and you need to remove your ex-domestic partner from your health plans, you will need to complete the Statement of Termination of Domestic Partnership. 

Please note that the termination of domestic partnership is not a COBRA event, so your ex-domestic partner and their children will not be eligible to continue coverage under COBRA.

Making Changes

You may send an email request to DHRBenefits.FGG@sdcounty.ca.gov with your completed Affidavit or Statement of Termination of Domestic Partnership.

An Employee Benefits representative will then open a Life Event and send you an email with instructions to make your elections. Receipt of your documentation will begin the Life Event process, but you must then log in to actively make your new elections after receiving email notification from Employee Benefits.

After Tax Deductions

If you enroll a domestic partner in medical, dental or vision coverage, the premiums will be deducted from your paycheck on an after-tax basis in compliance with IRS rules and will result in taxable income for federal income tax purposes only. Per IRS guidelines, adding a domestic partner to your benefits will result in taxable income for federal income tax purposes only.

If you and your domestic partner are married in the future, you should provide a copy of your marriage certificate right away so that your domestic partner can be updated to spouse and your premiums can be updated to a before-tax basis.