Domestic Partnerships

Yes, either party can take the middle or surnames of the other or a hyphenated combination of them. This is a legal name change.

Yes, when parties are first cousins by adoption only, the domestic partnership is not prohibited or void.

The form must be completed, signed and notarized before registering and paying the fee with Clatsop County Clerk's Office.  County administrative policy does not allow county employees to notarize documents for the public, so notarizing the form must be done elsewhere.

No. Only one individual has to be an Oregon resident. State of residence is indicated on the form.

No, you can register the form at any Oregon County Clerk's office.

Certified copies of the Declaration of Domestic Partnership can also be ordered from the Center for Health Statistics, also known as Oregon Vital Records. Only family members, their legal representatives, or persons or organizations with a personal or property right can order certified copies. Certified copies of the Declaration can only be issued after the original completed forms are filed with the Center for Health Statistics. Original forms completed during the preceding month are sent to the Center for Health Statistics on or before the 10th day of each calendar month. Once at the Center for Health Statistics, the records must be registered and entered into the vital records system. Therefore, it may take up to six weeks from the date of registration of the Declaration at the County for the Center for Health Statistics to have the record available for issuance of certified copies.

The cost is $20 for a first copy and $15 for each additional copy ordered at the same time.

Certified copies can be ordered via mail, internet, phone, in person or fax.

In person:
Oregon Vital Records
800 NE Oregon St., Suite 205
Portland, OR 97232-2162

Mail orders to:
Oregon Vital Records
PO Box 14050
Portland, OR 97293-0050

Phone orders: (971) 673-1190
Fax orders: (971) 673-1203
Internet orders: www.vitalcheck.com

Forms are available at our office at 820 Exchange Street, 2nd Floor, in Astoria.

Forms are also available to the public on the Department of Human Services, Center for Health Statistics web site at: https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/birthdeathcertificates/registervitalrecor…;

Instructions for completing the forms are also available on the web site.

(NOTE: Forms printed from the web must be printed on legal sized paper - 8.5 inches by 14 inches. A gray stripe down the left hand side of the form is required to show that it is the standard approved form.)

You can also order the form via mail or e-mail from the Center for Health Statistics.

Vital Records - Center for Health Statistics
PO Box 14050
Portland, OR 97293-0050
Email: chs.vitalrecords [at] dhsoha.state.or.us

General Info: 971-673-1180
Orders Hotline: 888-896-4988

Please specify that you are ordering a Declaration of Domestic Partnership form. Include your mailing address and daytime phone number in any correspondence.

Domestic Partnership means the civil contract entered into in person between two individuals who are at least 18 years of age, who are otherwise capable and at least one of whom is a resident of Oregon.

This is a legal form and it must be completed in black or dark blue ink and should not be altered. Forms can be hand or type written. All sections of the form need to be completed. The forms must be signed by both individuals entering into the domestic partnership. Signatures must be acknowledged by a notary public.  Please be aware, Clatsop County administrative policy does not allow county employees to notarize documents for the public.

DMV and Social Security require a certified copy of your domestic partnership to make a name change. You may purchase a certified copy of your domestic partnership from the Clatsop County Clerk's office for $7.75, plus $5.00 postage and handling for mail service. Additional copies are $4 if ordered at the same time. When requesting a certified copy of your domestic partnership, please include the date of the service, names of both partners, and address where the license should be mailed. Please make the request two weeks after the date of the service to make sure it has been recorded.

The law requires that each individual must be at least 18 years of age.

Declaration of Domestic Partnerships filed with the Center for Health Statistics are vital records.  Access to the record is restricted for 50 years after the event to family members and their legal representatives, persons or organizations with a personal or property right.

Yes, the fee for registering with Clatsop County is $50.

Completed, signed, and notarized forms must be signed and registered by a County Clerk to be valid.  Clatsop County Clerk's office, located at 820 Exchange St., Ste. 220, Astoria, hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Every County Clerk registering Declaration of Domestic Partnership must send the original forms completed during the preceding month to the Center for Health Statistics on or before the 10th day of each calendar month.

House Bill 2032, passed during Oregon’s 2023 legislative session, removes restrictions on the sex of partners entering into Oregon Registered Domestic Partnerships. Starting Jan. 1, Oregon Registered Domestic Partnerships will be available to all adult couples (age 18+) regardless of sex. By state law, Oregon Registered Domestic Partnerships are granted all the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as marriage

House Bill 2007, also known as the Oregon Family Fairness Act, was passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2007.  This bill established the Declaration of Domestic Partnership.  

The Declaration of Domestic Partnership is a legal form.  The forms must be signed by both individuals entering into the domestic partnership.  Signatures must be acknowledged by a Notary Public. Completed, signed, and notarized forms must be signed by a County Clerk to be valid.  The County Clerk then registers the form in a Domestic Partnership Registry. A copy of the completed form along with a "Certificate of Registered Domestic Partnership" can be given to the partners in person or by mail.

Partnership is prohibited and void:

• When either party already has a living declared domestic partner, wife or husband,
• When the parties in the domestic partnership are first cousins or any nearer of kin to each other, whether of the whole or half blood, computing by the rules of the civil law,
• When either party is incapable of making the civil contract or consenting to the contract for want of legal age or sufficient understanding, or
• When the consent of either party is obtained by force or fraud, the domestic partnership is void from the time it is so declared by a judgment of a court having jurisdiction of the domestic partnership.

Either individual may retain the individual's prior surname, and either individual may resume the individual's prior legal name during the domestic partnership.

The County Clerk will provide you a copy of the form for $0.25 after it is registered.  If you require a certified copy, the cost is $7.75 plus $4 mailing fee.  You will also receive a Certificate of Registered Domestic Partnership.  These documents can be given to you in person or mailed to you for a mailing fee of $5.00.