What Is A Civil Union In Colorado?

A civil union gives two people the rights and duties of spouses under Colorado law. Federal law treats it differently, and that gap is the whole story.

A civil union is a legally recognized relationship between two eligible people, available regardless of sex, that Colorado has offered since 2013. Under the Civil Union Act, parties receive the benefits and protections of spouses and are subject to the same responsibilities.¹ That equivalence is state law only.

Federal law is where the difference lives, and that is the part most people get wrong. The usual explanation is years out of date, and it is also too absolute, because federal agencies do not all draw the line in the same place.

How You Enter a Civil Union

You apply for a civil union license with any county clerk and recorder in Colorado. You do not need to be a Colorado resident to apply, and the license can be used anywhere in the state.² It is valid for thirty-five days from issuance and only within Colorado.

If the thirty-five days pass without use, the license is void and must be returned to the issuing clerk for cancellation. Returning an unused license is required.

Certification is more flexible than most people expect. A judge, a member of the clergy, a religious official, or a tribal official can certify, and the parties may also certify their own civil union.³ Self-certification is a real option in Colorado and does not require anyone else to officiate.

The completed certificate then goes back to the clerk and recorder within sixty-three days of certification. A certificate returned after sixty-three days can draw a late fee of up to $50, so this is a deadline worth putting in a calendar.

What a Civil Union Gives You Under Colorado Law

The short version is that Colorado treats you as spouses. The longer version is worth reading, because the list is broad.

You can file state taxes jointly. You have spousal privilege, meaning neither partner can generally be compelled to testify against the other, subject to the usual exceptions. You can inherit from each other as a spouse.

You can enter into agreements before or during the union, adopt or foster jointly, and hold joint parental rights. You count as an immediate family member in legally binding documents, and state probate law treats you as a spouse for wills, trusts, and intestate succession.

If the union ends, the same remedies are available as in a divorce, including spousal maintenance and a Colorado property division of assets and debts.

Where Federal Law Draws the Line

Here is the correction most pages on this subject still need. The Defense of Marriage Act is gone, repealed by the Respect for Marriage Act on December 13, 2022.⁴ The Supreme Court had already struck down one section and made the other unenforceable, so it is not the reason for anything anymore.

The actual reason is simpler. Federal law now defines marriage as a legal union between two individuals that was valid where it was performed, and a civil union is not a marriage.

So most federal benefits that turn on being married or being a spouse do not reach civil union partners. Federal income tax filing status and spousal immigration sponsorship are the clearest examples.

Social Security is a notable exception, and it is the one most pages get wrong. It treats a civil union as a non-marital legal relationship, and recognizes one as a marital relationship where the state conveys spousal inheritance rights.⁵ Colorado civil unions do convey those rights.

So a Colorado civil union partner can qualify for Social Security spousal and survivor benefits. For duration requirements, the date you entered the civil union is treated as the marriage date.

Read that carefully, because it is narrower than the usual claim. It is not that civil union partners receive no federal benefits. It is that most of the ones keyed to marriage do not apply, and each agency draws its own line.

This is why many couples who entered civil unions before 2015 later married. A marriage carries both the state rights and the federal ones.

In a civil union and wondering where you stand?

The state and federal answers differ, and so does the answer if you move. Schedule a free consultation with Johnson Law Group and we will walk through what applies to your situation.

Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships

These are not the same thing, and the difference is one of source rather than degree. A civil union is a status created by Colorado statute, with a defined set of rights attached to it.

Domestic partnership is not a statewide Colorado status. Where it exists it tends to come from a municipal registry or an employer policy, and what it provides depends entirely on who created it.

If you are weighing a domestic partnership instead, how Colorado treats domestic partnerships explains what a city registry or employer policy can and cannot provide.

Converting a Civil Union Into a Marriage

Couples in a civil union often decide to marry each other later, and the process is straightforward. You do not need to dissolve the civil union first when you are marrying the same person, and the statute sets out what the marriage does to the civil union.⁶

You apply for a marriage license with a county clerk and recorder. That license is also valid for thirty-five days, and the completed certificate must be returned to the clerk within sixty-three days.⁷ The same people who can certify a civil union can solemnize a marriage, including the parties themselves.

Marrying changes the federal picture entirely, which is the practical reason most couples do it. A Colorado divorce and a civil union dissolution run on the same rules, so the conversion does not change how an ending would work.

Ending a Civil Union

Dissolution of a civil union follows the dissolution of marriage process, with the same filings, the same standards, and the same remedies.⁸ Parenting time, decision-making, child support, maintenance, and division of assets and debts all work the way they do in a divorce.

One partner must have been domiciled in Colorado for at least ninety-one days before the case is filed. Note that this is ninety-one days, not ninety, and it is domicile rather than simply being present.

There is an exception that matters. If neither of you lives in Colorado but your civil union was entered here, the domicile requirement does not apply.

Moving away creates a real problem. A couple who enters a civil union in one state and then moves can find that the new state has no procedure for ending it.

Colorado anticipated this. Entering a civil union here is consent to Colorado court jurisdiction for a later dissolution, even if one or both of you have since left the state. That matters where the new state has no procedure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a civil union the same as a marriage in Colorado?

Under Colorado law the rights and responsibilities are those of spouses. Under federal law it is not a marriage, so most federal benefits keyed to marriage do not apply. Social Security is an exception, because it can recognize a Colorado civil union as a marital relationship.

Can we certify our own civil union?

Yes. Colorado allows the parties to certify their own civil union, alongside the option of a judge, clergy member, religious official, or tribal official. The completed certificate still has to be returned to the county clerk and recorder.

How long is a Colorado civil union license good for?

Thirty-five days from issuance, and only for use within Colorado. If you do not use it, return it to the issuing clerk for cancellation. After certification, the certificate goes back to the clerk within sixty-three days.

Why does the federal government not recognize our civil union?

Not because of the Defense of Marriage Act, which was repealed in December 2022. Federal law defines marriage as a legal union between two individuals valid where it was performed, and a civil union is not a marriage. Agencies differ, though, and Social Security can treat a Colorado civil union as a marital relationship.

Do we have to dissolve our civil union before we marry each other?

No. If you are marrying the same person, you do not need to dissolve the civil union first. You apply for a marriage license in the ordinary way, and that license carries the same thirty-five day and sixty-three day deadlines.

Talk With a Colorado Family Law Attorney

Civil unions raise questions that marriage does not, particularly around federal benefits and what happens if you leave the state. Those questions are easier to answer before they become urgent.

Johnson Law Group works with couples across the state, and you can learn more about our approach on our Colorado family law page. You can find our offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Englewood, and Fort Collins. You can also read about the background and experience of the attorneys on our team.

Schedule a free consultation and we will help you work out where you stand.

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