Civil Unions

On June 3, 2009, the State legislature enacted House Bill Number 436, which eliminates the exclusion of same gender couples from marriage, affirms religious freedom protections of clergy with regard to the solemnization of marriage, and provides a mechanism by which same gender couples who have entered into a civil union prior to the enactment of this bill may obtain the legal status of marriage.  Please click the following link to read the full text of this House Bill, which took effect on January 1, 2010: HB436-FN.

what needs to happen for a civil union to be afforded the legal status of marriage?

This action can happen one of two ways:

1.  The couple may go together to the City or Town Clerk's Office that issued the civil union license and complete an application to have the civil union converted to a marriage.  There is no fee to apply for the conversion.  The couple may choose any date in 2010 as their date of marriage, and the form will be forwarded to the State of New Hampshire for processing.  The State will automatically issue and mail a complimentary marriage certificate to the address provided by the couple.

2.  The couple can choose to take no action, and all civil unions issued will automatically covert to marriages on January 1, 2011.  Couples wishing to receive a copy of their marriage certificate will need to come into their local Clerk's Office and a $15.00 fee will be charged for the record.