(a) You may apply for coverage as a qualified relative if you are a domestic partner, as described in §875.101 of this chapter. As prescribed by OPM, you will be required to provide documentation to demonstrate that you meet these requirements, and you must submit to full underwriting requirements. However, as explained in §875.210 of this chapter, if you lose your status as a domestic partner, and therefore a qualified relative, before your coverage goes into effect, you are no longer eligible for FLTCIP coverage.

(b) For purposes of this part, the term “domestic partner” is a person in a domestic partnership with an employee or annuitant of the same sex. The term “domestic partnership” is defined as a committed relationship between two adults, of the same sex, in which the partners—

(1) Are each other's sole domestic partner and intend to remain so indefinitely;

(2) Have a common residence, and intend to continue the arrangement indefinitely;

(3) Are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to a contract;

(4) Share responsibility for a significant measure of each other's financial obligations;

(5) Are not married to anyone else;

(6) Are not a domestic partner of anyone else;

(7) Are not related in a way that, if they were of opposite sex, would prohibit legal marriage in the State in which they reside; and

(8) Certify that they understand that willful falsification of the documentation described in paragraph (a) of this section may lead to disciplinary action and the recovery of the cost of benefits received related to such falsification and may constitute a criminal violation under 18 U.S.C. 1001.

[75 FR 30268, June 1, 2010, as amended at 80 FR 66786, Oct. 30, 2015]