How to Register as a Domestic Partner in Virginia

[Anonymous]

Hello,
An employee is asking me this. We want to give him health insurance benefits for his partner. The health insurer asks that they be in the "domestic partner registry". I've done some googling but I don't see "how to submit an application to get on the domestic partnership registry" or similar items.
Does my employee basically have to get married, i.e. engage in a civil union? Or can he, say, just go down to the courthouse and put in a form that he's got a domestic partner?

Please let me know if you can direct us. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Our company had us fill out their own form and make a notarized statement that we live as domestic partners in the same home, share property, etc. Virginia has no registry that I'm aware of.

[Anonymous]

Some cities and counties have them, some don't. http://www.hrc.org/resources/city-and-county-domestic-partner-registries

This is not my field of law, but I wonder if insurers will start requiring marriage in the future. The whole point of a domestic partnership was to provide an option for people not allowed to marry.

[Anonymous]

My employer revoked domestic partner benefits after the SCOTUS decision. Everyone has to get married.