Formalise a domestic partnership in Barcelona

Regardless of the age or gender of the members, when a couple wishes to formalise their relationship they can opt for marriage or other forms of legal institution such as a de facto couple (also known as a stable couple or common-law union). For the law, both marriages and de facto couples are considered families, although the requirements for the constitution of one or the other family model are different, with marriage being more complex and slower to constitute.

However, in Spain there is no state regulation for de facto couples, with the majority of the Autonomous Communities having enacted legal provisions today. Thus, the regulation to be taken into account is that of the Autonomous Community in which the de facto couple lives. It should therefore be known that there are certain differences in the regulation and treatment that de facto couples receive in the different Autonomous Communities.

This causes certain differences and particularities to exist in each territory that must be known. However, as a starting point it is common that one of the ways to constitute a de facto couple is before a Notary and such formalisation is valid throughout Spain.

In the case of Catalonia, the de facto partnership is regulated in the Second Book of the Catalan Civil Code, Title III, in Chapter IV called “stable cohabitation as a couple”. Furthermore, its regulation is completed with other decrees and orders that organise the situation.

The advantage of forming a de facto partnership in Catalonia is that this autonomous community does not require a minimum cohabitation period of the couple for its registration, and presumes that the couple exists if they have lived together continuously for two years or if they have a common child. The problem in this case is that for it to have effects against third parties, especially against the administration, it must be registered in the Register of stable couples of Catalonia.

If you want to establish a civil partnership before a Notary, you will need to make an appointment at the notary's office and both members of the couple must attend the notary's office to sign the deed of constitution of the civil partnership before the Notary. The signing of the deed of civil union must be done in person at the notary's office.

In addition to attending the signing of the civil partnership, the notary's office will ask you to prove the reality of your civil partnership with documents, such as the municipal register showing that the parties to the civil union are registered at the same address, or through witnesses.

Furthermore, depending on the cases and territories, there may be additional requirements, such as the register having a certain length of time or witnesses attending the signing who can attest to the reality of your partnership. It is also most likely that the notary's staff and the notary will ask security questions to guarantee the reality of your civil union.

Additionally, if the Notary and the parties constituting the union do not speak the same language, a translator must attend the signing of the civil partnership. The translator does not have to be official and is chosen by the members of the civil partnership.

If you have a formal relationship, you may wonder what rights you would obtain by being a domestic partner. Focusing on the rights that domestic partners have in Catalonia, it should be noted that the general idea is that domestic partners are treated almost the same as married couples. The rights of domestic partners in Catalonia are as follows:

• The same tax treatment as a married couple in most cases, with exemptions on transfers between spouses.
• Right to intestate succession of their domestic partner, after the children, and only in the absence of a will designating another heir.
• Reconciliation of work life with family life.
• Possible subrogation in the rental contract of the partner.
• Access to adoption of minors.
• Compensation for the death of the other partner caused by third parties.
• Paid leave in case of accident, illness or death of their partner.
• Possibility of receiving widow’s/widower’s pensions, where applicable.
• Other tax benefits in fiscal matters.
• Obtaining 15 calendar days off upon registering as a Domestic Partnership (due to decree-law 5/2023).
• Right to the household goods of the home.
• The need for authorisation from the other partner for the sale of the family home.

If you want to register a civil partnership and sign in person in Barcelona, you can go to a Notary and formalise a public deed.

Many people have doubts about where and how to register a civil partnership in Barcelona. Contact our Notary Office in Barcelona and we will resolve all your questions on the matter.

The notarial route is the fastest way to formalise a domestic partnership.

Make an appointment, and on the agreed day only you and your partner will need to attend. That said, you must first provide the documentation to become a domestic partnership and sign the deed in person. One of the most common questions from our clients is regarding “when are you considered a domestic partnership?”. The signing of the deed is considered the moment of its constitution.

After signing the domestic partnership deed, the notary will send a copy of your domestic partnership to the Registry of Stable Unions of Catalonia. This Registry, after registering your partnership, will send you a certificate by email confirming the registration of your partnership in the Civil Registry. Although the domestic partnership is constituted from the signing of the deed at the notary, this certificate confirming the registration in the Registry can be an important document, as it must be presented in most immigration processes as an attached document.

The Notary is responsible for drafting the public deed of the de facto union in which both parties acknowledge living together and agree to establish a stable union.

Furthermore, the notary's staff and the notary will explain the options available to regulate their finances (such as the choice of a common economic regime) and will advise them on matters related to succession or offspring.

Likewise, you should know that it is advisable to agree on the consequences of the end of cohabitation. If separation of the couple becomes necessary in the future, the Notary can also process the public deed of dissolution of the de facto couple.

Among the advantages offered by this de facto couple procedure before a notary are advice, legality, and the public trust granted by the notarial figure along with the speed of the notarial process.

Please note that you can only establish this de facto couple act by attending and signing in person at the notary office of your choice. If you are looking for a notary in Barcelona for a de facto union, do not hesitate to contact us.

The documents you must provide to the notary for the signing of the civil partnership deed are, at a minimum, the following:

• Valid identification document: DNI of the members of the couple, passport or residence card if foreign
• Certificate of registration (except if the couple has a child in common, in which case the Family Book or the children's birth certificate would suffice)

In Catalonia, the effects that would occur after the end of a couple's life together can be agreed upon in the public deed of a domestic partnership. It is recommended to process this alongside the domestic partnership deed, to establish the legal consequences of the breakup and to avoid conflicts in personal and property matters. Common matters in the breakup agreements include both minor children and the use of the home.

Among the agreements, the most common is to agree on a regime of separation of assets, which guarantees that each family member has separate assets and financial autonomy. It is also very common to waive compensations and pensions between members of a couple after the breakup of the stable partnership.

The cost of processing a civil partnership deed before a Notary is determined by the Notarial Fee Schedule (RD 1426/1989, of 17 November, which regulates the Notaries' Fee Schedule), the number of pages, the authorised and simple copies for the interested parties, as well as the management of an electronic copy for the Registry of stable partnerships.

Generally, it should be noted that the exact price of a notarial document cannot be calculated until its specific content is known, that is, until it is signed, as there are many circumstances that can cause it to vary. The number of copies requested of a document, the pages it contains, as well as possible changes or additions, can slightly alter the final price.

If you wish to receive a detailed, no-obligation quote, we invite you to contact us directly through the method that is most convenient for you. You can do so via the contact form on the main page of this website, through the contact section found in the footer of the website, using the direct WhatsApp access at the bottom right of this page, by sending an email to bcn@jlanotarios.com or by calling us on 93 159 17 62.

As a guideline, we can inform you that, according to the current regulatory framework, the usual price charged by a Notary for the formalisation of a civil partnership is between €150 and €270, including VAT.

This indicative price is calculated for a document of usual content (7 pages) and includes the issuance of a single authorised copy, a simple copy, and an electronic copy for the Registry of Stable Partnerships.