Domestic Partner Definition

A domestic partner is a same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partner who meets the following eligibility criteria:

  • You and your domestic partner are each other's sole partners and intend to remain so indefinitely. You are not legally married to anyone.
  • You and your partner are at least 18 years of age, not related by blood closer than would bar marriage in the State of Iowa, and mentally competent to consent to this partnership.
  • You and your partner reside together in the same residence.

Available Coverage for Student Domestic Partners:

Coverage for your domestic partner will begin the first of the month after you sign the affidavit. For example: If you and your partner signed the completed affidavit on Aug. 15, your partner's coverage would not be effective until September 1. 

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance

Children of either you or your domestic partner may be insured under any benefit programs providing they meet the guidelines established by the insurance carrier and the University.

What will change when you add a domestic partner to insurance:

  • Your family status for benefits will change.
  • If you are classified as a student only for benefits coverage, adding a domestic partner with or without a child(ren) will increase your costs.
  • There will be associated changes in premiums and university contributions when adding a domestic partner with or without dependents (only for employed grad students).
  • There may be changes in your tax liability (employed grad students)

If the relationship ends:

It is your responsibility to notify the University Benefits Office by filing an Affidavit for Termination of Domestic Partnership (pdf).

A new affidavit is required for a new domestic partner relationship.

How to begin the process

To cover a domestic partner, you must file an Affidavit for Domestic Partnership - Students, you only need to complete this affidavit once, and it will remain in effect until the relationship ends.

  1. Complete the affidavit and submit it to the University Benefits Student Insurance team at benefits-students@uiowa.edu or by US Postal/Campus mail to 120 University Services Bldg, Iowa City, IA 52242.
  2. Upon review and approval of your Affidavit for Domestic Partnership, our student insurance team will contact you by email with instructions on how to complete your enrollment.

Your request to add your domestic partner within MyUI must be within 30 days of the date you and your partner signed the affidavit as a qualifying event. If you miss the 30-day window, you will have to wait for one of the student open enrollment periods to complete your change.

COBRA Coverage:

There is no COBRA coverage if you are a student, and coverage is not supplied through your employment.

The University will apply the Federal COBRA regulations for the domestic partner if you are in an employment situation at the University of Iowa. This means that if your domestic partner's insurance is canceled as a result of the termination of your employment, ending of the domestic partner relationship, or a child of the partner no longer qualifying as a dependent, then the individual who loses the coverage will be eligible to continue the insurance voluntarily.