Massachusetts laws
MGL c. 207 Marriage
The same laws and procedures that govern traditional marriage also apply to same-sex marriages. There are no special procedures for a same-sex marriage.
Information for residents of other states marrying in Massachusetts
St. 2008, c. 216 repealed the so-called "1913 laws" (MGL c. 207, §§ 11, 12, 13, and 50), which prohibited most same-sex couples from other states from marrying in Massachusetts.
Residents of other states may now follow the same procedures as Massachusetts residents for marrying. See Law About Marriage for more information and forms.
Federal laws
U.S. Constitution Annotated, Legal Information Institute.
The law related to same-sex marriage is rooted in both our state and federal constitutions. We link to the Cornell’s Legal Information Institute’s U.S. Constitution Annotated to give you broad access to the U.S. Constitution. In 2013, United States v. Windsor held that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition of same sex marriages, was a violation of the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court based its decision on the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
1 USC § 7 Marriage
Prior to the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act (below), marriage was defined as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refer[red] only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” The Respect for Marriage Act changed the statute.
28 USC § 1738C Certain acts, records, proceedings and the effect thereof
Prior to the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act (below), this statute purported to give states the right to refuse recognition to same-sex marriages that had been celebrated in other states. The Respect for Marriage Act changed the statute.
Respect For Marriage Act, P.L. 117-228 (2022)
Signed into law by President Biden on December 13, 2022, this act "provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages." Defines marriage as "between two individuals". Directs states to recognize same-sex marriages that are "valid in the State where the marriage was entered into."
Selected Massachusetts & federal cases
Cases legalizing same-sex marriage
2003: Massachusetts' "gay marriage" decision
Goodridge v. Mass. Department of Public Health, 440 Mass. 309 (2003)
"Barred access to the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage, a person who enters into an intimate, exclusive union with another of the same sex is arbitrarily deprived of membership in one of our community's most rewarding and cherished institutions. That exclusion is incompatible with the constitutional principles of respect for individual autonomy and equality under law."
2013
United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013)
The court struck down the definition of “spouse” in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as codified in 1 USC § 7 – “a person of the opposite sex who is husband or wife” – as an unconstitutional denial of equal protection of the laws.
2015
Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015)
Same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. "[T]he right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty. The Court now holds that same-sex couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry."
Addtional cases
Adoption of a Minor, 471 Mass. 373 (2015)
“[L]awful parentage, and its associated rights and responsibilities, is conferred by statute on the consenting spouse of a married couple whose child is conceived by one woman of the marriage, through the use of assisted reproductive technology consented to by both women. See G.L. c. 46 § 4B.”
Della Corte v. Ramirez, 81 Mass. App. Ct. 906 (2012)
A child born of a same-sex marriage is the legitimate child of both people. "As a result, it follows that when there is a marriage between same-sex couples, the need for that second-parent adoption to, at the very least, confer legal parentage on the nonbiological parent is eliminated when the child is born of the marriage."
Elia-Warnken v. Elia, 463 Mass. 29 (2012)
"A Vermont civil union is the functional equivalent of a marriage." Therefore, " a Vermont civil union must be dissolved prior to either party entering into marriage with a third person in the Commonwealth."
Hunter v. Rose, 463 Mass. 488 (2012)
The court found that a registered same-sex domestic partnership entered into in California was the equivalent of marriage in the Commonwealth.
Web sources
Adoption questions and answers, GLAD, June 2014.
Information for LGBT individuals and couples on "bringing unrelated children into the family or ... securing the legal relationship of a second parent to the child of his or her partner or spouse.
After DOMA: Guide for same sex couples, GLAD, June 2013.
This fact sheet series “details many of the ways federal agencies accord legal respect to married same-sex couples.”
Clarification of the definition of son or daughter: Administrator's Interpretation No. 2010-3, U.S. Department of Labor, June 2010.
Expands and clarifies definitions as they apply to an employee standing “in loco parentis” to a child.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: What LGBTQ+ families need to know, GLAD, updated June 2022.
Federal benefits for same-sex partners, Office of Personnel Management, 2013.
OPM provides benefits to legally married same-sex spouses of federal employees and annuitants.
How to get married in Massachusetts, GLAD, July 2015.
"Sets forth the details for the process for marrying in Massachusetts – who can marry, how you get a license, what you need to bring with you, the waiting period, and who can perform the ceremony." Great resource for couples from any state.
Memo to clerks regarding impediments to marriage, Mass. Registry of Vital Statistics, 2012.
Guidance for clerks with prohibition for issuing new marriage licenses when one of the parties is in a civil union that has not been dissolved. This memo was issued subsequent to Elia-Warnken v. Elia, 463 Mass. 29 (2012), which ruled that "[A] Vermont civil union must be dissolved prior to either party entering into marriage with a third person in the Commonwealth."
Social Security
The Social Security Administration now recognizes same-sex marriages for purposes of determining benefits. Includes lots of helpful information about social security benefits for same-sex couples.
Your rights in Massachusetts, GLAD.
The section on family law covers marriage of same-sex couples, adoption, custody and visitation, domestic violence, and other legal protections for same-sex couples.
Print sources
DOMA repeal and what it means to your clients, MCLE, 2013.
Estate planning for same sex couples: The changing landscape, MCLE, 2014.
Estate planning: With forms, 3rd ed., (Mass. Practice v. 24), Thomson/West, 2007 with supplement.
Chapter 26: Same sex marriage.
A legal guide for lesbian and gay couples by Frederick Hertz, 20th ed., Nolo, 2020. (eBook available with library card)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender family law, Thomson Reuters, annual.
Chapter 8: Marriage and other relationship protections. Provides a history of cases litigated seeking marriage for same sex couples.
LexisNexis practice guide: Massachusetts family law, LexisNexis, annual. (2025 eBook available with library card)
Chapter 1, Part IV: Discussing same sex marriages in Massachusetts.
Making it legal: A guide to same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships & civil unions by Frederick C. Hertz, Nolo, 2018. (eBook available here with library card)
Marriage civil unions & alternative relationships: The law today, Thomson Reuters, 2013.
Modern families: Effective advocacy for lesbian and gay clients, MCLE, 2013.
Contact
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| Last updated: | March 7, 2025 |
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