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Civil unions were introduced in Denmark by law on June 7, 1989, the world's first such law. It came into force on October 1, 1989. It was extended to Greenland in 1996. It has the form of a registered partnership (Danish: "registreret partnerskab"), but has almost all the same qualities as marriage. All legal and fiscal rights and obligations are like those of opposite-sex marriage, with four exceptions:

• registered partners cannot adopt, with the exception that one party can adopt the biological children of the other
• registered partners cannot have joint custody of a child, except by adoption
• laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple do not apply to registered partnerships
• regulations by international treaties do not apply unless all signatories agree.

Divorce for registered partners follow the same rules as opposite-sex divorces.

Only citizens of countries that recognise same-sex marriages can enter a registered partnership in Denmark. This rule excludes foreigners from entering registered partnerships that will not be legally valid in their home country.

By January 1, 2002, there were more than 2000 registered partnerships in Denmark, of which 220 had children.

Registered partnership is by civil ceremony only. The Church of Denmark, the Lutheran state church, which is generally more conservative about same-sex issues than the Danish people, has yet to decide how to handle the issue, but the general attitude of the church seems approving but hesitant. Some priests perform blessings of gay couples, and this is accepted by the church, which states that the church blesses people, not institutions.

• Axel and Eigil Axgil

• The Registered Partnership Act
• The Formation and Dissolution of Marriage Act (common marriage act)
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church In Denmark & Homosexuality