Latvia has recognised same-sex civil unions since 1 July 2024. On 9 November 2023, the Saeima passed legislation establishing civil unions conferring similar rights and obligations as marriage with the exception of adoption and inheritance rights. The bill was signed into law by President Edgars Rinkēvičs in January 2024, and took effect on 1 July 2024. This followed a ruling from the Constitutional Court of Latvia on 12 November 2020 that the Latvian Constitution entitles same-sex couples to receive the same benefits and protections afforded by Latvian law to married opposite-sex couples.

Latvia does not recognise same-sex marriages, which have been prohibited by the Constitution since 2006.

Civil unions Background On 23 September 1999, the National Human Rights Office () introduced a registered partnership bill to the Saeima. On 28 September, the proposal was sent to the Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee of the Saeima for discussion, but it was rejected by the commission on 30 November 1999. In January 2012, the Ombudsman's Office (), the renamed National Human Rights Office since 2007, recommended that the Parliament reject registered partnership legislation. Letter No. 1-8/4 to parliamentary committees on human rights and legal affairs by the Ombudsman J. Jansons 26 January 2012 However, after Baltic Pride in June 2012, media revealed that the Ministry of Justice, led by Gaidis Bērziņš, was considering whether to recognise same-sex unions, either as unregistered cohabitation or as registered partnerships. Defence Minister Artis Pabriks expressed his support for registered partnerships. Mozaika, Latvia's largest LGBT rights organisation, estimated it would take approximately five years to obtain enough political support to pass the bill. In November 2014, while commenting on the coming out of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, and on his call for the recognition of same-sex relationships in Latvia, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma reaffirmed her support for the constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage. She also admitted that "Latvian law has not yet resolved the question of partner-relationships", explaining that the non-recognition of unmarried couples "affects many in Latvia" regardless of sexual orientation and that protection of such families "needs to be discussed by both the community and the Saeima". On 30 January 2015, Veiko Spolītis, an MP from the New Unity alliance, introduced a bill modifying the Civil Code to recognise same-sex partnerships. The proposed law would have allowed "any two persons" to register their partnership and enjoy almost all of the rights and obligations of marriage. The proposal was rejected by the Legal Affairs Committee of the Saeima on 24 February 2015.

On 23 March 2015, MP Juris Pūce from For Latvia's Development launched a signature collection campaign on ManaBalss.lv, calling for the passage of a cohabitation law in Latvia. The signatures were submitted to the Saeima in January 2018. In March 2018, the Mandate, Ethics and Submissions Committee recommended 5–4 that the initiative be rejected by the Saeima; 5 of the 9 committee members voted to recommend rejection, while the 4 others wanted further consideration. Saeimas Mandātu, ētikas un iesniegumu komisija šodien aicina Saeimai noraidīt iniciatīvu par Kopdzīves likumu! In October 2018, the ombudsman called on lawmakers to pass a partnership law for opposite-sex and same-sex couples, citing statistics showing that about half of Latvian children were born out of wedlock, and arguing that these families should enjoy legal protection. On 20 June 2019, MPs voted against sending the bill to further review in parliamentary committees; only 23 members voted for the bill, 60 voted against it and one member abstained. The Development/For! and New Unity alliances and some Social Democrats supported the bill, while the remaining Social Democrats, Who Owns the State?, the New Conservative Party, the National Alliance and the Union of Greens and Farmers as well as several independents were opposed. Supporters of the bill said they would "persevere" and persuade lawmakers to discuss it again in the future.

+ 20 June 2019 vote in the Saeima Political alliance Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Social Democratic Party "Harmony" New Conservative Party – – Development/For! – – National Alliance – – Who Owns the State? – – Union of Greens and Farmers – – New Unity – – Unaffiliated – – –Total23116

On 29 October 2020, the Saeima voted 30–55 to reject a popular initiative entitled "Registration of same-sex partners" (), signed by 10,392 citizens, calling for the passage of a civil union law. That same day, the authors of the initiative started a new petition, called "For Legal Protection of All Families" (), which had been signed by 23,392 citizens by March 2022.

Constitutional Court ruling and failed attempts in 2020–2022 On 12 November 2020, the Constitutional Court of Latvia ruled that the Labour Law () violated Article 110 of the Constitution of Latvia, as it did not provide parental leave to the non-biological parent in a same-sex relationship. Although Article 110 has defined marriage as "a union between a man and a woman" since 2006, the term "family" is not explicitly defined. The court held that the family is not solely a union based on marriage, but a social institution formed by close personal ties based on understanding and respect. The court ruled that the Constitution requires the state to protect same-sex partners, and gave the Saeima until 1 June 2022 to amend the law and introduce a measure to legally protect same-sex couples. The Supreme Court ruled in December 2021 that should the government fail to provide a way for same-sex partners to register their relationships by the 1 June deadline, couples would be able to have their relationships individually recognized by the courts. On 2 February 2022, the Ministry of Justice, led by Dzintars Rasnačs, presented a civil union bill that would have provided same-sex couples with some of the rights and benefits of marriage. The second largest parliamentary group in the Saeima, the New Conservative Party, announced its support for the bill, despite the party having opposed all previous attempts to establish civil unions. Leader of the Social Democratic Party Jānis Urbanovičs also indicated that the bill might receive broader support from members of his parliamentary group. On 31 March 2022, the Saeima sent the civil union bill to the Legal Affairs Committee and approved it in first reading, with those opposed boycotting the vote in hopes that the Saeima would fail to meet the necessary quorum, but ultimately failing with exactly half of all MPs participating in the vote.

+ 31 March 2022 vote in the Saeima Political alliance Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Social Democratic Party "Harmony" New Conservative Party – – Development/For! – – National Alliance – – – Union of Greens and Farmers – – – New Unity – – The Independents – – – Unaffiliated – –Total7250

The bill's final reading was blocked on 2 June due to a lack of quorum, as only 40 MPs participated in the vote, and Speaker Ināra Mūrniece ended the parliamentary session without the bill being passed. The legislation was placed on the agenda for a future sitting of Parliament, and needed to pass before the parliamentary election held on 1 October 2022. As a result, the 1 June deadline by the Constitutional Court expired, meaning that same-sex couples could now individually ask courts to recognise their relationships and enjoy some of the benefits and obligations offered by marriage. The Vice-President of the Constitutional Court, Irēna Kucina, said that "institutions and administrative courts [would] apply the Constitution directly". On 30 May, the Administrative District Court in Riga granted the first application from a same-sex couple and recognised the "public legal existence" of their relationship, concluding that the couple had a "relationship that fits the definition outlined in Article 110 of the Constitution". The court lamented that the Saeima had not "fulfilled its duty". The Administrative District Court had recognized four same-sex couples by 8 July 2022, and 16 couples by 28 October 2022.

The proposed legislation in the Saeima would have established civil unions providing some of the rights, obligations and benefits of marriage, including in the areas of inheritance and tax. The bill would have also allowed same-sex partners to obtain information on the health of a hospitalised partner and make emergency health decisions, receive benefits in the event their partner dies, and claim care for their partner in the event that they have a disability. Civil unions would have been open to all adult citizens and non-residents of Latvia, including refugees and stateless people, but would not have been allowed to persons who are already married, in another civil union or who are blood relatives or related by adoption. They would have been registered and dissolved using a procedure similar to that for civil marriage. However, the bill would have not allowed same-sex couples to share a common surname or to adopt. In addition, civil partners would not have automatically become heirs to the common property, but they would have been able to draw up a will or a contract of inheritance to legally contract for how their protected common property would have been divided before any eventual separation. On 6 December 2022, following the October elections and the formation of a new government, the Legal Affairs Committee rejected the proposed civil union bill. However, registering a relationship with the courts was still possible. In January 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Fedotova and Others v. Russia that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees a right to private and family life, imposes a positive obligation on all member states of the Council of Europe to recognize same-sex partnerships.

Passage of legislation in 2023 Following Krišjānis Kariņš' resignation as prime minister in August 2023, a new government, led by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and consisting of the New Unity, the Union of Greens and Farmers and The Progressives, was sworn in on 15 September 2023. A political analyst said, "The most significant policy shift could be the new government’s intention to legislate on human rights, such as to try to allow marriages for same-sex couples [sic]." Leader of The Progressives Kaspars Briškens said there was "a willingness [in the government] to work on a new Law on Cohabitation for same-sex persons". On 26 October 2023, the New Unity alliance proposed a newly-drafted legislative package recognising same-sex unions. The legislation would establish civil partnerships (, ) providing the same rights and benefits as marriage with the exception of adoption and inheritance rights. On 30 October, Prime Minister Siliņa announced that the coalition government had decided to support the bill. She added that there was unanimous backing from The Progressives and the Union of Greens and Farmers, as well as Independent MP Oļegs Burovs, who had previously opposed same-sex unions. On 2 November, the legislation passed its first reading in the Saeima by a 53–40 vote, with all 52 coalition MPs and Burovs voting in favour. On 9 November, the legislation passed its second and final reading in the Saeima by a 53–43 vote.

+ 9 November 2023 vote in the Saeima Political alliance Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) New Unity – – – Union of Greens and Farmers – – – United List – National Alliance – – For Stability! – – The Progressives – – – Latvia First – – – Unaffiliated – –Total4313