Open Enrollment

CRITICAL DEADLINE

Required documentation must be uploaded by November 13, 2026, at 5:00 PM.

If documentation is not uploaded by the deadline, your newly added dependent(s) will be removed from coverage and will NOT have benefits effective January 1, 2027.

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How to Upload Documentation

Upload to the Attachments Box at the end of your Open Enrollment event in Workday.

Accepted formats:

• Photographs of documents (must be legible)
• Scanned PDFs
• Screenshots (JPEG format)

Full Dependent Documentation Requirements (PDF)

Required Documents

For children: Official Birth Certificate

For spouses: Certified Copy of Marriage Certificate issued by the court clerk

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Marriage Licenses Are NOT Accepted

Your document will be rejected if it is:

• Only signed by an officiant (pastor, priest, rabbi, reverend, etc.) without court clerk certification
• Dated before or on the date of marriage (this is a license, not a certificate)
• In a foreign language without official English translation

Examine your document carefully before uploading. If you don't have the correct version, you must order it before the deadline.

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Where to Obtain Correct Documentation

Certified marriage certificate:
Courthouse in the county where you were married

Birth certificate:
Division of Vital Records in the state where the child was born

Translated marriage certificate:

• Search "official translators near me" online, OR
• Contact TU's Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Domestic Partner Eligibility

To qualify, you and your domestic partner must:

• Have lived together for at least 12 months

• Not be married to anyone else or have another domestic partner

• Be at least 18 years old and mentally competent to consent

• Reside together and intend to do so indefinitely

• Have an exclusive mutual commitment similar to marriage

• Be jointly responsible for each other's common welfare and share financial obligations

Required Documentation:

Documentation must demonstrate that the partnership has existed for at least 12 months. Date documents as far back as possible.

You must submit:

1. Signed Affidavit of Domestic Partnership, AND

2. Two of the following:

   • Joint lease or mortgage

   • Designation of domestic partner as beneficiary for life insurance AND retirement contract

   • Designation of domestic partner as primary beneficiary in your will

   • Durable property AND health care powers of attorney

   • Joint ownership of a motor vehicle, a joint checking account, or a joint credit account

If adding additional dependents: See Dependent Documentation Requirements (PDF)

Affidavit of Domestic Partner's Federal Tax Dependent Status (PDF)

No. If you take no action during Open Enrollment, your current benefit elections will automatically roll over to 2027. You only need to complete Open Enrollment if you want to:

• Add or remove a dependent
• Change plans
• Enroll in new coverage
• Enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

The FSA account elections do not rollover every plan year due to IRS guidelines.  If you want to elect an FSA, you must act on your Open enrollment event.  If you are currently enrolled for 2026 in the Healthcare or Dependent Care FSA(s) account, you must re-elect it during Open Enrollment to continue the FSA elections for Year 2027. 

Your selections are saved but not submitted. Your changes will not take effect on January 1, 2027, unless you return to complete the process. To finalize your elections:

1. Click "Review and Submit"
2. Check the "I accept" box
3. Click "Submit"

If you don't submit by the Open Enrollment deadline, your current elections will roll over unchanged.

No extensions are granted. Make sure to review your elections carefully and submit before the deadline to allow time for corrections if needed.

Yes. If you have a qualifying life event during Open Enrollment (October 19 - November 13):

• Your Open Enrollment event will be placed on hold until the State of Maryland Employee Benefits Division reviews and finalizes your life event
• You'll have until November 13th OR 14 days after your life event is finalized, whichever is later, to complete Open Enrollment

You will see the date when you initially enrolled in that benefit plan. If no change was made to the benefit plan, the coverage begin date for which you initially enrolled in that plan will display. The exception is for FSA, as you must re-enroll each plan year. If you elect the exact same FSA coverage amount for 2027 as you elected in 2026, the Coverage Begin Date will show the previous Coverage Begin Date. However, if you elect a different coverage amount for 2027, the Coverage Begin Date will be updated to January 1, 2027.