Interpretive Release Commission Guidance Regarding the Definition of the Terms "Spouse" and "Marriage" Following the Supreme Court's Decision in United States v. Windsor 33-9850

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
17 CFR Parts 231, 241, 271, and 276
Release Nos. 33-9850; 34-75250; IA-4122; IC-31684
Commission Guidance Regarding the Definition of the Terms “Spouse” and “Marriage”
Following the Supreme Court’s Decision in United States v. Windsor
AGENCY: 	SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
ACTION: 	Interpretation.
SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange Commission is publishing interpretive guidance to
clarify how the Commission will interpret the terms “spouse” and “marriage” in light of the
Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor.
EFFECTIVE DATE: [insert date of publication in the Federal Register].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions should be referred to Benjamin
Schiffrin, Senior Litigation Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, at (202) 551-5003,
Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-9040.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in United States v.
Windsor that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional.1 Section
3 provides that in “determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation,
or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States,” the
“word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife,” and the
“word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and
1 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013).

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wife.”2 This section, the Court stated, “enacts a directive applicable to over 1,000 federal
statutes and the whole realm of federal regulations.”3 The Court found that this directive
“undermines both the public and private significance of state-sanctioned same-sex marriages”
and concluded that “no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to
injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity.”4
The Court thus held that Section 3 of DOMA was invalid.5
In light of this decision, the Commission will read the terms “spouse” and “marriage,”
where they appear in the federal securities statutes administered by the Commission, the rules
and regulations promulgated thereunder, releases, orders, and any guidance issued by the staff or
the Commission, to include, respectively, (1) an individual married to a person of the same sex if
the couple is lawfully married under state law, regardless of the individual’s domicile, and (2)
such a marriage between individuals of the same sex. This guidance is consistent with Windsor.
List of Subjects
17 CFR Parts 231, 241, 271, and 276
Securities.
Amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations
For the reasons set out above, the Commission is amending Title 17, chapter II of the
Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below:
PART 231 – INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE SECURITIES ACT
OF 1933 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS THEREUNDER
2 1 U.S.C. § 7.
3 133 S. Ct. at 2690.
4 Id. at 2694, 2696.
5 Id. at 2696.

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1. 	Part 231 is amended by adding Release No. 33-9850 and the release date of June 19,
2015, to the list of interpretive releases as follows:
Subject 	Release No. 	Date 	Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
Commission Guidance
Regarding the Definition of
the Terms “Spouse” and
“Marriage” Following the
Supreme Court’s Decision in
United States v. Windsor
33-9850 	June 19, 2015 	[Insert FR Volume
Number] FR [Insert FR
Page Number]
PART 241 – INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
THEREUNDER
2. 	Part 241 is amended by adding Release No. 34-75250 and the release date of June 19,
2015, to the list of interpretive releases as follows:
Subject 	Release No. 	Date 	Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
Commission Guidance
Regarding the Definition of
the Terms “Spouse” and
“Marriage” Following the
Supreme Court’s Decision in
United States v. Windsor
34-75250 	June 19, 2015 	[Insert FR Volume
Number] FR [Insert FR
Page Number]
PART 271 – INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE INVESTMENT
COMPANY ACT OF 1940 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
THEREUNDER
3. 	Part 271 is amended by adding Release No. IC-31684 and the release date of June 19,
2015, to the list of interpretive releases as follows:
Subject 	Release No. 	Date 	Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
Commission Guidance
Regarding the Definition of
the Terms “Spouse” and
“Marriage” Following the
Supreme Court’s Decision in
United States v. Windsor
IC-31684 	June 19, 2015 	[Insert FR Volume
Number] FR [Insert FR
Page Number]

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PART 276 – INTERPRETATIVE RELEASES RELATING TO THE INVESTMENT
ADVISERS ACT OF 1940 AND GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
THEREUNDER
4. 	Part 276 is amended by adding Release No. IA-4122 and the release date of June 19,
2015, to the list of interpretive releases as follows:
Subject 	Release No. 	Date 	Fed. Reg. Vol. and Page
Commission Guidance
Regarding the Definition of
the Terms “Spouse” and
“Marriage” Following the
Supreme Court’s Decision in
United States v. Windsor
IA-4122 	June 19, 2015 	[Insert FR Volume
Number] FR [Insert FR
Page Number]
By the Commission.
Robert W. Errett
Deputy Secretary
Dated: June 19, 2015