Establishing Legal Paternity 4/23/2010
How To Establish Paternity
Parents may establish legal fatherhood through a simple and inexpensive acknowledgment process. If you have questions, contact Child Support Services at 1-800-356-9868. If parents do not wish to sign an acknowledgment, Child Support Services will request parents take a genetic test. If the test indicates the man in question is the father, or if he refuses to take the genetic test, Child Support Services will ask a court to name him as the legal father and order child support. Child Support Services may also ask the court to order him to pay for the genetic tests and legal fees. Parents may choose to use a private attorney to help with the legal process of establishing fatherhood. If you do, notify Child Support Services so efforts can be coordinated.
How to Acknowledge Legal Paternity
- Get the Acknowledgment Form: The acknowledgement form is titled "Acknowledgment of Paternity Affidavit". Forms are available at Child Support Services offices or at hospitals.
- Understand Your Rights and Responsibilities: When you sign a voluntary acknowledgment, you state that you have received written and oral notification of the rights and responsibilities of establishing legal fatherhood. Written notice is provided on the back of the acknowledgment form. Oral notice means someone has explained the information on the back of the form to you. If you have not received oral notice, you may contact the Child Support Services office nearest you. A 10-minute video is available, or if you have additional questions or concerns about acknowledging paternity, you may speak with a representative.
- Complete the Acknowledgment Form: The father completes the first section of the acknowledgment form. The mother completes the second section of the form. If the mother was married to someone other than the biological father during any part of her pregnancy, her husband must complete the bottom section of the acknowledgment form. The child’s father, the mother, and the mother’s husband must all sign the acknowledgment form to name the biological father as the legal father and have his name listed on the birth certificate. Otherwise, the husband is considered the legal father and his name will be listed on the child’s birth certificate.
- Sign and Notarize the Acknowledgment Form: Your signature is an acknowledgment of your child’s paternity and verifies you received written and oral notification of the rights and responsibilities of establishing legal fatherhood. All signatures on the form must be original, and each signature must be notarized.
- Send the Acknowledgment Form to Child Support Services: Send or deliver the acknowledgment form to your local Child Support Services office.
To contact Child Support Services, you can:
Go online to the Child Support Services website. Click here.
To speak with a live person, you can call the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine by dialing 2-1-1 or 1-800-926-2588 to get the contact information of your local Child Support Services offices.
You can search for your local Child Support Services office contact information in the 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine online database.