Paternity Establishment

The Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) attempts to establish paternity by legal processes established under state law and federal law and provides for paternity testing in contested paternity cases.

O.C.G.A. §§19-7-20, 19-7-21.1, 19-7-40, 19-7-43, 19-7-45, 19-7-46.1,19-7-53, 19-7-54, 19-8-1, 19-11-9, 19-11-13, 19-11-14, 31-10-9 and 50-13-1

42 U.S.C. §§ 652, 654, 669(b)
45 CFR § 303.5

All Georgia child support offices receiving Title IV-D funds, including all private vendors contracted with the Department of Human Services to provide child support services.

DCSS is required to have administrative and judicial procedures for establishing paternity. Effective July 1, 2015, Georgia law was amended to require the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) to order genetic testing in all IV-D cases in which the paternity of a child or children has not been established or in which the individual receiving services alleges paternity rests in a person other than the previously established father.

The new law was established to prevent a non-biological father of a child(ren) from being obligated to pay child support. It also allows NCPs who are obligated to pay support and who are later excluded through paternity testing to petition the court to set aside the determination of paternity and relieve them of the obligation for any future and/or past due amounts owed to the state or to the Custodial Parent / Custodian of a child(ren). The new law further clarifies the process by which a determination can be made regarding the responsibility of providing child support between fathers involved in situations where both a legal and a biological father of a child appear.

Biological fathers who are identified by DCSS through paternity testing may have a higher likelihood of supporting their children and taking an active role in their lives, thereby reducing the number of families needing public assistance and increasing the likelihood of children developing relationships with both parents. Numerous studies have found that children who have relationships with both parents, especially fathers, are more likely to have good physical and emotional health, achieve academically, and avoid substance abuse, violence, and other delinquent behavior, thereby leading to healthy and productive lives.

Parents may also voluntarily establish paternity by signing a Paternity Acknowledgment (PA) Form which adds the biological father’s name to the child’s birth record.

A PA cannot be used if the mother of the child was married to anyone within 10 months prior to the birth of this child or, if for any other reason, there is another father listed on this child’s birth certificate. If the mother was married during this time frame, or if another father is listed on the birth record, court action will be necessary to establish paternity, amend the birth record, and establish legitimation.

Once filed with the State Office of Vital Records, the PA helps establish the father and child relationship. It is a voluntary agreement between the mother and the biological father to add the father’s name to the birth record. The child’s name can also be changed within the first year of birth if agreed upon by both the mother and father.

An unwed parent under the age of 18 may sign the PA form without parental consent if:

Either the mother or biological father has 60 days from the date of his/her signature to request to rescind the PA. However, a court order filed with the State Office of Vital Records is required to remove the father’s name from the child’s birth certificate. After the 60-day rescission period has ended, this signed document may constitute a legal determination of paternity and can only be challenged in a court of law on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof on the person challenging the acknowledgement.

The PA, once completed and signed in the presence of a notary public/hospital birthing clerk, will be forwarded to the State Office of Vital Records where it will be entered into the State Putative Father Registry and considered a Vital Record. If both parents do not sign a PA before leaving the hospital or birthing facility, only the mother’s name and child’s name will be entered on the birth certificate.

The PA may be signed before a notary later and mailed to the State Office of Vital Records. Upon receipt of an acceptable PA form, the certificate of birth will be amended to enter the name of the father and change the child’s name, if requested. For information on how to rescind a signed PA, contact either the State Office or a local County Vital Records Office.