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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PATERNITY:

The Putative Father Registry

WHAT IS THE PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY?

The Registry is a statewide service that lists the names of men who have acknowledged Paternity of a child or acknowledged the possibility of paternity of a child.

WHY DO I NEED THE PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY?

You should consider registering on the Putative Father Registry if:

• You believe that you might be the father of a child
• Your child's mother is preventing you from having contact with your child
• You don't know where your minor child is living
• You are in a relationship (or have been) and there is any possibility you may have fathered a child

The Putative Father Registry can help you find out about any adoptions that may be filed regarding the child.  The Registry gives you a way of providing an address to receive notice of other court proceedings that try to terminate your parental rights to the child. 

HOW DO I REGISTER?

The Registry is maintained by the Vital Records section of the Georgia Department of Human Resources.  The Putative Father Registry contains the name, address and social security number of anyone who claims he is or claims he may be the father of a child.

You must submit a form for your name to appear on the Registry. 

 The registration form simply indicates the possibility that you may have fathered a child.

Be aware that if your  name appears on the Registry, the information on the registry may be used to help establish your child support obligations to the child.

IF I ACKNOWLEDGE PATERNITY ON THE REGISTRY, CAN I DENY IT LATER?

Signing into the Registry does not count as a "formal" acknowledgement of paternity. That is a separate document. If you have also prepared and submitted and Acknowledgement of Paternity, generally, you can rescind or 'undo' your acknowledgment of paternity any time before a child support or other order is entered that establishes that you are the father of the child.  If the mother also signed the Acknowledgment of Paternity, agreeing that you were the father of the child, your ability to deny paternity is more limited.  In that case, you can have up to 60 days to rescind or 'undo' your acknowledgment of paternity.  Within that 60-day period, you can rescind or 'undo' your acknowledgment any time unless a court enters an order determining that you are the father.  If you discover you are not the child's father after the 60-day period or after a court order, then you should speak to an attorney about filing a court case to rescind or 'undo' your acknowledgment of paternity.

WHERE CAN I GET A REGISTRATION FORM?

You can find a Putative Father Registry Registration Form in any county Vital Records Registrar's Office, in county Health Departments, in Probate Court offices or at the State Office of Vital Records.  Only a putative father may add his information to the Registry and registering is FREE.

You may obtain the form online from the Department of Human Resources, Division of Vital Records, http://health.state.ga.us/programs/vitalrecords/

WHAT IF I NEED TO UPDATE OR CHANGE MY INFORMATION?

You can always correct or change any of the information you previously provided to the Registry. To make a change, you must mail or fax a letter to:

Putative Father Registry
Vital Records
2600 Skyland Drive NE
Atlanta, GA 30319-3640
FAX (404) 679-4730.

Include your complete name, Social Security number, old information as it was originally entered in the Registry, and the new information as it should be shown in the Registry.