Family & Safety

Steps to establish parentage from the forms you need to the court hearing process.

Use this form to ask a judge to establish parentage if you think you are the father of a child.

A VAP is a legal form that establishes a legal relationship between a parent and a child. Both parents must sign the form. Once it is signed, it is very hard to undo.

A program to help you complete the forms to acknowledge that someone is the father of a child.

Use this form to ask a judge to establish parentage if you are the mother of a child.

A putative father is a man who might be a child's biological father, but is not yet the legal father. For example, if a man has sex with a woman who he is not married to, and that woman later has a child, that man would be a putative father.

Explains that parentage is a legal relationship between a parent and a child, and the responsibilities of that relationship.

Use this form to request a birth certificate from the state.

Use this form to let the other party know that you have filed a parentage case.

Options for giving up a legal relationship with a child after the legal form has already been signed by both parents.

Options for changing a birth record if paternity has been established or rejected.

A birthing parent's partner can become a child's legal parent, and couples without a birthing parent can adopt a child.

A paternity test compares the DNA of a child, mother, and an alleged father to see if the man is or is not the biological father of a child.

A parent has the right to parenting time (visitation) with a child. They can also ask for decision-making power over the child. They must also pay child support.

Use this form to respond to a Petition for Parentage and Allocation that you received.

Use this form to challenge a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage (VAP).

Steps to establish parentage through a hearing and genetic testing with Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

Use this form to deny that you are the parent of a child.

Use this form to tell the presumed parent of the child that you are filing a parentage and allocation petition.

If the mother agrees that you are a parent of their child, you can both sign a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Parentage (VAP) to establish parentage. If it is only signed by one parent, it is not official.

Steps to disprove paternity whether a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) has or has not been signed.

Steps to register with the Putative Father Registry to have a say in whether a child is adopted.

Use this form to tell the judge the last known address of a presumed parent.