Regarding Paternity

An acknowledgement of paternity form can be signed by the parents at the hospital or after the child is born through the Department of Human Services. The other way paternity can be established is through the involuntary process of going to court.

However, you can go file paperwork with a Mississippi court to request that they establish paternity for your child. In this process, a trusted family law attorney can help you file the necessary paperwork, and explain to a judge why he or she should force your child's potential father to submit to a paternity test.

Get on the birth certificate. Once your child is born, the easiest way to establish paternity is by getting your name on the birth certificate. Get an order through an administrative agency. Get a court order.

Birth certificate. If a birth certificate declares the father and he signs it, this is a legally binding qualification of paternity. DNA test. Court order.

You will receive a birth certificate including both parents.

If the mother was not married at any time between conception and birth and there is no father listed on the birth certificate, the addition can be made with an Acknowledge of Paternity. The form can be downloaded at this website, or you can obtain one by calling our Amendments Department at 601-206-8200.

If you get married after the child is born, it can establish paternity retroactively. This is not an automatic process, and it is in you and your child's best interest to work with a family lawyer to establish paternity in this way. Both parents can sign an Affidavit of Paternity, which establishes paternity.

Changes or Corrections: Call our Vital Records office at 601-206-8200 or send e-mail to VRInfo@HealthyMS.com.