§ 16-909.04 — Voluntary paternity acknowledgment program for birth records agency.

District of Columbia § 16-909.04

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 16: Particular Actions, Proceedings and Matters. [Enacted title]
• Ch. 9: Divorce, Annulment, Separation, Support, Etc.

Text

(a) The Registrar of Vital Records shall offer to any person seeking to file or amend a birth certificate that does not include the names of 2 parents:

(1) Written materials concerning paternity establishment;

(2) Forms necessary to acknowledge paternity voluntarily that meet the federal requirements;

(3) A written and oral description of the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and responsibilities that arise from, signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity (the oral description may be videotaped or audiotaped);

(4) Written notice that a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is not effectuated unless the mother and putative father each signs the form under oath and a notary authenticates the signatures;

(5) The services of a notary on the premises;

(6) The opportunity to speak, by telephone or in person, with staff of the IV-D agency or Registrar who are trained to clarify information and answer questions about paternity establishment; and

(7) The opportunity to acknowledge paternity voluntarily at the birth records agency.

(b) The Registrar of Vital Records shall establish procedures for the recording in the records of the Registrar, and for the transmittal to the IV-D agency of completed voluntary acknowledgments of paternity, and of information contained in an acknowledgment that may be used in the establishment or enforcement of a support order.

Legislative History

Apr. 3, 2001, D.C. Law 13-269, § 106(f), 48 DCR 1270; July 18, 2008, D.C. Law 18-33, § 3(g), 56 DCR 4269