When a child is the number holder’s (NH) biological child, the child may satisfy the relationship requirement under section 216(h)(3) of the Social Security Act (Act), if a court has either:

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  decreed that the NH is the biological parent of the child, or

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  ordered the NH to contribute to the child's support as the child’s biological parent.

Even if one of these requirements is met, you must consider any evidence showing that the NH is not the child's biological parent (see GN 00306.110E).

NOTE: If the NH is deceased the court must have made or issued a decree or order prior to the NH's death. In the event of a posthumous court action, explore provisions for establishing a parent-child relationship under State law, or develop for other satisfactory evidence under section 216(h)(3) using the instructions in GN 00306.125.

The court decree or order for support must find the NH is the biological parent of the child, name the NH, and identify the child.

Obtain a copy of the court decree or order for support certified by the proper court official. Accept an excerpt from the order or decree if it is certified by the court official and contains sufficient information. You may consider a related court record, e.g., complaint, indictment.

The child's full birth certificate (BC), i.e., one with spaces for the parents' names, may be used as proof of a court determination of parentage if the state required a court decree or order to issue the BC. For policy on using information from a child's BC as proof of a court order, see GN 00306.120.

If there is any indication of a modification in a finding that the NH is the child's parent or the identity of the parent in the court order, obtain a current decree or order certified by the proper court official as to whether or not the court vacated or changed the finding.

Fax the materials into the Non-Disability Repository for Evidentiary Documents (NDRed).

Do not raise the issue of the child's biological relationship to the NH if the Numident:

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  includes an iteration that shows a "6" in the form code (FMC) field of the INTERNAL line, indicating an Enumeration at Birth (EAB) record;

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  shows the NH's name in the mother's name at birth (MNA) or father's name (FNA) field of the EAB record, setting aside minor discrepancies as described in GN 00203.020A.2.C and taking into consideration any other names the alleged parent may have used;

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  does not show a name other than the NH's in the same field (MNA or FNA) in iterations following EAB; and

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  if the NH is deceased, shows the EAB record was established prior to the NH's death.

If there is no Numident record meeting this criteria, obtain a full birth certificate (BC), i.e., one with spaces for parents' names. If the full BC shows the NH as the child's parent or the space for the parent's name is blank, do not raise the issue of biological parentage unless information in the file casts some doubt on the issue or there is any other reason to doubt the biological relationship (see GN 00306.105E).

If the full BC shows someone other than the NH as the child's parent or if a BC without spaces for parents' names is the only BC that can be obtained, e.g. because the State does not issue full BCs, document this on the MCS RPOC screen and follow the guidelines in GN 00306.125 to develop biological relationship.

Section 216(h)(3) requires that the child must be the NH's son or daughter. Therefore, even if one of the requirements in GN 00306.110A is met, you must consider evidence that the NH is not the child's biological parent. However, such evidence must be very persuasive to override a court action.

Reasons to doubt the biological relationship include, but are not limited to, the following;

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  a BC without spaces for parents' names is the only BC that can be obtained and the EAB Numident does not meet the criteria in GN 00306.110D;

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  the Enumeration at Birth (EAB) Numident or BC shows someone other than the NH as the child's parent;

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  the EAB Numident is dated after the death of the NH; or

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  the BC was issued after the death of the NH.

In circumstances where there is reason to doubt the biological relationship, you must develop additional evidence that the child is the NH's biological child (see GN 00306.125B.1).

IMPORTANT: If the biological relationship is in doubt, document the full set of circumstances and the parentage determination (if you can make one) on a Modernized Claims System (MCS) Report of Contact (RPOC) screen or on an SSA-5002 Report of Contact in non-MCS cases. If, after pursuing additional development and consulting relevant precedent opinions, the relationship remains unclear, request a legal opinion following instructions in GN 00306.305 and GN 01010.815.

The parent-child relationship does not begin until the date of the court action, unless the evidence points to an earlier date.

You may need to develop other evidence of the parent-child relationship where retroactivity is at issue. For more information on retroactivity for child's benefits, see RS 00203.001A.2.

If you establish the child's relationship to the NH based on a court decree or court order for support, deem the child dependent on the NH unless someone other than the NH adopts the child during the NH's lifetime (see GN 00306.105).

For policy on first month of entitlement (MOET) for child's benefits, see RS 00203.005 for death cases and RS 00203.010 for life cases.

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  GN 00306.100 Overview of Section 216(h)(3) – Federal Standard for a Parent-Child Relationship for Title II Child's Benefits

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  GN 00306.105 Section 216(h)(3) – Federal Standard for a Parent-Child Relationship Based on Written Acknowledgment

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  GN 00306.125 Section 216(h)(3) – Federal Standard for a Parent-Child Relationship Based on Other Satisfactory Evidence and Living With or Support

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  GN 00306.165 Entitlement Requirements - Child Adopted by Someone Other Than NH

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  GN 00306.305 Determining Status as Number Holder's Child: When to Request a Legal Opinion

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  GN 00306.310 Challenges to a Parent-Child Relationship Determination

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  GN 00306.315 Disallowing a Title II Child Claim Based on Failure to Establish Relationship

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  PR 01210.000 State Law Requirements For Showing Information About Father On Child's BC – Table of Contents

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  RS 00203.005 Child's Benefits First Month of Entitlement (MOET) in Death Cases

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  RS 00203.010 Child's Benefits First Month of Entitlement (MOET) in Life Cases