Effective Dates: 01/29/2025 - Present Previous | Next

TN 27 (01-25)

PR 01210.040 Oklahoma

A. PR 25-001 Child Status under Section 216(h)(3) of the Social Security Act: Use of Birth Certificate and EAB Numident as Written Acknowledgment for a Non-Marital Child Born in Oklahoma

DATE: January 24, 2025

1. Syllabus

Oklahoma law has required a father’s written consent or a court determination of paternity to be named as a non-marital child’s father during the birth registration and certification process since 1963.  The same information collected by the State’s vital statistics office for the State-issued Oklahoma birth certificate is also transmitted to SSA as part of the EAB process. Thus, to determine status as a child under section 216(h)(3) of the Act, the agency may presume that the father provided a written acknowledgment or a court determination of paternity where the father is named on a non-marital child’s Oklahoma birth certificate and on a non-marital child’s EAB Numident record.  

2. Questions Presented

Where a non-marital child is born in Oklahoma and for the purpose of determining this child’s status under section 216(h)(3) of the Social Security Act (Act) as a number holder’s child, applying agency policy at Program Operations Manual System (POMS) GN 00306.105C.2, 3 and POMS GN 00306.120B.2 for using a child’s full birth certificate and the Enumeration at Birth (EAB) Numident as evidence of a number holder’s written acknowledgment, you asked whether written consent is required by the State of Oklahoma to be named as the father of the non-marital child in the birth registration and certification process and the EAB process.  In particular, you asked whether deceased number holder K1~ (NH), who died domiciled in Oklahoma on July XX, 2024, had to provide written consent to be named as the father of claimant K2~ (Claimant) on the Claimant’s Oklahoma birth certificate where the Claimant was born in Oklahoma on December XX, 2020, and her mother A~ was not married to the NH (or to anyone else). You provided the Claimant’s EAB Numident record, which shows the NH as her father, as evidence of his written consent. If there is support for finding the Claimant to be the NH’s child under section 216(h)(3) based on a written acknowledgment, you also asked what the effective date of their parent-child relationship is.

3. Answer

Oklahoma law has required a father’s written consent or a court determination of paternity to be named as a non-marital child’s father during the birth registration and certification process since 1963.  See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-311(D)(2)(a), (b); Okla. Laws 1963, c. 325, art. 3, § 311 (effective July 1, 1963).  The same information collected by the State’s vital statistics office for the State-issued Oklahoma birth certificate is also transmitted to SSA as part of the EAB process.  See POMS RM 10205.001B, RM 10205.005B, RM 10205.505. Thus, for a non-marital child born in Oklahoma, in applying agency policy set forth in POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3 and POMS GN 00306.120B.2 to determine status as a child under section 216(h)(3) of the Act, the agency may presume that the father provided a written acknowledgment or a court determination of paternity where the father is named on a non-marital child’s Oklahoma birth certificate and on a non-marital child’s EAB Numident record.  See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(3); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(3); POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3, POMS GN 00306.120B.2.  

Because the deceased NH is listed on the Claimant’s EAB Numident record as her father, we believe there is legal support for the agency to deem the Claimant to be the NH’s child pursuant to section 216(h)(3) of the Act based on a written acknowledgment for purposes of determining her entitlement to Title II benefits on the NH’s record. See POMS GN 00306.105C.3. Further, we believe there is support for the agency to determine that the effective date of their parent-child relationship is the Claimant’s date of birth of December XX, 2020. See POMS GN 00306.105F.  

Please note that this legal opinion does not address Oklahoma intestate succession law or status as a child under section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act and should not be applied to determining status of a child under section 216(h)(2)(A).[1]

4. Analysis

a. Federal Law: Status as a Natural Child under Section 216(h)(3) of the Act Based on the Number Holder’s Written Acknowledgment

Under section 216(h)(3) of the Act, the biological child of a number holder may be deemed to be the number holder’s child if, during the number holder’s lifetime, the number holder acknowledged in writing that the child was his or her child.  See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(3)(A)(i)(I), (B)(i)(I), (C)(i)(I); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(3); POMS GN 00306.100, GN 00306.105.  

b. Agency Policy: Use of the EAB Numident and Full Birth Certificate as Evidence of Written Acknowledgment

POMS GN 00306.105C provides a list of evidence that the agency will consider to be evidence of the number holder’s written acknowledgment of a child for purposes of section 216(h)(3), and this list includes a child’s full birth certificate and the EAB Numident, where certain criteria are met. See POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3.  

POMS GN 00306.105C.2 regarding the birth certificate refers the agency to POMS GN 00306.120 for the policy on using information from a child’s birth certificate as evidence of a written acknowledgment. POMS GN 00306.120 instructs that the agency may use a birth certificate to presume that there has been a written acknowledgment or court determination of paternity for purposes of section 216(h)(3) if a precedent legal opinion shows that applicable State law requires the written acknowledgment or court determination of paternity in order for a father’s name to be listed on a non-marital child’s birth certificate.[2] POMS GN 00306.120B.2.[3]

POMS GN 00306.105C.3 instructs that the child’s EAB Numident record constitutes evidence of written acknowledgment for purposes of section 216(h)(3) when the following criteria are met:

The [child’s] Numident constitutes evidence of written acknowledgment if it:

  • •

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

  • •

    shows the number holder’s name in the mother’s name at birth (MNA) or father’s name at birth (FNA) field of the EAB Numident, setting aside minor discrepancies as described in GN 00203.020A.2.C;

  • •

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

  • •

    the number holder’s written consent was required by the State during the EAB process. Contact the State Bureau of Vital Statistics (BVS) or use a relevant precedent opinion to determine if written consent was required.

POMS GN 00306.105C.3.

With regard to the final criteria of whether the number holder’s written consent was required by the State during the EAB process, the same information collected by a State’s vital statistics office for the State-issued birth certificate, which would include the names of the child’s parents, is also transmitted to SSA as part of the EAB process.[4] See POMS RM 10205.001B, RM 10205.005B, RM 10205.505.  

Thus, in this opinion, for policy set forth in POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3 and POMS GN 00306.120B.2 relating to use of the EAB Numident and birth certificate as evidence of a number holder’s written acknowledgment for 216(h)(3) child status, we will set forth Oklahoma law on whether a father’s written consent was required to identify the father of a non-marital child on the child’s birth certificate.  As noted above, the same information collected by the State’s vital statistics office for the State-issued birth certificate, which would include any father’s name, is also transmitted to SSA as part of the EAB process.  See POMS RM 10205.001B, RM 10205.005B, RM 10205.505.

c. State Law: Oklahoma Law Requires the Father’s and Mother’s Written Consent or a Court Determination of Paternity to be Named as the Father on a Non-Marital Child’s Birth Record

Oklahoma statutory law requires that a certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in the state shall be filed with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, within seven days after the birth.  Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-311(A) (West 2024).  If the mother was not married at the time of the birth, nor at any time during the 300 calendar days before the birth, the name of the father must be entered on the birth certificate only if:

(a) a determination of paternity has been made by an administrative action through the Department of Human Services or a court of competent jurisdiction, in which case the name of the father shall be entered,[5] or

(b) the mother and father have agreed as to the biological paternity of the child and signed an acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to Section 1-311.3 of this title, or substantially similar affidavit from another state and filed it with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.

Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-311(D)(2)(a), (b) (West 2024); see also Okla. Admin. Code § 310:105-3-1(a)(3) (West 2024).  

This statutory requirement for written consent or court determination of paternity to name a father on a non-marital child’s birth certificate - presently set forth in Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-311(D)(2)(a), (b) – has existed in prior versions of this statute since 1963. See Okla. Laws 1963, c. 325, art. 3, § 311 (effective July 1, 1963).  

In summary, to be named as the father on a non-marital child’s Oklahoma birth certificate, there must be a court determination of paternity or both the father and mother must provide written consent by signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form.  Consistent with this law, the Oklahoma State Department of Health website provides forms for Acknowledgment of Paternity, Denial of Parentage, Rescission of Acknowledgment of Paternity and Rescission of Denial of Paternity.  See Vital Records Forms (last visited Jan. 23, 2025). The Acknowledgment of Paternity form (03PA209E) is described as a “[v]oluntary form to be signed by unmarried parents to add the name of the natural father on their child’s official birth certificate.” Id. The Oklahoma Human Services website concerning child support services explains: “When a child is born to parents who are not married to each other, hospitals must give an Acknowledgment of Paternity (03PA209E) form to the parents. The hospitals must also give paperwork and tell the parents of their rights and duties when establishing paternity.” Oklahoma Child Support Services: Paternity Frequently Asked Questions (last visited Jan. 23, 2025).  

Consequently, in applying agency policy set forth in POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3 and POMS GN 00306.120B.2 relating to use of the EAB Numident and birth certificate as evidence of written acknowledgment or proof of court order for 216(h)(3) child status, where a father is named on a non-marital child’s Oklahoma birth certificate, the agency may presume that there has been a written acknowledgment of paternity or a court determination of paternity. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-311(D)(2)(a), (b). As noted above, the same information collected by the State’s vital statistics office for the State-issued birth certificate, which would include the father’s name, is also transmitted to SSA as part of the EAB process. See POMS RM 10205.001B, RM 10205.005B, RM 10205.505.  

You asked in particular whether this NH, who died on July XX, 2024, had to provide written consent to be named as the Claimant’s father on the Claimant’s Oklahoma birth certificate where the Claimant was born on December XX, 2020, and her mother was not married to the NH (or to anyone else). You provided the Claimant’s EAB Numident record listing the NH as her father as evidence of his written consent. As detailed above, Oklahoma law requires a father’s written acknowledgment or a court determination of paternity to be identified as the father of a non-marital child on the birth certificate. The same information collected by the State’s vital statistics office for the State-issued birth certificate, which would include the father’s name, is also transmitted to SSA as part of the EAB process. See POMS RM 10205.001B, RM 10205.005B, RM 10205.505. This Claimant’s EAB Numident is dated December XX, 2020 and: shows a “6” in the FMC field of the INTERNAL line indicating it is an EAB record; shows the NH’s name in the FNA field; and does not show a name other than the NH’s in the same FNA field in iterations following EAB. See POMS GN 00306.105C.3. Accordingly, because the Claimant’s EAB Numident names the deceased NH as her father, there is support for the agency to find that the Claimant’s EAB Numident is evidence of the NH’s written acknowledgment for purposes of deeming the Claimant to be the NH’s child[6] under section 216(h)(3) for Title II benefits.[7]

5. Conclusion

For a non-marital child born in Oklahoma, in applying agency policy set forth in POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3 and POMS GN 00306.120B.2 to determine status as a child under section 216(h)(3) of the Act, the agency may presume that the father provided his written acknowledgment or there is a court determination of paternity where the father is named on a non-marital child’s Oklahoma birth certificate and on the non-marital child’s EAB Numident record.  See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(3); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(3); POMS GN 00306.105C.2, 3, POMS GN 00306.120B.2; Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-311(D)(2)(a), (b); Okla. Laws 1963, c. 325, art. 3, § 311 (effective July 1, 1963).  

Because the deceased NH is named on the Claimant’s EAB Numident record as her father, we believe there is legal support for the agency to deem the Claimant to be the NH’s child pursuant to section 216(h)(3) of the Act based on a written acknowledgment for purposes of determining the Claimant’s entitlement to Title II benefits on the NH’s record. See POMS GN 00306.105C.3. Further, we believe there is support for the agency to determine that the effective date of their parent-child relationship is the Claimant’s date of birth of December XX, 2020. See POMS GN 00306.105F.

B. PR 01-090 Establishing Precedents for Using Information from Child's Birth Certificate as Written Acknowledgment or Proof of Court Order of Paternity

DATE: November 20, 2000

1. SYLLABUS

To determine if there is written acknowledgement under 216(h)(3), the opinion provides the requirements in each State in Region VI for entry of a father's name on a BC.

2. OPINION

This memorandum is in response to your request for our review and comments concerning a draft of the Regional Transmittal to Program Operations Manual System (POMS) GN 00306.120. It is our understanding that it is the practice of Management Operations Support to provide a POMS Regional Transmittal to establish precedent opinions applicable to specific states within a region. A Regional Transmittal is designed to determine for each state within Region VI whether an illegitimate child's birth certificate (BC) may constitute evidence of written acknowledgment, or a court order, of paternity where the father's name is on the BC. We suggest several changes to your draft POMS Regional Transmittal. We have researched the law to verify the current status of each state's requirements for entry of a father's name on a BC and also have included where applicable a summary of any changes in a state's law during approximately the past twenty years. As explained below, we believe the transmittal should appear as shown on the attachment.

Statutory Support

Oklahoma

1. Father's name

As indicated in your draft, if the mother was not married at the time of conception and birth, the name of the father shall be entered on the BC only if a determination of paternity has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction or the mother and father have signed an affidavit acknowledging paternity. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, §§1-311(D)(2)(a) and (b) (West 1999); Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, §§ 1-321(d)(1) and (2) (West 1999). Also, since September 1, 1994, the name of the father shall be entered on the BC if a determination of paternity has been made by an administrative action through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, §1-311(D)(2)(a) (West 1999). All docketed administrative orders shall be enforced in the same manner as an order of a district court. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 56, § 238.6B(I) (West 1999).

2. Child's surname

A BC shall be amended to change a child's surname to that of the father's upon receipt of a notarized written request signed by both parents or upon receipt of a certified copy of a court order directing such name change. Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 63, § 1-321(d) (West 1999); Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 56, § 238.6B(H) (West 1999).

Footnotes:

[1]

You asked about the Claimant’s status as the NH’s child pursuant to either section 216(h)(3) of the Act or section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act and Oklahoma intestate succession law. We have insufficient evidence to be able to consider the Claimant’s status as a child under Oklahoma intestate succession law and section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act. Because the Claimant can establish the parent-child relationship with the NH under section 216(h)(3)(C), we have not asked the agency to further develop the record in order to consider whether the Claimant could also inherit from the NH as his child under Oklahoma law per section 216(h)(2)(A) of the Act. See POMS GN 00306.002A (“Except for a posthumously conceived child, develop the child’s relationship under any category in the chart in GN 00306.002F that will facilitate entitlement.... You may develop the child’s relationship under more than one category concurrently or consecutively, e.g., development under State law and section 216(h)(3).”).

[2]

Under section 216(h)(3), the agency may deem a claimant to be a number holder’s child where, during the number holder’s lifetime, the number holder acknowledged in writing that the claimant is his or her child; a court decreed the number holder to be the child’s parent; or a court ordered the number holder to pay child support because the claimant is the number holder’s child. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(3); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(3). Agency policy provides that the birth certificate can be used to evidence a written acknowledgment or a court determination of paternity for purposes of section 216(h)(3) where applicable State law requires the written acknowledgment or a court determination of paternity to be named as the father on a non-marital child’s birth certificate. See POMS GN 00306.120. Consistent with your legal opinion request, we have focused primarily on using the EAB Numident and relatedly the birth certificate as evidence of a written acknowledgment for 216(h)(3) purposes.

[3]

POMS GN 00306.120B.2 instructs in full: “[Y]ou may presume that there has been a written acknowledgment or court determination of paternity, but only if: [1] The [birth certificate] shows illegitimacy per GN 00306.120B.3; and [2] a precedent Office of the General Counsel (OGC) legal opinion in PR 01210.000 shows that applicable State law or regulations require the written acknowledgment or court determination of paternity to be filed in order for the father’s name to appear on the [birth certificate], or for the child’s surname to be the same as the father’s on the [birth certificate].” The focus of this legal opinion is upon State law requirements for a father’s name to appear on a non-marital child’s birth certificate as the child’s father.

[4]

The EAB process is a program that allows parents to complete applications for SSNs for their newborns as part of the hospital birth registration process. 20 C.F.R. § 422.103(b)(2); POMS RM 10205.001B, RM 10205.005B, RM 10205.505. “When the hospital representative asks for information to complete the birth certificate, he or she also asks the parents if they would like the State’s vital statistics office to forward information to SSA to assign an SSN. If the parent agrees, the hospital representative checks a block on the form indicating that the parent wants an SSN assigned to his or her child. The hospital forwards this information to the State’s vital statistics office along with birth certificate information. The State vital statistics office then provides SSA with an electronic record used to assign an SSN and issue a card.” POMS RM 10205.005B; see also Social Security Numbers for Children, SSA Publication No. 05-10023 (Jan. 2024). More information on the EAB process can also be found in SSA’s Bureau of Vital Statistics State Processing Guidelines for Enumeration at Birth, SSA (May 2024), available on SSA’s website, The United States Social Security Administration | SSA (last visited Jan. 17, 2025).

[5]

The statute provides that the name of the father shall be entered on the birth certificate if a determination of paternity has been made by an administrative action through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) or a court of competent jurisdiction.  The statutes concerning DHS paternity and support proceedings instruct that an “administrative order shall be enforced by the district court in the same manner as an order of the district court.” Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 56, § 238.3a. “All docketed administrative orders shall be modified and enforced in the same manner as an order of the district court.” Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 56, § 238.6B(I). Thus, we refer to a determination of paternity entered through an administrative court order or district court order as “court determination of paternity” in this opinion.

[6]

You also asked about the effective date of any parent-child relationship. The POMS instruct that the parent-child relationship based on a written acknowledgment for section 216(h)(3) purposes begins on the date of the written acknowledgment unless the evidence points to an earlier date. POMS GN 00306.105F.  Per POMS GN 00306.105C.3, the agency presumes the NH provided a written acknowledgment that the Claimant is his child at the time of the Claimant’s birth because the NH was named as the Claimant’s father as part of the Oklahoma birth registration and certification and EAB Numident process. Thus, we believe it would be reasonable for the agency to find that the effective date of the parent-child relationship is the Claimant’s date of birth, December XX, 2020.  See POMS GN 00306.105F.

[7]

Section 216(h)(3) of the Act also requires that the child must be the number holder’s biological child. See 42 U.S.C. § 416(h)(3); 20 C.F.R. § 404.355(a)(3); POMS GN 00306.100A, GN 00306.105A. Of relevance here given the EAB Numident record, the POMS instruct that the agency should not raise the issue of the child’s biological relationship with the number holder if the child’s Numident: includes an iteration that shows a “6” in the form code (FMC) field of the INTERNAL line, indicating that it is an EAB record; shows the number holder’s name is in the mother’s name at birth (MNA) or father’s name at birth (FNA) field of the EAB record; does not show someone else listed in the same MNA and FNA field in iterations following EAB; and the EAB record was established before the number holder died. POMS GN 00306.105D; see also POMS GN 00306.105E (reasons to doubt biological relationship).  Applying this policy to the Claimant’s EAB Numident, the agency should not raise an issue of the Claimant’s biological relationship with the NH. See POMS GN 00306.105D.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/1501210040
PR 01210.040 - Oklahoma - 01/29/2025
Batch run: 01/29/2025
Rev:01/29/2025