GN DAL00306.120 Using Information from Child's BC as Written Acknowledgment or Proof of Court Order (TN 6 -- 10/2004)

A. POLICY - NH's Signature Shown As Informant

When the NH's signature is shown as informant on the child’s BC and the NH's name is shown as that of the child’s parent, the BC establishes written acknowledgment.

See GN 00306.055B.1. for requirements for establishing parent/child relationship under Louisiana law when the child was born outside of wedlock and the NH is the mother.

B. PROCEDURE - NH Not Shown As Informant

When the NH is not shown as informant on the BC but is shown as the father for an ILLEGITIMATE child (i.e., child born outside of wedlock), you may follow either GN DAL00306.120B.1 or GN DAL00306.120B.2 to determine if the NH filed a written consent or if a court determination of paternity was issued (GN 00306.120B. ).

CAUTION: You may NOT infer from information on the BC or any numident record that there was written consent or a court determination unless one of the following two procedures is productive. Remember to also consider child relationship under other provisions in GN 00306.000.

If you entitle the child based on a positive result from the Bureau of Vital Statistics (BVS) or based on a legal precedent opinion when the BC shows illegitimacy, document the file on the MCS RPOC screen or on an RC in non-MCS cases per GN 00301.292.

1. Contact BVS

In an effort to avoid repeated FO contacts with the BVS, the following information is provided on which States will release information about amended BCs and about a written statement or court determination of paternity.

State

Information release on amended BCs

Arkansas

Written Authorization by parent(s) listed on the record required.

Louisiana

No

New Mexico

No

Oklahoma

No

Texas

No

2. Use of Precedent Opinions

To establish consistent regional guidelines for applying the presumption that the NH filed a written acknowledgment of paternity or that a court determination of paternity was entered, precedent opinions for each State in the Dallas Region were obtained in 2000. State law requirements and applicable effective dates relative to the entry of the father's name on the BC of an illegitimate child are summarized in the precedent opinions at PR 01210.000.

However, the precedent opinion should ONLY be used to infer that there has been written acknowledgment or a court determination of paternity if the BC shows illegitimacy. As indicated in GN 00306.120B.3. a BC may show illegitimacy in one or more of the following ways:

  • It has been amended with reference to sections of the annotated State code that apply to illegitimate children;

  • It shows that the child’s last name is the same as the mother's but not the alleged father's; or

  • It has a block that can be checked to show that the child is illegitimate.


To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200306120DAL
GN DAL00306.120 - Using Information from Child's BC as Written Acknowledgment or Proof of Court Order (TN 6 -- 10/2004) - 05/29/2024
Batch run: 05/29/2024
Rev:05/29/2024