Effective Dates: 05/29/2024 - Present Previous | Next

GN KC00306.120 Using Information from Child's BC as Written Acknowledgment or Proof of Court Order

See GN 00306.120

A. Policy — NH's Signature Shown As Informant

The child's BC with the NH's signature as informant establishes written acknowledgment if it shows the NH's name as that of the child's parent.

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 B.1 or B.2 below 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, a contact with BVS or the use of a precedent opinion, 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.

 

 

Iowa

Yes

Kansas

No

Missouri

Yes

Nebraska

No

2. Use Precedent Opinions

Alternatively, you may presume that there has been a written acknowledgment or court determination of paternity, but only if:

  • •

    The BC shows illegitimacy per GN 00306.120B.3. ; and

  • •

    A precedent RCC legal opinion 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 BC, or for the child's surname to be the same as the father's on the BC.

To establish consistent Region guidelines, we have obtained precedent legal opinions for the states in our Region. These are summarized in the chart below. Note: The effective dates refer to the point at which the current State law applies regarding the entry of the father's name.

Example: We have a BC that shows illegitimacy, the child was born in Iowa, the father is not the informant, and the father's name is listed on the BC. In this case we can presume the NH filed a written acknowledgement or there was a court order for the father's name to be listed on the BC.

 

Written Consent or Court Order Required for the Father's Name to Appear On the BC

Written Consent or Court Order Required for the Child's Surname to be Same as Father's on BC (1)

IA

Yes (as of 1/1/1970)

No (2)

KS

Yes (as of 1/1/1963)

No (2)

MO

Yes (as of 1/1/1984)

No (2)

NE

Yes (as of 1/1/1977)

No (2)
  1. (1) 

    This alternative presupposes that the mother and the purported father will not have the same surname. If they have the same surname, further development is required.

  2. (2) 

    Since no consent or court order is necessary for the child's surname to be the same as the purported father's, this chart cannot be used to apply the presumption of written acknowledgment or proof of a court order. Further development is required.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200306120KC
GN KC00306.120 - Using Information from Child's BC as Written Acknowledgment or Proof of Court Order - 05/29/2024
Batch run: 12/20/2024
Rev:05/29/2024