Certain State laws or regulations require a father's written consent or a court determination
before the BC of an illegitimate child can show the father's name, or show the child's
surname the same as the father's. You may follow either of the following two procedures to determine if the NH filed such a written statement
or if a court determination of paternity was issued.
CAUTION:You may not infer from information on the BC that there was written consent or a court
determination unless one of the two procedures is productive. If you entitle the child
based on a positive result from the Bureau of Vital Statistics (BVS) or a legal precedent
opinion, document the file (on the Modernized Claims System (MCS) Report of Contact
(RPOC) screen or on a Report of Contact (RC) in non-MCS cases) with respect to the
basis of entitlement.
Contact the vital statistics office to determine if a written statement or court determination
was filed.
CAUTION: See GN 00302.510G. and GN 00302.510H. for a list of States that will not release information about an amended BC.
2. Use Precedent Opinions
Alternatively, you may presume that there has been a written acknowledgment or court
determination of paternity, but only if:
-
-
•
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 BC, or for the child's surname to be the same as the father's on the
BC.
3. How BC Shows Illegitimacy
Generally, a BC shows 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.