Administrative Paternity Establishment

In this Topic

  1. Introduction
    1. 1983
    2. 1994
  2. Certificate of Parentage
  3. Paternity Opportunity Program
  4. Artificial Insemination Paternity Establishment
  5. Related Information

Introduction

Historically, paternity in New Jersey could be established only by court order. There was a presumption that a child born of a married woman was that of her husband. The actual establishment of paternity in all other situations, with the obligation of child support and rights of visitation, could be accomplished only by court action resulting in a paternity order.

1983

In 1983, New Jersey enacted the New Jersey Parentage Act, which codified the law on paternity establishment. Although the act set out certain presumptions of paternity, it was still required that paternity be established by a court action and order when the parents are not married to each other.

1994

In 1994, the law was amended to create a new and nonjudicial method of establishing paternity termed a Certificate of Parentage (COP). N.J.S.A. 26:8-28.1 provided that, “a Certificate of Parentage . . . shall serve as voluntary acknowledgment of paternity by a father.”  Section 9:17-41(b) of the Uniform Parentage Act was amended to provide that

The parent and child relationship between a child and the natural father may be established by . . . a Certificate of Parentage as provided in N.J.S.A. 26:8-28.1 that is executed by the father, including an unemancipated minor, prior to or after the birth of a child and filed with the appropriate state agency. . . .

This statute made it clear that the execution and filing of a COPCertificate of Parentage was an establishment, not just evidence, of paternity. Section (e) of the Parentage Act states:

The establishment of the parent and child relationship pursuant to section (b) shall be the basis upon which an action for child support may be brought by a party and acted upon by the court without further evidentiary proceedings.

Certificate of Parentage

Unmarried parents who choose to establish paternity can do so by executing a COP provided at birthing centers and hospitals. The certificate is executed by both the mother and the father under oath and contains written information regarding the legal consequences of signing the form.

Unmarried parents who did not execute a COP at a birthing center or hospital during the days in or around the child’s birth can still do so at the local registrar of vital statistics in the municipality in which the child was born or at the CWACounty Welfare Agency. Once a COP is executed and filed, the father’s name can be added to the child’s birth certificate. A COP can be executed by a minor. That provision is a departure from the usual laws regarding the legal rights of minors.

In accordance with Informational Transmittal 12-08 (dated January 19, 2012), a COP should not be completed by same sex parents. If two women are in a civil union, then the parentage gets treated the same as a marriage (married parents do not have a need to sign a COP as both parents’ names go on the birth certificate). If the parents are two men, a court order is usually required to have the second father’s name added. Same sex parents requesting the second parent’s name be added to the birth record should be referred to the Bureau of Vital Statistics and Registration or the local Vital Records (Registrar’s) office.

If the mother is married at the time of a child’s birth or at conception, or if she was married at any time during the 300 days before the birth, there is a legal presumption that the husband (or ex-husband) is the father of the child. If that is not the case, in order for the biological father to be established as the child’s legal father (and appear on the child’s birth certificate), the presumed father (the husband or ex-husband) must execute an Affidavit of Denial of Paternity, which must then be filed together with a COP executed by the mother and the biological father.

Once a COP is filed, the information is confidential and available only to the parents and the child, the child’s legal guardian or representative, or government officials acting in their official duties—unless a Superior Court Judge, Family Division, for Good Cause, orders otherwise.

A COP can be rescinded at any time within 60 days of the date signed by filing a Rescission of Certificate of Parentage with the Bureau of Vital Statistics. After 60 days, the COP can be changed only by an order of the court upon clear and convincing proof of fraud, duress, or material mistake of factmistake of factNew Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.) 9:17-41(b).   

Paternity Opportunity Program

The POPPaternity Opportunity Program system is an imaging system. The POP Office gathers the signed COPs from the authorized agencies, where the parties complete, sign, and notarize the form. Staff retrieve the COP from the POP Office. The COP could take more than 30 days to appear on the imaging system. In the event that the COP is not on the system and the CP is certain that it was signed, staff should use the services of the County POP Liaison:

  1. Contact the POP Office at 1-800-POP-6607.
  2. POP Office staff will check their records.
  3. If the POP staff determines that a COP has been received for the child and it has been approved, a copy of the COP will be faxed to the County POP Liaison.
  4. If there is no record of receiving the form, POP staff will contact the hospital to determine if a COP was signed, and the inquiring agency should proceed as if one had not been signed.

Note: Always remember to check the POP system for a Certificate of Parentage.

Artificial Insemination Paternity Establishment

In instances where a WFNJ/TANF client is requesting a Good Cause exemption from paternity establishment due to the child being conceived through an anonymous sperm donor, the client must provide written proof of the procedure from a physicianphysicianNew Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C) 10:110-9.5(g). If the client is unable to provide this documentation, a child support order may be pursued.

In instances where the identity of the sperm donor is known, the donor is not considered by law to be the father of the child unless the donor and the recipient have entered into a written contract in which the donor stated his intention to be considered the legal father of the child. If a woman is inseminated by a sperm donor other than her husband, under the supervision of a licensed physician and has received the written consent of the husband, then the husband shall be considered the natural father of the childchildN.J.S.A. 9:17-44.

For additional information and guidance, please refer to Informational Transmittal 11-58: Artificial Insemination.

  • New Jersey Statutes Annotated (N.J.S.A.) 9:17-41(b)
  • New Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C) 10:110-9.5(g)
  • N.J.S.A. 9:17-44

 

Institute for Families, School of Social Work  Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey - Child Support Program Manual 2020 Release