Changing the Name on a Birth Certificate – You may need a Paternity test

DNA paternity testing can in some cases be used to change the name on a child’s birth certificate. Whether you will need a DNA test or not depends very much on the nature of the information and the extent to which you need to change it.

Incorrect or missing information on a child’s birth record will not require a DNA test. You cannot, however, make any changes without fully justified proof as to why you want to make the changes. This means you will need to go armed with all the necessary documentation from public registries or other government sectors. You will not always, under the law, be able to change any details on the birth certificate. A mother who has reverted to her maiden surname after a divorce or separation cannot change the children’s birth certificate to her own.

Adding the father’s Name to the birth certificate

From the moment of birth, there is a number of days stipulated by the law within which the father’s name must be registered on the birth certificate. This can vary depending on the state; in Minnesota it is 45 days. A Parent Notice is sent in many states a short time after the birth of the child. Parents can make any changes to the Parent Notice, correcting and changing the information if there are any errors in dates and names.

Paternity DNA Testing and Birth Certificate

If at the time of birth the mother has doubts about the paternity of the child she must remember and keep in mind that there is a time frame within which she must register the correct father on the birth certificate. The father has to be present and give consent to his name being jotted down as from them on, once his name has been put onto the certificate, he is the legal father of the child and getting that name off (should it turn out he is not the biological father) is hard. A paternity DNA test can be carried out immediately after birth; the moment the child is born it can be swabbed and all the necessary DNA samples sent to the lab for testing. The paternity test results will be ready in just a few days- this means you do not have to worry about the limit/ the number of days you have as time frame to register the father. However, you must act quickly.

In some cases, changing names might require going to court; this is especially true once a father had been registered at birth and years later, somebody contests that name claiming that it is not the name of the biological father. The judge can request a court ordered paternity test.

The father’s name on the birth certificate can be left blank if the mother has no idea who the father might be; it can be filled in a later stage. DNA paternity testing can in some instances can help change the name on the child’s birth certificate. Different countries do adopt different laws.