ADHS: Division of Public Health Services: Office of Vital Records: Amendments and Corrections to Vital Records: Adding a father to a birth certificate when none is already listed (Paternity)

Amendments and Corrections to Vital Records

Amending a birth certificate to add a father-filing Paternity

Arizona law (§36-334) requires that if a mother is not married at the time a child is born and has not been married any time during the preceding 10 months, no father will be named on the birth certificate unless both parents file sworn statements or unless so ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Sworn Statements (Acknowledgment of Paternity):
If both parents are in agreement as to the identity of the biological father of a child they may establish paternity by filing an "Acknowledgment of Paternity" form in English & Spanish. These forms are available at all birthing hospitals, the Office of Vital Records, the Arizona Department of Economic Security's Child Support Enforcement offices and many of the county registrar's offices.

Parents may choose to complete the Acknowledgment of Paternity at the hospital when the child is born or may do it later. In either case, the father's name will not be added to the birth certificate until the form is filed with the County or State Office of Vital Records, or the DES Hospital Paternity Program.

The Acknowledgment of Paternity form is a two-part form that must be completed in BLACK INK and may contain NO ERRORS. If there are any errors, white-outs, changes, strikeouts or other alterations, or it will be rejected.

Both parents must sign the Acknowledgment of Paternity form and both signatures must be notarized or witnessed. PLEASE NOTE: The second page must also be signed separately and notarized or witnessed. Failure to sign both pages, or lack of a notary or witness on any signature will cause the form to be rejected.
DO NOT FORGE THE SIGNATURE OF EITHER PARENT. CLAIMS OF FORGERY WILL BE INVESTIGATED.

Acknowledgment of Paternity can also be used to change the child's surname to the father’s last name. Also note that acknowledgment can be used to change any part of the child’s name from birth to 3 months of age. This process can be done in person or by mail. You can mail your completed Acknowledgment of Paternity form to:

Office of Vital Records
P.O. Box 3887
Phoenix, AZ 85030

Hospital Paternity Program
P.O. Box 40458
Phoenix, Arizona 85067

Please include a completed, signed birth application form for the new amended birth certificate, along with your fee of $23.00. Acceptable forms of payment are credit card (write your credit card number on the application if submitting your request by mail. You must include the card type and expiration date. Other acceptable forms of payment are cashier’s check or money order made payable to the Office of Vital Records. We do not accept personal checks.

A copy of your valid government issued identification that contains your photo and signature is required or you must have your signature notarized on the birth application. If you do not include payment with your acknowledgment, you will be required to pay the fee of $23.00 before any certified copies will be issued to you.

Walk-in customers are served in the order they arrive between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Requests received from walk-in customers will be processed and mailed within 10 working days of receipt however, the timeframe may vary depending of the number of requests received. Customers who arrive after 4:00 p.m. can receive information only.

Court Ordered Paternity:

Court orders may be filed with the Office of Vital Records directly by the Court, the agency that petitioned the Court for the order, or one of the parents may deliver it in person. If you decide to bring a court order to the Office of Vital Records in person, you must bring a certified copy of the court order with you.

The processing fee of a court ordered paternity is NOT paid by the Court. If the order is filed by the Court and an application for certified copies is received later, the applicant must pay the fee of $23.00 before the certified copies can be issued. The fee includes one certified copy of the birth certificate with the father's name on it. Additional certified copies may be purchased for an additional $10.00 each.