When the child is born, the hospital should offer to assist with the signing of the Paternity Acknowledgement Affidavit. If both parents are willing to sign and paternity is not an issue, the hospital will assist you with completing the form and they will forward it to the Central Paternity Registry, free of charge. If anyone is presumed to be the father or if both parents are not willing to sign the document then the hospital can not assist with the signing of the Paternity Acknowledgement Affidavit. Keep in mind that this is a legally binding document, signed under oath. Please read it carefully and provide only truthful information.
If the Paternity Acknowledgement is not signed, the alleged father's name will not appear on the birth certificate. If the mother of the child is married, the name of the husband will appear on the birth certificate, without the need for the husband to sign an Acknowledgement Affidavit. The same conditions apply for filling out the form at the CSEA that apply at the hospital. If the Paternity Acknowledgement is signed and notarized at the Warren County CSEA the CSEA will send the document to the Central Paternity Registry at no cost to you. The Warren County CSEA strongly encourages genetic testing when a Paternity Acknowledgement has not been signed.