Establishing legal parentage is an important step because parentage creates legal rights and responsibilities involving a child.

California allows qualifying parents to establish parentage through a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage. When properly completed and filed, the declaration can have the same force and effect as a judgment establishing parentage and can confer the rights and duties of a legal parent.

Who Can Sign a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage?

California law permits a voluntary declaration to be signed in qualifying circumstances by the person who gave birth to the child and another person who qualifies under California’s parentage rules.

This can include an unmarried person who gave birth and another person who is the child’s genetic parent. California’s rules also address declarations involving children conceived through assisted reproduction.

Declarations are commonly completed through qualifying procedures at the hospital after a child’s birth. When the declaration is not completed at the hospital, California provides another process involving signatures before a notary and filing with the Department of Child Support Services.

Does Being Listed on a Birth Certificate Establish Legal Paternity?

Not necessarily.

Simply listing a man as the father on a child’s birth certificate does not, by itself, establish paternity when he is not married to the child’s mother and has not executed a voluntary declaration of paternity.

This distinction can be important when parents assume that a birth certificate alone resolved legal parentage.

A properly executed voluntary declaration can have much greater legal significance because, with limited exceptions, it carries the same force and effect as a parentage judgment.

Can a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage Be Challenged?

California provides procedures for rescinding or challenging a voluntary declaration in qualifying circumstances.

The applicable procedure and deadlines depend on who is challenging the declaration and the grounds for doing so.

For example, certain people who did not sign the declaration may have standing to challenge it, including an alleged genetic parent or a person claiming presumed-parent status. California also imposes specific filing, notice, and procedural requirements for these challenges.

Because a declaration can have the effect of a parentage judgment, it should not be treated as routine paperwork without legal consequences.

Establishing Parentage Creates Important Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Legal parentage can affect child custody, visitation, child support, and other parental rights and obligations.

A Voluntary Declaration of Parentage can provide an efficient method of establishing that legal relationship when the requirements are satisfied.

Before signing—or attempting to challenge—a declaration, understanding its legal effect is important because establishing parentage can shape both the parent’s rights and the child’s legal relationships for years to come.