Adding a father to a birth certificate when none is already listed (Paternity)

Arizona law (A.R.S. 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 (Acknowledgement 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 Acknowledgement of Paternity form. These forms are available at all birthing hospitals, the Office of Vital Registration, the Arizona Department of Economic Security's Child Support Enforcement offices as well as other Vital Records offices.

Parents may choose to complete the Acknowledgement 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 a Vital Registration Office.

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, whiteouts, changes, strikeouts or other alterations, or other color ink used on the form it will be rejected.

Both parents named on the Acknowledgement of Paternity and both signatures must be notarized or witnessed. PLEASE NOTE: The second page must also be signed separately and notarized. Failure to sign both pages and lack of a notary on any signature will cause the form to be rejected.

Either parent named on the Acknowledgement may bring in person or mail the completed form to the Office of Vital Registration at P.O. Box 211, Phoenix, AZ 85001 if the Acknowledgement of Paternity is from 1997 to the present. Our office may notarize and process Acknowledgements of Paternity between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Both parents need not to be present to file. If our office is going to be notarizing the document, each parent for which we are notarizing does need to be present.

If mailing the Acknowledgement of Paternity, please include a check or money order made payable to the Maricopa County Office of Vital Registration. If you do not include payment with your acknowledgement, you will be required to pay the fee before any certified copies will be issued.

Starting April 1, 09, Acknowledgement of Paternity correction to a birth certificate will cost $25.00, which includes one certified copy of the birth certificate with the father's name on it. Additional certified copies are now $15.00 each.

Court Ordered Paternity

If you decide to bring a court order to the Office of Vital Registration for a birth that occurred from 1997 to the present, you must bring a certified copy of the court order with you.

Walk-in customers are served in the order they arrive between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday thru Friday.

Starting April 1, 09, the processing of a court ordered paternity will cost $25.00 and is NOT paid by the Court. If the Court files the order and an application for certified copies is received later, the applicant must pay the fee before the certified copies can be issued. The $25.00 fee includes one certified copy of the birth certificate with the father's name on it. Additional certified copies are now $15.00 each.