What is an Acknowledgment of Paternity?
A. An Acknowledgment of Paternity is a paper, usually filled out at the hospital at the time of a child’s birth, where the mother and father say that the man signing the paper is the father of the child. An Acknowledgment of Paternity does the same thing as a court Order of Filiation and will permit a hospital or Department of Health to name the man as the child’s father on the birth certificate.
An “Acknowledgment of Paternity” is a form that is filled out (sometimes at the hospital) and then filed with the Bureau of Vital Statistics (BVS). With the proper signing and filing of the AOP, then the biological father is legally established to be the father and his name will be placed on the birth certificate. Once legally established, then the Courts can order him to pay child support and require that the mother permit visitation.
