Because you have gone through the process of establishing paternity, the state of Arizona recognizes you as the biological father of your child. This is an important moment for you and your family since you have established the legal right to help raise your child. However, the birth certificate of your child may list a different person as the father.
Since there was a presumption that another man was the father of your child, his name is on the birth certificate. Now that the law recognizes you as the father, you may wonder if you can remove the other person’s name and place your own on your child’s certificate. The Arizona Bar Association explains the different ways you might carry this out.
Papers from court-ordered paternity
How you can change a birth certificate will depend on how you have established paternity. You may have sought to prove that you are your child’s biological father through a court hearing. If you were successful in doing so, you should have paperwork confirming that you are the biological father which you can give to the clerk of the court.
Papers from acknowledged paternity
You may have established your paternity through voluntary acknowledgment. If this is the case, you should mail your acknowledgment of paternity to the Hospital Paternity Program listed on the paternity acknowledgment form. Also, the presumed father whose name is on the birth certificate must have produced a notarized affidavit that waives his paternity. You will have to mail this affidavit along with your acknowledgment of paternity.
If you complete either of these two steps, the state should change your child’s birth certificate to reflect your paternity. The result will reinforce the fact that you are a biological parent of your child.
