Establishing parentage

Establishing parentage creates a legal relationship between a child and the child's parent when no legal relationship previously existed. Actions to establish a legal relationship between a child and the child's father are informally referred to as paternity actions. Parentage must be established before a parent's name can be placed on a child's birth certificate.

Mother’s marital status affects parentage

If a mother is married at the time the child is conceived or born, Minnesota law automatically recognizes the mother and her spouse (male or female) as the legal parents of the child.

If a mother is not married at the time the child is conceived or born, Minnesota law automatically recognizes only the mother as the legal parent of the child.

Steps can be taken to legally establish the child's father. This is called establishing parentage.
Three ways to establish parentage
- When a child is born to a mother who is married, the mother's spouse (male or female) is presumed the legal parent of the child and will appear on the child's birth certificate.
  - If the mother's spouse is not the child's biological father and does not want to be the legal parent, the mother, her spouse and the biological father can sign the Recognition of Parentage and the Spouse's Non-parentage Statement. When these documents are filed with the Minnesota Department of Health, the biological father will also become the legal father of the child.
- If the parents are not married, and both parents agree that the man is the biological father and want him to be the child's legal father, you can sign a Recognition of Parentage form and file it with the Minnesota Department of Health. Learn more about the Recognition of Parentage form and what you need to do.
- Either or both parents can ask the court to issue an order naming the man as the child's legal father.
Paternity can be established without a child support, custody or parenting time order.
Reasons to establish parentage
A mother may want to establish parentage so that she can:
- Request child support from the father
- Receive benefits for the child on behalf of the father, such as Social Security benefits or insurance.
The father may want to establish parentage so that he can:
- Be listed as the father on a child's birth certificate and be recognized as the child's legal father
- Seek custody or parenting time with a child
- Add the child to his medical or dental insurance.
Recognition of Parentage process for establishing paternity
The following web pages address various topics and specific situations related to establishing paternity.
- Legal fathers
- The Recognition of Parentage process
  - Advantages and disadvantages of signing the Recognition of Parentage
  - Undoing a Recognition of Parentage
  - The Establishing Parentage - What Every Mother and Father Need to Know video explains your rights and responsibilities before signing the Recognition of Parentage form.
- Court orders to establish parentage
- When a mother is married to someone other than the biological father
  - Spouse's Non-parentage Statement
  - Undoing a Spouse's Non-parentage Statement
- Genetic testing to determine the biological father
- Your rights as a parent
  - Naming your child
  - Living arrangements for your child
  - Parenting time
  - Decisions about how your child is raised
  - What to do if your child may be adopted
The brochure Being a Legal Father: Parentage information for mothers and fathers (PDF) also answers questions about establishing paternity for unmarried parents.