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Paternity
If the biological parents of a child are not married/in a civil union, are both available to sign forms and no other man is listed on the birth certificate, a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) form is completed. This form is available from a county clerk, health department, and public aid (HFS) office, or it may be found at Child Support Services (see RESOURCES in the right-hand column).
If the biological parents are not married/in a civil union and either parent is NOT available to sign forms, a Court Order of Paternity is required. Contact your local court system for further details.
If a court has determined who the biological father/co-parent of a child is and you have a Court Order of Paternity, submit the Affidavit and Certificate of Correction Request form (see FORMS in the right-hand column) and a certified copy of the court order of paternity. You can obtain a certified copy from the circuit clerk's office. The court order will not be returned to you; it becomes part of the sealed file.
You also will need to include the following:
- The father/co-parent's full name
- The father/co-parent's date of birth
- The father/co-parent's place of birth (state or country if other than the United States)
- The father/co-parent's Social Security number
- A copy of the valid/non-expired government issued photo IDs of both mother/co-parent and father/co-parent
- To learn more about the required costs/fees, see RESOURCES in the right-hand column and click on Costs/Fees
NOTE: A copy of DNA results are not acceptable as proof of paternity.