Birth Records and Paternity
- Get a certified copy of a filed Recognition of Parentage or other paternity form
- Add a father to a birth record
How do I get a certified copy of a filed Recognition of Parentage or other paternity form?
- Complete an Application for Certified Recognition of Parentage, Husband's Non-Paternity Statement or Revocation Form. The application must be signed and dated in front of a notary public.
- The fee is $9. Fees are non-refundable per (Minnesota Statutes, section 144.226).
- The application must be sent to the Office of the State Registrar by email, fax or mail. Payment is accepted by credit card (MasterCard, VISA, or Discover), check or money order and is deposited upon receipt.
- By email. You can scan and email your application to health.issuance@state.mn.us. A raised notary seal must be shaded by pencil.
- By fax. You can fax your application to 651-201-5740. Do not fax it more than once; each application will be processed as a separate request. A raised notary seal must be shaded by pencil.
- By mail. You can mail your application to:
The Office of the State Registrar does not have walk-in service.
If you still have questions about how to get a certified copy of a filed Recognition of Parentage or other paternity form, email us at health.issuance@state.mn.us or call 651-201-5980.
How do I add a father to a birth record?
With a Recognition of Parentage (ROP) form
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With a court order
The Minnesota Voluntary Recognition of Parentage may be filed when two parents are not married to each other when a child is born. It must be signed and dated by both parents in front of a notary public. The ROP may be completed at the hospital at the time of the child’s birth or be filed later. There is no fee to file an ROP.
Child’s and mother’s information must match exactly the information on the birth record and there must be no corrections or cross outs on the form or it will be rejected.
If the mother is married to someone who is not the father when the child is born, that man may complete a Husband’s Non-paternity Statement (HNPS) within a year after the child’s birth. Both the HNPS and ROP must be filed in order to add the biological father to the birth record.
Paternity forms are available from a county child support office or the Department of Human Services website. For more information about the ROP Program, call the Department of Human Services at 651-296-2542 or 1-800-657-3954 or visit a child support office.
If you still have questions about how to file a Recognition of Parentage or other paternity form, email us at health.paternity@state.mn.us or call 651-201-5961.
If filing a Recognition of Parentage form is not possible, a biological father can be added to a birth record with a paternity court order.
The court order must show the child’s name and date of birth as it appears on the birth record. The order must state that the father is the legal father of the child and that he is to be added to the birth record.
There is a $40 fee to add a father to a birth record with a court order. Fees are non-refundable per (Minnesota Statutes, section 144.226).
Mail a certified copy only of the paternity court order with $40 fee to:
If you have questions about adding a father to a birth record with court order, email us at health.paternity@state.mn.us or call 651-201-5990.
