Putative fathers have had fewer rights with regard to their children than either unwed mothers or married parents. Over the past several decades, putative fathers have used the Fourteenth Amendment to challenge the termination of their parental rights when the birth mother relinquishes their child for adoption. Nevertheless, States have almost complete discretion to determine the rights of a putative father at proceedings to terminate parental rights or adoption proceedings.


Constitutional Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutional protection of a putative father's parental rights when he has established a substantial relationship with his child. The Court defined a substantial relationship as the existence of a biological link between the child and putative father, and it defined the father's commitment to the responsibilities of parenthood as participating in the child's upbringing.1

Several critical concerns, however, have been unresolved by the Court. For instance, when an infant is placed for adoption at birth, the putative father can have no more than a biological link to his child; he never received an opportunity to develop a substantial relationship with his child. The Court has yet to rule on what this putative father must do to protect his parental rights. Consequently, there is a lack of uniformity among States as to the level of protection available to unwed fathers.2

Putative Father Registries

In almost all jurisdictions, putative fathers are entitled to notice of proceedings to terminate parental rights or adoption proceedings. States generally require a putative father to register on the putative father registry or acknowledge paternity within a certain timeframe in order to receive notice of such proceedings.3

Approximately4 23 States5 have statutes authorizing the establishment of putative father registries. Several States6, however, only mandate by law that a putative father file a notice of his paternity claim within a certain period of time. Failure to register or file may preclude the right to notice of termination or adoption proceedings.

Information Included in Registries

States differ in the information they maintain in their registries, although it may include:

Name, address, social security number, and date of birth of putative father and birth mother

Name and address of any person adjudicated by a court to be the father

Child's name and date of birth or expected month and year of birth

Registration date Other information deemed necessary


Revocation of Claim

Approximately 22 States7 make provisions in their statutes that allow putative fathers to revoke or rescind a notice of intent to claim paternity. Of these States, approximately 12 allow revocation at any time,8 while revocation is effective only after the child's birth in Arkansas and Iowa, and Florida only allows revocation at any time prior to the child's birth. Other States9 limit the right of rescission to 60 days after the paternity claim is submitted or prior to a court proceeding to establish paternity, whichever occurs first. Most States will accept a written, notarized statement for rescission. Washington, however, requires a court proceeding for revocation of a claim.

Access to Information

Access to information maintained in registries also varies from State to State. Many jurisdictions permit certain persons access to registry records. In general, these are people with a direct interest in a case. Typically, persons entitled to access include:

Birth mothers10
Courts11
Attorneys12
Licensed adoption agencies13
Prospective adoptive parents14
State departments or divisions of social services15
State offices of child support enforcement16
Any other person upon a court order for good cause shown17
Registries of other States18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (1972); Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246 (1978); Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380 (1979); Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248 (1983).
2 This summary is limited to a putative father's right to notice of adoption or termination proceedings when the child is relinquished for adoption at birth or shortly thereafter.
3 Situations in which the birth mother and putative father reside in different States may be complicated by the variability in State adoption law regarding putative father registration or acknowledgment.
4 The word approximately is used to stress the fact that the States frequently amend their laws, so this information is current only through October 2004.
5 Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.
6 Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
7 Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
8 Alabama, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming.
9 Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
10 Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
11 Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
12 Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas.
13 Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming.
14 Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, or Oregon.
15 Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington.
16 Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington.
17 Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
18 Delaware and Texas.


This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC). While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

The Information on this page was provided by The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect.

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse are services of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mission of the Clearinghouses is to connect professionals and concerned citizens to timely and well-balanced information on programs, research, legislation, and statistics regarding the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families.

A Service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

For more information, contact:
National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
Children's Bureau/ACYF
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW
Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20024
Phone: 703.352.3488 or 888.251.0075
Fax: 703.385.3206
Email: naic@caliber.com

Back to Birthmother Index