Protecting Fathers' Rights in Adoption

Researched and Prepared by
Erik L. Smith

Readers should not rely on this summary for legal advice. You are strongly advised to contact an attorney in the state relevant to you for the details, requirements, consequences, obligations, and considerations concerning signing that state's putative father registry.

A "putative father" is a man who may be a child's father, but who was not married to the child's mother before the child was born and has not established that he is the father in a court proceeding.

Call the respective office or department to verify the information first before sending or requesting any forms, documents, or materials.

An asterisk (*) means that the state, by statute, regards a putative father's ignorance of the pregnancy or the birth as no excuse for not registering with the putative father registry. Other states may imply similar theory through their case law, even if the statutes do not mention it.

Links below will take you to details of how to obtain forms and register, as well as the individual state statute references:

Alabama	Arizona *	Arkansas	Florida *
Georgia	Idaho	Illinois	Indiana
Iowa	Louisiana	Massachusetts	Minnesota *
Missouri	Montana	Nebraska	New Mexico
New York	Ohio *	Oklahoma	Oregon
Tennessee	Texas *	Utah *	Wyoming

Military Personnel

A putative father who is in the armed services may have a remedy or other protection under the Sailors and Soldiers Relief Act.

Relevant U.S. Supreme Court Cases:

• Lehr v. Robertson, 463 U.S. 248 (1983)
• Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
• Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246 (1978)
• Caban v. Mohammed, 441 U.S. 380 (1979)

Erik L. Smith
518 E. Town St., #308
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 228-3703
edenstore@msn.com

_{This information is accurate to the best of my knowledge. If you find that any information is incorrect, please send corrections and updates to me at: edenstore@msn.com. Otherwise, some states' putative father registry forms and addresses can be found at: www.technosearch.com/naked//Section_IV/appendix_k.htm}

Credits: Erik L. Smith
518 E. Town St., #308
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 228-3703
edenstore@msn.com

This information is accurate to the best of my knowledge. If you find that any information is incorrect, please send corrections and updates to me at: edenstore@msn.com. Otherwise, some states’ putative father registry forms and addresses can be found at: www.technosearch.com/naked//Section_IV/appendix_k.htm