Local Birth Registrars

Birth Registrar responsibilities

Proper form completed correctly

The local registrar must review each Acknowledgment of Parentage (AOP) form to ensure that the proper form was used, and that it was completed correctly. Return the birth certificate and the AOP form to the hospital if any of the following apply:

• A form other than LDSS-5171 (Rev. 04/21) was used
• Other parent's first and/or last name missing
• Birth parent or other parent signature missing
• Child's first and/or last name missing
• One or both witness signatures missing
• DOB of birth parent, other parent or child missing
• Birthplace of child missing or incomplete
• Child's name is crossed out or changed in any way

Advise the hospital to contact the parents to arrange for them to complete the proper form or make appropriate corrections. When the proper form is completed and correct, it should be immediately filed with the birth certificate. If the hospital is unable to obtain the proper form or if a delay will be caused, the hospital must complete a new birth certificate without the other parent's name. In this case, the parents must file the AOP directly with the local registrar.

If an incorrect AOP form is processed, the birth registrar will receive a letter from the New York State Division of Child Support Services Outreach Bureau detailing the reason why the form cannot be processed, and will have two weeks to take corrective action.

Processing the AOP

The local registrar enters the local district number and the local register number in the appropriate spaces in the section entitled for Official Use Only. The original AOP form is maintained by the local registrar as part of the permanent files of the local district.

Mailing the AOP

For children born outside of New York City, a certified copy of the AOP is sent to the New York State Department of Health with the child's birth certificate (top copy) on the Friday after the birth certificate is filed.

Within ten days of receiving the birth certificate, the local registrar sends at no charge a certified copy of the Acknowledgment of Parentage and the birth certificate to the following:

• Birth Parent
• Other Parent

A copy of the Acknowledgment of Parentage form with no birth certificate is mailed to the Putative Father Registry:

Providing replacement copies of the AOP

Local registrars may issue copies of the Acknowledgment of Parentage upon request to the same persons eligible to obtain a certified copy of the birth certificate. Generally, this will be the birth parent or the other parent and a local or state social services agency when requested for official purposes. While appropriate fees may be charged for issuing a birth certificate copy, there is no fee for issuing a copy of the Acknowledgment of Parentage.

Adding parent to Birth Certificate after original is processed

If the birth certificate was filed without the name of the other parent, the Acknowledgment of Parentage may be used to establish parentage and to enter the name of the other parent on the birth certificate. However, the local registrar is not authorized to enter the other parent's name on the child's birth certificate after the birth certificate has been filed. The other parent's name may be entered on an already filed birth certificate only by the New York State Department of Health, or the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, through the birth amendment process. The Amendment Unit will forward a copy of the newly amended certificate to the local registrar upon completion.

One free amended birth certificate will be issued to the other parent. If the child is less than one year old, the birth parent may exchange the original birth certificate at no cost; after one year there is a replacement cost.

If parents wish to file an AOP after the original birth certificate is processed, the local registrar must:

• Provide the birth parent and the other parent with the Acknowledgment of Parentage and the Establishing Parentage Brochure (Pub-5173);
• Provide the birth parent and other parent with oral notice of their legal rights and responsibilities by reading to them pages 1 through 4 of the Acknowledgment of Parentage form or by playing the video for them (https://youtu.be/HPnllLe3z4A);
• Provide, if oral notice is not possible at a time mutually convenient for the parents and local registrar, the birth parent and other parent with the link to the AOP video (https://youtu.be/HPnllLe3z4A);
• Provide the birth parent and other parent with the opportunity to sign the Acknowledgment of Parentage in the presence of two adult witnesses not related to either parent;
• Provide both the birth parent and other parent with a certified copy of the Acknowledgment of Parentage;
• Submit a certified copy of the completed Acknowledgment of Parentage to the State Department of Health for children born outside of New York City, or to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for children born in New York City;
• Seal the original birth certificate;
• Replace the sealed birth certificate with the amended birth certificate subsequently provided by the Department of Health or the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.