Changing name on the birth certificate – is it possible? The answer is Yes – but you will likely need a paternity DNA test. The parents who are named as mother and father on a birth certificate must assume full legal responsibilities. It is therefore, extremely important for the correct people to be named.

Naming the wrong person on a birth certificate can have several implications. First, it could mean the parents registered on the birth certificate may be maintaining and providing for a child that is not his; secondly it could also mean that the real biological father of the child may not know about the child and thus, cannot play an active part in the child’s life.

The Birth Certificate – the Child is born in Marriage

When children are born in marriage the assumption is that husband and wife are the biological parents of the child and are automatically registered on the birth certificate. The father is in this situation always taken to be the biological dad. Should you need to change the name of the father you registered on the birth certificate an at home paternity test will not suffice.

In the at home paternity test responsibility for DNA sample collection falls on the client. The DNA test will need to be a Legal DNA Test. In many cases, if you have been to court that will order the test- this would be a court ordered paternity test.

In a legal test all people submitting their DNA samples will have to sign for the samples they submitted. In some countries you will not be able to take any samples from anybody without their specific consent (refer to the Human Tissues Act in the UK) and in other countries that mother must give her consent for the test.

The Birth Certificate and the Six Week Window

It is not required that a man be registered as the child’s father immediately after the moment of birth. There are in fact, 6 weeks in the UK within which the name of a father can be placed on the child’s birth certificate. A man who wishes to have his name put down will need the mother to agree. If there are uncertainties and doubts as to whether then man is the biological father of the child, there is ample time to do a DNA paternity test. There is no need to do a legal paternity test is both mother and alleged father are willing to take the peace of mind test.

Registering the Father when the Couple are Unmarried

If the father is unmarried things are somewhat different. There is no assumption as to who the father could be as happens in cases when the parents are married. Importantly, the father must be present when the birth certificate is filled out with the names of the child’s parents. A mother cannot fill in the name of a father if the father is not present and does not give his consent for his name to be registered as that of the child’s father. This is all done at the registry office. Once this is done, the new birth certificate becomes the legal document accepted across organization as documentary evidence of a change of name.

Any changes in names will require a paternity test. As regards to changing the name on a birth certificate, this requires certain procedures that must be followed.