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How is paternity established?
There are multiple ways that legal fatherhood (paternity) can be established in Mississippi.
If the parents were married to each other when the child was conceived or born, paternity is automatically established.1
If the parents were not married to each other when the child was conceived or born, then they need to do something to establish paternity. This can be done:
- involuntarily - either parent or the Mississippi Department of Human Services files a complaint to establish paternity, which asks the court to order DNA testing;2 or
- voluntarily – if both parents agree who the child’s father is, they can sign a sworn acknowledgement of paternity and file it with the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Mississippi State Department of Health.3
1 See Mississippi State Bar website; see also Miss. Code § 93-9-28(1)
2 Miss. Code § 93-9-21
3 Miss. Code § 93-9-28(1)
