70.58.080 - Birth certificates -- Filing -- Establishing paternity -- Surname of child.

Birth certificates — Filing — Establishing paternity — Surname of child.

(1) Within ten days after the birth of any child, the attending physician, midwife, or his or her agent shall:

     (a) Fill out a certificate of birth, giving all of the particulars required, including: (i) The mother's name and date of birth, and (ii) if the mother and father are married at the time of birth or an acknowledgment of paternity has been signed or one has been filed with the state registrar of vital statistics naming the man as the father, the father's name and date of birth; and

     (b) File the certificate of birth together with the mother's and father's social security numbers with the state registrar of vital statistics.

     (2) The local registrar shall forward the birth certificate, any signed acknowledgment of paternity that has not been filed with the state registrar of vital statistics, and the mother's and father's social security numbers to the state office of vital statistics pursuant to RCW 70.58.030.

     (3) The state registrar of vital statistics shall make available to the division of child support the birth certificates, the mother's and father's social security numbers and acknowledgments of paternity.

     (4) Upon the birth of a child to an unmarried woman, the attending physician, midwife, or his or her agent shall:

     (a) Provide an opportunity for the child's mother and natural father to complete an acknowledgment of paternity. The completed acknowledgment shall be filed with the state registrar of vital statistics. The acknowledgment shall be prepared as required by RCW 26.26.305.

     (b) Provide written information and oral information, furnished by the department of social and health services, to the mother and the father regarding the benefits of having the child's paternity established and of the availability of paternity establishment services, including a request for support enforcement services. The oral and written information shall also include information regarding the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights, including, if one parent is a minor any rights afforded due to minority status, and responsibilities that arise from, signing the acknowledgment of paternity.

     (5) The physician or midwife or his or her agent is entitled to reimbursement for reasonable costs, which the department shall establish by rule, when an acknowledgment of paternity is filed with the state registrar of vital statistics.

     (6) If there is no attending physician or midwife, the father or mother of the child, householder or owner of the premises, manager or superintendent of the public or private institution in which the birth occurred, shall notify the local registrar, within ten days after the birth, of the fact of the birth, and the local registrar shall secure the necessary information and signature to make a proper certificate of birth.

     (7) When an infant is found for whom no certificate of birth is known to be on file, a birth certificate shall be filed within the time and in the form prescribed by the state board of health.

     (8) When no alleged father is named on a birth certificate of a child born to an unwed mother the mother may give any surname she so desires to her child but shall designate in space provided for father's name on the birth certificate "None Named".

[2002 c 302 § 708; 1997 c 58 § 937; 1989 c 55 § 2; 1961 ex.s. c 5 § 8; 1951 c 106 § 6; 1907 c 83 § 12; RRS § 6029.]

Notes: Application -- Construction -- Short title -- Severability -- 2002 c 302: See RCW 26.26.903, 26.26.911, and 26.26.912.

Short title -- Part headings, captions, table of contents not law -- Exemptions and waivers from federal law -- Conflict with federal requirements -- Severability -- 1997 c 58: See RCW 74.08A.900 through 74.08A.904.

Implementation -- 1994 c 299: "The department of social and health services shall make a substantial effort to determine the identity of the noncustodial parent through consistent implementation of RCW 70.58.080. By December 1, 1994, the department of social and health services shall report to the fiscal committees of the legislature on the method for validating claims of good cause for refusing to establish paternity, the methods used in other states, and the national average rate of claims of good cause for refusing to establish paternity compared to the Washington state rate of claims of good cause for refusing to establish paternity, the reasons for differences in the rates, and steps that may be taken to reduce these differences." [1994 c 299 § 13.]