The Putative Father Registry is a database listing the names of men who believe themselves to be possible biological fathers to one or more children. No federal law is in place regulating putative father registries and no nationwide registry exists, but most U.S. states have registries in place and each such state maintains its own registry.
The primary purpose of the Putative Father Registry is to provide a place for possible biological fathers to list identifying information about themselves, the mother, and the child or children so that these registered putative fathers can be notified of any adoption proceedings involving children whom they may have fathered. A Putative Father Registry is for men who are not legal fathers and therefore are not listed on the birth certificates of the children and do not have legally established child support, parenting plans, and/or any other rights to notification.
Some states also use the putative father registry to provide legal recognition to the biological father of a child if the father registers within a requisite time period, which often runs from the time of intercourse to thirty (30) days after the birth of the child. In all states, the putative father is advised to place his name on the Registry as soon as possible after engaging in sexual intercourse with a woman who is not his wife and where such relations could result in the birth of a child. This means that putative fathers can and should register before a child is born or before conception is even confirmed.
Some of the states also require putative fathers to register in order to preserve their legal rights. Under such state laws, a man should register every time he has intercourse with a different woman. While doing so could be burdensome, a man must consider the importance of his legal rights to his child versus the small amount of time it takes to place his name on the Registry.
In all states employing a Registry, putative fathers who register will be notified if their children are put up for adoption, but they are not automatically granted any rights in contesting the adoption, nor are they granted any right to gain custody of the child in lieu of adoption. A putative father is only guaranteed the rights to be notified and to appear in court to testify regarding the best interest of the child.
