Georgia Paternity Acknowledgment Form 3940: Filing, Fees, and Rescission

Georgia Paternity Acknowledgment Form 3940 is the voluntary form an unmarried mother and the biological father sign to add the father’s name to the child’s birth certificate without going to court. Both parents complete the form, sign it in front of a notary, and file it with the State Office of Vital Records within 30 days of signing. At that point it becomes a legal determination of paternity.¹ One thing to know before you sign: this form establishes who the biological father is and triggers a child support obligation, but it does not give the father custody or visitation. Those rights require a separate court step called legitimation.²

Who Can Use the Form

Both the mother and the man claiming to be the biological father must sign voluntarily. Two situations block the form entirely:

The mother was married to anyone within the ten months before the child’s birth. Georgia presumes the husband is the father, so the acknowledgment cannot be used.
Another man is already listed as the father on the birth record. A paternity acknowledgment cannot override an existing entry.³

If either parent is under 18, a parent or legal guardian generally needs to consent. The Division of Child Support Services allows a minor to sign without that consent only when the minor is on active military duty or has been emancipated by court order.⁴

Where to Get the Form

Hospitals and birthing centers are required to give unmarried parents the acknowledgment form, written information about paternity, and access to trained staff before the mother is discharged.⁵ If both parents sign at the hospital while a notary is available, the hospital files the form with the State Office of Vital Records and gives each parent a copy.

Later signings happen at the State Office of Vital Records in Atlanta or at the Vital Records office in the county where the child was born.² A blank copy is also available for download from the Georgia Department of Public Health website.³

What Information You Need

For each parent, the form asks for:

Full legal name
Residential address, including city, state, and ZIP code
Date of birth
Place of birth (state or country)
Social Security number, or “NONE” if one was never issued³

For the child, enter the first, middle, and last name along with the date of birth. If you want the child’s last name changed to the father’s surname, the form has a place for that. Under Georgia Rule 511-1-3-.08, when an unmarried mother and father sign a written consent, the father’s last name is entered on the birth certificate.² Parents may also choose a different last name if it follows a legitimate cultural naming practice from either parent’s country of origin.

Bring valid photo ID — a driver’s license or passport — for each signer. Check every field against your ID before you move on. A misspelled name or a transposed digit in a Social Security number can delay processing or get the filing rejected.

Notarize Before You Submit

Both parents must sign in front of a notary public, who verifies identity and confirms the signatures are voluntary. Hospital staff authorized to notarize can handle this at the time of birth, and the Vital Records offices have notaries available. If you fill the form out at home, you still need to take it to a notary before submission. An unnotarized form will not be accepted.¹

Filing the Completed Form

If you signed at the hospital, the hospital files it for you within 30 days.⁵ If you signed anywhere else, getting the notarized form to the State Office of Vital Records within 30 days is your responsibility.³ That deadline matters. The form must be filed and recorded for it to count as a legal determination of paternity under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-46.1(b).¹

You can submit in person at a county Vital Records office or mail the form to:

Georgia Office of Vital Records
1680 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30349
Phone: (404) 679-4702

If you mail it, use certified mail so you have proof of the send date. Once the office processes the acknowledgment, the child’s birth certificate is amended to add the father’s name.³

Fees

If the acknowledgment is filed within the child’s first year, current-year corrections to the birth certificate carry no charge.⁶ After that first year, the amendment fee is $10 plus the cost of a new certificate. A certified copy of the updated birth certificate costs $25, with additional copies at $5 each.⁷ Fees go to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

What Signing Actually Gives the Father

This is where Georgia law surprises people. Signing Form 3940 establishes who the biological father is. It does not create a legal parent-child relationship that includes custody or visitation.² Custody stays with the mother unless and until a court enters an order addressing it.

To gain the right to seek custody or visitation, the father has to file a separate legitimation petition in court. Legitimation establishes the full legal relationship and gives the father standing to ask for parenting time. Paternity alone, whether established by acknowledgment or by court order, obligates child support but stops short of granting parental rights beyond that financial duty.⁸ Once paternity is established, the Division of Child Support Services can pursue and enforce a support order, including health insurance coverage for the child.

If You Change Your Mind: The 60-Day Rescission Window

Either parent can undo the acknowledgment within a limited window. Under O.C.G.A. § 19-7-46.1(b), the rescission deadline is the earliest of:

If a support order comes through on day 20, the rescission window closes on day 20, not day 60. To rescind, file a written rescission with the State Office of Vital Records before the deadline passes. The Georgia Department of Public Health provides a rescission form, sometimes referred to as Form 3940-A, for this purpose.³

Challenging the Acknowledgment After the Window Closes

Once the rescission window closes, the acknowledgment can only be challenged in court, and the grounds are narrow: fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. The person bringing the challenge carries the burden of proof.¹ A DNA test showing someone else is the biological father could support a material-mistake-of-fact claim, but the test results alone don’t automatically void the acknowledgment. You need a court order.

While the challenge is pending, child support obligations stay in effect unless the court finds good cause to suspend them.⁸ Because setting aside an acknowledgment after the deadline is difficult, any parent with doubts about biological parentage should consider DNA testing before signing Form 3940 rather than after.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 19-7-46.1 – Effect of Father’s Name or Social Security Number on Records as Evidence of Paternity; Signed Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity; Certified Copy of Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
2
Georgia Department of Public Health. Paternity Acknowledgment
3
Georgia Department of Public Health. Georgia Paternity Acknowledgment Form 3940
4
Georgia Department of Human Services. Paternity Establishment
5
Georgia Department of Human Services. 17.14 Establishing Paternity via Paternity Acknowledgement
6
Georgia Department of Public Health. Birth Records
7
Georgia Department of Public Health. Fees
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Georgia Department of Human Services. Paternity Establishment