The Iowa paternity affidavit is a state form that lets unmarried biological parents establish the father as the child’s legal father without going to court. Both parents sign it in front of a notary, file it with the Iowa Bureau of Health Statistics at no cost, and the father’s name is added to the birth certificate. Once registered, it carries the same legal weight as a court paternity order.1Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Paternity Affidavit
Who Can Sign It
The affidavit is for parents where the mother was unmarried the entire time from conception through birth. If she was married at any point during that window, Iowa law presumes her husband is the legal father. Parents in that situation can still use the affidavit, but only after a court enters an order ruling that the husband is not the father, and a certified copy of that order has to be attached to the completed form.2Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 252A.3A – Establishing Paternity by Affidavit
Both the biological mother and biological father must sign voluntarily. Before or at signing, Iowa law requires that both parents receive written and oral information about parental rights and responsibilities, the duty to provide financial support, the benefits of establishing paternity, and the legal consequences of signing. Parents under 18 can sign.2Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 252A.3A – Establishing Paternity by Affidavit
What You Need Before You Sign
Only the form developed by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is accepted. Hospitals and birthing centers hand it to unmarried parents at the time of birth and typically handle notarization and filing on the spot. Outside the hospital, blank forms are available at any Iowa Child Support office, your county recorder or registrar, or the Bureau of Health Statistics in Des Moines.1Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Paternity Affidavit
Have the following ready before you sit down with the form:
- The child’s full legal name, date of birth, and county of birth.
- The surname you want the child to carry. It can be the father’s name, the mother’s name, or a combination.
- Each parent’s full legal name, current residential address, Social Security number, and date of birth. The mother’s name as it appears on the birth certificate and the father’s state of birth are also required.
Make sure names match your government ID exactly. A mismatch is one of the easiest ways to create a delay, and errors in Social Security numbers cause problems later with state records and any child support enforcement.
Acceptable Identification
Each parent must provide a copy of valid ID. One government-issued photo ID is enough: driver’s license, state photo ID, military ID, U.S. passport or visa, permanent resident card, or employment authorization card. Without one of those, Iowa accepts two or three secondary documents with matching names and current addresses, such as an expired driver’s license paired with a utility bill, tax return, car title, or insurance policy.3Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Voluntary Paternity Affidavit Frequently Asked Questions
Signing, Notarizing, and Filing
Both parents sign in front of a notary public, who verifies identity, witnesses the signatures, and affixes a seal. Check that the notary’s commission has not expired. If you sign at the hospital shortly after the birth, staff usually handle notarization and send the form to the state for you at no cost.
Filing is free.1Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Paternity Affidavit If you sign outside the hospital, mail the notarized affidavit, copies of both parents’ IDs, and any required court order to:
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
Bureau of Health Statistics
Lucas State Office Building, 1st Floor
321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, Iowa4Health & Human Services. Vital Records
The affidavit itself costs nothing to file, but the state charges a $15 administrative fee to amend an existing birth record. That fee applies when the affidavit is filed after the initial birth registration window at the hospital.4Health & Human Services. Vital Records
Getting the Updated Birth Certificate
Once the Bureau of Health Statistics registers the affidavit, the child’s birth record is updated with the father’s information. A new certificate does not arrive automatically. You have to request one separately and pay $15 per certified copy.5Health & Human Services. How to Request a Certified Record The updated certified copy is your permanent proof of paternity for school enrollment, insurance, and anything else that calls for evidence of the legal father-child relationship.
What the Affidavit Does and Doesn’t Do
This is the part people most often get wrong. Signing the affidavit does not give the father custody or visitation. Under Iowa law, the mother of a child born outside of marriage has sole custody until a court orders otherwise. After paternity is established, the father can petition for visitation or custody in a separate legal proceeding or in the same paternity action.6Iowa Legislature. Iowa Code 600B.40 – Custody and Visitation
What signing does trigger is a potential child support obligation. Because the affidavit carries the same weight as a court order, Iowa Child Support Recovery can use it to pursue a support order, with tools that include wage garnishment and tax refund intercepts. Both parents should understand this before they sign.
Established paternity also opens the door to benefits for the child, including the father’s Social Security, veterans’ benefits, and health insurance coverage. Either parent who lives with the child more than half the year and meets IRS requirements may be eligible to claim the Child Tax Credit, worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child for the 2025 tax year.7Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
Changing Your Mind: The 60-Day Window
Either parent can void the affidavit by filing a notarized Rescission of Paternity Affidavit with the state registrar. The deadline is whichever comes first: 60 days after the latest notarized parental signature on the original affidavit, or the date a court order regarding the child is entered by Iowa Child Support Recovery. Once either event passes, the right to rescind is gone.8Legal Information Institute. Iowa Admin Code r 641-99.18 – Certificate of Live Birth Following Rescission
Watch the clock. The 60 days run from the date of the last signature, not the date the state received the form. The rescission must be notarized like the original, and a $15 administrative fee applies.4Health & Human Services. Vital Records
After that window closes, undoing the affidavit means going to court. Under federal law governing voluntary paternity acknowledgments, a successful challenge at that stage generally requires showing fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact. That is a much harder standard than simply changing your mind, and genetic testing alone may not be enough if the court finds the challenge was unreasonably delayed.