A petition to adjudicate parentage in Texas is a lawsuit filed in district court asking a judge to legally decide who a child’s parent is. You file it when parentage has not already been settled by marriage, a signed acknowledgment, or an earlier court order, and the ruling can determine conservatorship, child support, visitation, the child’s birth certificate, and inheritance rights.
When You Need a Petition Instead of an Acknowledgment
If the mother and the man claiming to be the biological father agree, they can skip court entirely by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) and filing it with the Texas Vital Statistics Unit.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.301 – Acknowledgment of Paternity The acknowledgment (and any denial of paternity signed with it) takes effect on the child’s date of birth or the filing date, whichever is later.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.304 – Rules for Acknowledgment and Denial of Paternity An AOP is cheaper and faster, and even a minor parent can sign one.
A court petition is the right route when the alleged father denies paternity, the mother disputes a man’s claim, or neither party will cooperate. It is also the only path when a presumed father (someone married to the mother around the time of birth) wants to challenge paternity, or when a government agency needs to establish parentage in order to pursue child support.
Who Can File
Texas law limits standing to a specific list. A proceeding to adjudicate parentage can be brought by the child, the mother, a man whose paternity is at issue, a government support enforcement agency such as the Office of the Attorney General, an authorized adoption or child-placing agency, a legal representative acting for someone who is deceased, incapacitated, or a minor, a parent or sibling of the mother if the mother is deceased, or an intended parent.
Once a child who has no presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated father reaches adulthood, only the adult child can file.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.602 – Standing to Maintain Proceeding Relatives, mothers, and alleged fathers lose standing once the child turns 18 unless a presumed father exists.
Filing Deadlines
The deadline depends on whether the child already has a presumed father. A presumed father is someone who was married to the mother at the time of birth or within 300 days before birth, or who otherwise qualifies under the statutory presumptions.
If the child has a presumed father, a proceeding to challenge or confirm that man’s paternity must be filed before the child’s fourth birthday. Two exceptions allow filing after that deadline: the presumed father and the mother never lived together or had sexual intercourse during the probable time of conception, or the presumed father was misled into believing he was the biological father and that deception kept him from filing on time.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.607 – Time Limitation Child Having Presumed Father
If the child has no presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated father, there is no filing deadline. The petition can be filed at any point during the child’s life, and the child can file as an adult.
How to File
The petition is filed in the district court in the county where the child or the respondent lives. If the alleged father lives outside Texas, the court can still assert jurisdiction under the state’s long-arm provisions when the person had sufficient contact with Texas, such as previously residing here with the child or conceiving the child in the state.
The petition must identify the child by name and date of birth, name the mother and alleged father, and state the basis for the parentage claim. Filing fees vary by county. As a rough benchmark, the Harris County District Clerk charges $365 for a parentage filing, but costs differ elsewhere. If you cannot afford the fee, you can ask the court to waive it by filing an affidavit of indigency. When the Office of the Attorney General is providing child support enforcement services, the agency advances certain costs.
After filing, you must serve the respondent with legal notice. Texas requires personal service, though certified mail or service by publication (with court approval) may be used if the respondent cannot be located. Defective service can invalidate the entire case. If the respondent is properly served but does not respond, the court can enter a default judgment establishing parentage on the evidence available.
Genetic Testing
DNA testing is the backbone of most parentage cases. When any party requests it, the court is required to order genetic testing of the child and the individuals in question.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.502 – Order for Testing The court cannot order testing while the child is still in the womb. If more than one man might be the father, the court can order all of them tested at the same time or one after another.
The cost of the initial test is advanced by the party who requested it, by the support enforcement agency if one is involved, or as the court directs.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.506 – Costs of Genetic Testing Court-admissible tests from accredited labs generally run a few hundred dollars. When the Attorney General’s office advances the cost and the man is identified as the father, the agency can seek reimbursement from him.
A man is rebuttably identified as the father if testing shows at least a 99 percent probability of paternity (using a 0.5 prior probability) and a combined paternity index of at least 100 to 1.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.505 – Genetic Testing Results Rebuttal The only way to rebut that identification is to produce separate genetic testing that either excludes him or identifies a different man.
A man identified as the father through testing must be adjudicated as the father unless competing test results are admitted to rebut the finding. A man excluded by testing must be adjudicated as not the father.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.631 – Rules for Adjudication of Paternity If a party refuses court-ordered testing, the court can draw adverse inferences and enter a default judgment.
The Hearing and the Order
Once testing is complete and preliminary matters are resolved, the court schedules a hearing. The petitioner presents evidence, usually centered on the DNA results. Sworn statements, witness testimony, and documents about the parties’ relationship may also come in. If a prior acknowledgment of paternity is being challenged on grounds of fraud or coercion, the court will hear testimony about those circumstances.
When a child already has a presumed or acknowledged father, the only way to disprove that man’s paternity is through genetic testing that excludes him or identifies someone else.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.631 – Rules for Adjudication of Paternity Testimony alone will not override an existing presumption of fatherhood.
The judge may appoint an attorney ad litem or amicus attorney to represent the child’s interests independently of either parent, especially when the child is young, neither parent has counsel, or the court has concerns about the child’s welfare. Once the order becomes final, it binds all parties, and challenging it requires the normal appeals process.9State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.637 – Binding Effect of Determination of Parentage
What the Order Can Cover
An adjudication of parentage rarely stops at naming the parent. The same order can address conservatorship, support, and possession.
Conservatorship
Texas uses “conservatorship” rather than custody. The court can name both parents as joint managing conservators with shared decision-making, or designate one parent as sole managing conservator with exclusive authority over major decisions like education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Every conservatorship determination must prioritize the child’s best interest.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.002 – Best Interest of Child Rebuttable Presumption in Suit Between Parent and Nonparent Where one parent poses a risk from domestic violence, substance abuse, or similar concerns, the court can restrict that parent’s role or deny conservatorship entirely.
Child Support
Texas calculates guideline child support as a percentage of the obligor’s monthly net resources: 20 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, 30 percent for three, 35 percent for four, 40 percent for five, and not less than the amount for five children when there are six or more. If the obligor earns less than $1,000 per month in net resources, a separate low-income schedule applies with lower percentages (15 percent for one child, 20 percent for two, and so on). A statutory cap on the net resources to which the percentages apply is published periodically by the Title IV-D agency.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources If the obligor is unemployed or underemployed, the court may base its calculation on earning potential rather than actual income.
The court can also order retroactive child support reaching back before the petition was filed. A four-year lookback is presumed reasonable, but that presumption can be overcome if evidence shows the obligor knew or should have known he was the father and deliberately avoided a support obligation.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.131 – Retroactive Child Support The court weighs whether the mother previously tried to notify the alleged father, whether he provided any actual support before the case was filed, and whether a larger retroactive order would cause undue financial hardship.
Child support orders typically include medical support, either through employer-sponsored insurance or a cash medical support payment added to the income withholding order.13Administration for Children and Families. Medical Support The court can order dental support separately, and both obligations are enforceable through the same mechanisms as regular support.
Possession and Access
Once parentage is adjudicated, the noncustodial parent has the right to request a possession schedule. Texas law creates a rebuttable presumption that the standard possession order (SPO) provides reasonable minimum time and is in the child’s best interest.14State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.252 – Rebuttable Presumption
When parents live within 100 miles of each other, the SPO gives the noncustodial parent possession on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month (Friday at 6 p.m. through Sunday at 6 p.m.), Thursday evenings during the school term, alternating holidays, and 30 days of extended summer possession.15State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart The summer period can be split into two blocks of at least seven consecutive days each if the noncustodial parent gives written notice by April 1. Parents who agree on a different schedule can submit it for court approval, and the court can modify the SPO if the standard schedule is not in the child’s best interest. If unrestricted access poses a risk, the court can require supervised visitation or deny possession.
Amending the Birth Certificate
When the parentage order conflicts with the child’s existing birth certificate, the court must order the Vital Statistics Unit to issue an amended birth record. The court can also order a name change for the child on request and a showing of good cause.16State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.636 – Order Adjudicating Parentage Fees Costs and Expenses
To carry out the amendment, submit an application to the Texas Department of State Health Services along with a certified copy of the court order. The application fee is $25, plus $22 for each certified copy of the new record. When parentage is established by court decree, only one parent needs to sign the application. Once approved, the Vital Statistics Unit creates a new birth record that replaces the original, and the old record goes into a sealed paternity file that only a court can open.17Texas DSHS. New Birth Certificate Based on Parentage
Enforcing the Order
Both parents are legally bound to follow conservatorship, support, and possession orders. Any party can file a motion for enforcement if the other parent violates a temporary or final order, and the court can hold the violator in contempt.9State of Texas. Texas Family Code 160.637 – Binding Effect of Determination of Parentage Penalties include fines, wage withholding, and jail time for repeated or willful violations.
Child support enforcement carries especially sharp tools. The Attorney General’s Child Support Division can intercept tax refunds, suspend driver’s and professional licenses, seize bank accounts, and report delinquencies to credit agencies. A parent who willfully refuses to pay can face criminal contempt and incarceration. Possession order violations are enforced through the same contempt process, and a parent who repeatedly blocks court-ordered visitation risks having the conservatorship arrangement modified against them.