How to Fill Out and File the California CS-909: Declaration of Paternity

California’s Declaration of Paternity is now called the Voluntary Declaration of Parentage, filed on form DCSS-0909. Two parents use it to establish a legal parent-child relationship without going to court, and once the Department of Child Support Services processes the signed form, it carries the same weight as a court judgment of parentage.¹ The form is free, filing is free, and blank copies are available at hospitals, local child support offices, birth and death registrars, superior courts, and county welfare departments.²

Who Can Sign

Under California Family Code Section 7573, two groups of parents may sign a DCSS-0909. The first is an unmarried person who gave birth together with the child’s biological parent. The second is a person who gave birth, married or not, together with an intended parent of a child conceived through sperm or egg donation, provided the donor is not the birth parent’s spouse.¹

The declaration will not be valid, even if both people sign and mail it, when the child was born through a surrogacy arrangement, when a court has already named someone else as a legal parent, or when there is any uncertainty about who the parent is.³ Parents in those situations need a court order instead. Because signing waives the right to genetic testing and a trial on parentage, the California Courts self-help guide recommends against signing if you are unsure whether you qualify.⁴

There is no minimum age to sign. A parent under 18 may sign, but the declaration does not become legally valid until 60 days after both parents turn 18.⁵

Where to Get the Form

Hospitals must offer the DCSS-0909 to unmarried birth parents and the person identified as the other parent before discharge. Prenatal clinics also offer it to prospective parents.⁶ If you did not sign one at the hospital, pick up a blank copy for free from:

A local child support agency office
The local registrar of births and deaths
A superior court
A county welfare department

A sample is posted on the DCSS Parentage Opportunity Program website so you can review the layout before you go.⁷

Filling Out the DCSS-0909

The form runs two pages and is divided into four sections. Small omissions matter. A missing Social Security number or an unchecked certification box will cause DCSS to return the form unfiled.

Section A: Eligibility and Personal Information

Section A opens with eligibility screening questions: whether the birth parent is unmarried, and whether the other signer is the genetic father or, for assisted reproduction cases, meets the eligibility criteria. After those, fill in the child’s details: first, middle, and last name; date of birth; whether it was a multiple birth; and the place of birth including hospital, city, county, state, and country.⁸

Below that, both parents each provide a full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, phone number, email address, and current mailing address. If you do not have an SSN or ITIN, check the box certifying that. Leaving both the number and the box blank sends the form back to you.

Section B: Declarations and Signatures

Section B is where both parents read and agree to the legal declarations by signing. The birth parent confirms the other signer is the only possible parent. The other parent confirms they are either the biological parent or the intended parent under an assisted reproduction arrangement. Both affirm they are signing voluntarily, that they understand they are giving up the right to genetic testing and a trial, and that they accept the obligation to support the child. Date both signatures.⁸

For assisted reproduction cases, Section B includes an additional declaration confirming that the donor is not the birth parent’s spouse, that the donor does not intend to be a parent, and that both signers intend to be the child’s parents.

Sections C and D: Witnessing

Only one of these two sections gets completed. Section C is filled in by a hospital or agency witness. Section D is filled in by a notary public. Which one applies depends on where you sign.

Signing and Witnessing

Every DCSS-0909 must be signed in front of either an authorized witness or a notary public. Without proper witnessing, the form is not valid.¹

If you sign at a hospital, prenatal clinic, child support office, registrar, or other authorized agency, a staff member witnesses the signatures and completes Section C with their signature, printed name, and the agency’s name and address. No notary is needed.

If you sign anywhere else, including at home or at a private attorney’s office, both signatures must be notarized and the notary completes Section D. California caps notary fees at $15 per signature, so plan on up to $30 for the two signatures.⁹

Where to File It

Hospitals usually handle filing when the form is signed before discharge. Otherwise, you mail the original to the Department of Child Support Services Parentage Opportunity Program:

CDCSS
Parentage Opportunity Program
P.O. Box 419070
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-9070

There is no filing fee. The declaration takes legal effect upon filing with DCSS.¹ Processing generally takes a few weeks, after which the form becomes part of the state’s central parentage registry and DCSS returns a filed copy for your records. Keep that copy. You will need it to amend the child’s birth certificate or to apply for benefits tied to the parent-child relationship.

What a Filed Declaration Does

A filed DCSS-0909 is equivalent to a court judgment of parentage. Both signers are the child’s legal parents from that point forward, with full parental rights and responsibilities, including the right to petition for custody or parenting time, the obligation to support the child, inheritance rights, and eligibility for benefits through either parent.² Filing does not, on its own, create a custody or visitation order. If the parents later disagree on arrangements, either can go to family court, but parentage itself is already established and will not need to be litigated.¹⁰

Filing also does not automatically update the child’s birth certificate. To add or change a parent on the birth record, file a separate Amendment of Parentage (form VS 21) with the California Department of Public Health, along with a certified copy of the filed DCSS-0909 and a notarized sworn statement. The amendment fee is $26, which includes one certified copy of the amended birth certificate.¹¹

Canceling Within 60 Days

Either signer can cancel the declaration by filing a rescission form (DCSS-0915) with the Department of Child Support Services within 60 calendar days of the date the last parent signed. Postmark the mailing no later than the 60th day. If a court has already entered a custody, visitation, or child support order based on the declaration, the rescission window is closed regardless of how many days have passed.¹²

To rescind, complete the DCSS-0915, send a copy to the other parent by a mail method that requires a return receipt, then mail the original rescission form along with the return receipt to DCSS at the same P.O. Box used for the original filing. The form includes a declaration under penalty of perjury that you sent a copy to the other parent. Missing the return receipt can invalidate the rescission.⁵ If the signer was a minor at the time, the 60-day clock does not start until that parent turns 18 or is legally emancipated, whichever comes first.

After the 60 days close without a rescission, the only way to undo the parentage is a court challenge based on fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact. That is a far longer and more expensive road than filing the rescission form on time.

1
California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM – Section 7573
2
California Department of Child Support Services. Parentage Opportunity Program
3
California Department of Child Support Services. Establishing Legal Parentage
4
California Courts. Voluntary Declaration of Parentage
5
California Department of Child Support Services. California Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP) – Rescission
6
California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 7570-7577 – Establishment of Paternity by Voluntary Declaration
7
California Department of Child Support Services. Forms
8
California Department of Child Support Services. Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP) Instructions and Application Form
9
California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV – Section 8211
10
California Courts. Parentage Case Introduction
11
California Department of Public Health. Amendment of Parentage
12
California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 7575