Establishing paternity in the registry office: conditions and procedure, sample application, state duty

The situation when a woman gives birth to a child out of wedlock will not surprise anyone. In such cases, sometimes the question of establishing paternity arises.

Almost any citizen of the Russian Federation can do this on a voluntary basis, and the procedure itself is quite simple and is carried out through the registry office. At the same time, as in other matters, there are certain nuances that need to be taken into account.

General points of the procedure

The procedure for acknowledging paternity at the registry office is quite simple and transparent. It consists of several mandatory steps:

submitting an application. This can be done in two ways: either in person, or via the Internet through a single portal of state and municipal services in the form of an electronic document;
provision of a pre-prepared set of documents, varying depending on the situation;
payment of state duty (the receipt must be attached to the case);
verification by an employee of a government agency of the compliance and correctness of paperwork;
obtaining a birth certificate, which indicates the name of the person submitting the application in the “father” column.

An important nuance: the choice of the child’s last name is indicated when filling out the application. Upon completion of verification of the collected papers, the applicant will receive a new birth certificate. Also, if the child has already been registered, then changes are made to the record book. Otherwise, a document is issued indicating the details of the man who declared himself the father.

One of the main points in this issue is the set of documents that the future father will need to collect. It varies depending on the specific situation.

Deadlines

It is interesting that the voluntary establishment of paternity in the registry office does not have any time restrictions. This can be done at any of the following periods:

When parents are just expecting the birth of a child.
Immediately after the baby was born.
Any amount of time after his birth.

The only limitation: establishing paternity in the registry office can only be done while the child is alive. In the event of his death, the procedure will not be carried out.

If a lot of time has passed since the child was born, it is important to strictly follow the procedure for establishing paternity in the registry office. It will be described below.

When is paternity required to be established?

Today, there are a number of cases where a mandatory procedure for establishing paternity is required to determine the property rights of a child and to ensure a man’s responsibilities towards him. Among others, the most common are the following:

A man wants to be sure that he is the father. A separate article of the legislation of the Russian Federation outlines the situation when the marriage between spouses was terminated less than 300 days ago.
In the case where the mother and father are in a civil marriage.
The child's mother does not want to formalize the fact of relationship with the father.
Death of the biological father (the “300 days” rule applies - this will be discussed below).
Death of the child’s mother, as well as deprivation of rights or recognition of her as incompetent

The procedure for recognizing paternity is carried out in the following situations:

After the birth of the baby . If the father and mother are officially married, paternity will be registered automatically immediately after the baby is born. Otherwise, you should submit an application to the registry office at the place of registration. It will need to be served together with the child’s mother, either together or two separately.
A joint statement by the father and mother is also required in cases where, at the time of the birth of the baby, a dash was placed in the corresponding column of the certificate . The same applies to cases where the father’s data was recorded solely from the mother’s words. Whether one or both parents are currently married to a third party is not important in this context.
Paternity can be established by the relevant authorities for just one father. In this case, before submitting the application, you should obtain the consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities (alternatively, a court decision). This option occurs only in certain cases (relevant documents must be attached):
In the event that at the time of establishing paternity the mother had already died.
If the mother's location could not be determined.

What is this procedure?

The procedure for establishing paternity today is extremely simple and does not require a lot of time or money spent. To implement it, it is enough to collect a package of required documents and fill out the appropriate application.

However, first it is important to understand all the nuances of this process. You also need to understand what the fact of establishing paternity will mean directly for the father and what responsibilities this places on him. This is clearly described in the Family Code of the Russian Federation. Among the father's responsibilities are the following:

Material support (payment of alimony).
Transfer of inheritance rights to a child (he becomes an heir of the first category).
Acquiring the right of inheritance (the father can inherit the property of the children in the event of their death, as well as demand alimony after retirement).

The father receives the right and opportunity to raise the child, take care of his education, protect his interests, and prohibit anything. The man himself subsequently cannot challenge paternity, even if the absence of a direct relationship is confirmed. Therefore, this procedure must be approached with full responsibility.

If the man’s awareness that this child is not his is proven, then the decision to establish paternity will be valid throughout his life. This is reflected in current legislation. Any government agency primarily cares about the interests of the child.

Who can apply

The following persons can apply for recognition of paternity:

Parents who are not related by marriage (this point is stipulated by Article 51 of the RF IC);
Father (under circumstances stipulated by law - more on this below);
Mother (the “300 days” rule applies - it is during this period that the husband will be considered the father of the child after divorce or death).
In the case of a civil marriage, it is submitted by both parents, but it is possible to submit two different applications.

Regarding recognition of paternity, you should contact the territorial registry office of the district in which the child was registered, or the residence of the child’s parents.

Drawing up an application

An application to establish paternity at the registry office must be submitted in accordance with all established standards. A special form has been created for this. All data in it is classified according to certain criteria and consists of several sections. Among them are:

data of a specific civil registry office;
Full name and passport details of parents;
a clear request by the parent that paternity be recognized, with references to the required documents;
nationality;
citizenship;
address where they actually live;
if a marriage was concluded between the parents, then it is required to indicate the details of the act confirming this event;
Full name assigned to the baby;
date and place of state registration of this child;
deciphered signatures of parents.

It is important that all data in the application and in the documents match exactly. Otherwise, it will become impossible to establish paternity through the registry office. The government agency will simply refuse to accept the documents.

Required documents

In order for a man and a woman to voluntarily establish the fact of paternity, they will need to collect a number of documents:

Joint statement of desire to acknowledge paternity. It must be issued on a standard form and exclusively in writing. Parents can sign such a document only in person; no representatives are allowed by law. If one parent is unable to attend in person, two applications must be submitted. The signature of the parent who was unable to attend must be certified by a notary.
Passports of both parents.
Certificate from the maternity hospital. It may be required when the future parent wants to carry out the procedure for establishing paternity in parallel with the registration of the child.
A receipt indicating payment of the required state duty.
Birth certificate in case of establishing paternity after completion of the state registration procedure of the child.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the moment when an application to the registry office is submitted in advance, even during the mother’s pregnancy, when the parents are not officially engaged. In this case, a slightly different package of documents will be required. The main one is the substantiation of circumstances that give reason to believe that later a personal visit to the registry office will be impossible or at least difficult.

Examples include long-term absence, emigration to another country, or serious illness. A certificate confirming that the woman is pregnant is also required.

The submitted document must express the consent of the parents to assign the chosen name to the child, as well as indicate the father’s desire to recognize the child as his own. All pre-submitted applications must be registered by the Civil Registry Office staff, and then stored on a general basis.

Thus, the application will be implemented only on the child’s birthday, and before that it can be withdrawn by the parents without any consequences.

Most often, the registration application is issued and all necessary documentation is completed on the day the applicant applies . However, there are two exceptions to this rule. The first of these is the appeal of the parents of the unborn baby. The second is a discrepancy between the place of registration of the child and the application for recognition of paternity. In the latter situation, additional time is often required for registration. Afterwards, a request is sent to request a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

Who can apply?

Both the father without a child and both parents together can declare their desire to establish paternity. In the latter case, two signatures will be required to certify the application. The main thing is that someone who wants to secure parental rights is present. Without the presence of this person, documents will not be accepted. In this case, even a certified power of attorney will not serve as a sufficient argument. This is due to the fact that recently there has been a significant increase in attempts to cheat when trying to submit this type of application.

The presence of the mother at the same time is not mandatory. However, her written consent will have to be attached. It should also be notarized. The presence and even the actual existence of the child is not mandatory. The procedure can be started at any time from conception to birth. In this case, you will need to provide a document issued by a medical institution that officially confirms the fact of pregnancy.

Establishing paternity abroad

Separately, it is worth considering the case when the baby was born not on the territory of the Russian Federation. In this case, paternity can also be established, but you will need to submit an application to the Russian consulate. Will I need to submit the following package of documents along with the application itself?

ID card of both parents,
the child’s birth document, if you have one,
written consent of the child if he is over 18 years old.

An important point: documents are submitted on behalf of the country in which the child lives. As a result, in order to use them on the territory of the Russian Federation, they will need to be additionally legalized.

State duty

Is there any fee required? A procedure such as establishing paternity in the registry office is an action that invariably has important legal significance and requires the mandatory payment of some state fee. Its size may fluctuate in accordance with amendments made to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Today it is three hundred and fifty rubles. Before a person makes a payment for establishing paternity at the registry office, it is important for him to carefully check whether the details are correct. If any mistake is made, the proposed documents will not be accepted by the relevant institution.

Some legal aspects

It remains to note a number of nuances related to the issue under discussion.

Establishing paternity is inextricably linked with the presence of due responsibility and an appropriate level of willpower . Thus, not everyone can be officially recognized as fathers, but only citizens recognized as legally capable . The exception is teenagers registering paternity, as well as citizens recognized as limited in legal capacity due to property rights.
Recognition of paternity under current legislation is regarded as an irrevocable legal act . It becomes impossible to withdraw a submitted application as soon as the relevant authorities register it.
The time period during which a citizen can register recognition of paternity is not specified in the legislation .
The completed recognition procedure can only be challenged in court . As for those cases where paternity has already been established in relation to a child: no other man claiming paternity can be officially recognized by the civil registry office. This issue is being resolved in court.
A citizen can be recognized as the father of an adult child only if the child himself agrees with this .
In cases where a man expresses in writing his desire to be recognized as the father of children whose biological father he is not, he subsequently has no right to challenge his paternity . However, there is an important exception: this rule does not apply in cases where the man himself did not know that he was not a biological parent. In this case, he has the right to challenge the fact of paternity in court.

What may be required

It is important to follow the established algorithm of actions:

Collect the required documents.
Write a corresponding statement.
Pay the required fee (attach payment receipt).
Submit the package of documents to the local registry office.
Get your certificate directly.

If the child has not yet reached ten years of age, then the consent of the mother is decisive in this matter. If he is older than the specified age, it is also necessary to obtain consent from the guardianship and trusteeship authorities.

The opinions of young adults are taken into account first. It must be stated in writing and legally certified. If such a child is against establishing paternity, the documents will not be accepted.

The mother's opinion is taken into account in a different way and does not play a key role. Although if she disagrees, the proceedings will take place in court. And the key argument when making a decision will be the desire of the child.

State duty for recognition of paternity in the registry office

Voluntary recognition of paternity is a simpler and less expensive procedure. It is possible in cases where:

the child’s parents submit a joint application to the registry office;
the father applies to the registry office on his own, but in this case permission from the guardianship and trusteeship authorities will be required.

State duty amount

The amount of mandatory payment for voluntary application to the registry office is 350 rubles. Payment of the state fee is necessary to make changes to the birth record, prepare a document establishing paternity and replace the baby’s birth certificate, in which the second parent of the minor will be entered in the “father” column.

If, in addition to making a record about the father, the parents plan to change the child’s surname or patronymic, they will need to pay an additional 1,600 rubles.

The law does not stipulate in any way - which parent should contribute the required amount; they must decide this on their own.

How to pay

There are several payment methods:

through the portal “State Services”;
using your personal account on the website of any bank;
in any branch of any bank in Russia;
through any bank terminal.

Let's look at each payment method in more detail:

Portal "Government services"

In order to pay the state fee, you will need to:

Go to the State Services website.
Fill out an application. In this case, all information must be entered into the appropriate fields of the electronic form.
Click on the “Submit” button and wait for the results of the application review. After some time, a corresponding notification will be sent to the user’s personal account.
After the notification is received, you need to choose the method in which the person is going to transfer the state fee, this can be a bank account, electronic money, or a bank plastic card.
Next, you will need to enter your account or card details and confirm the payment.
As soon as the money is transferred, the applicant’s personal account will receive a notification about the transfer of the required amount.

Sberbank Online or personal account of any other bank

In this case, you will first need to find out the details of the civil registry office, or ask the employees of the institution for a ready-made receipt form. Then the citizen must:

Log in to your personal account. To do this, you will need to enter your username and password, and then a confirmation code.
In the “Payments and Transfers” menu, you need to find the field for entering the TIN of the Civil Registry Office department, which is indicated in the receipt form, and enter the necessary numbers there. All other details will appear automatically after entering the TIN.
Then you need to check the details that appear on the monitor with those received at the registry office.
Next, you will need to enter your last name, first name and patronymic, registration address in the appropriate fields and indicate the purpose of the payment - “Payment of the state fee for establishing paternity.”
Then the payment amount is entered in a certain window.
The next step is to click on the “continue” button. A receipt will appear with all the previously entered information, which must be carefully checked again.
Next, you will need to click on the “pay” button, and then enter the received SMS in a certain field to confirm the operation.

In order to print a payment receipt, you can click on the “print” button, or if you intend to print it later, take it from the transaction history when necessary.

Branch of any Russian bank

With this payment method, it will be enough to take the payment details or a receipt form from the registry office and hand them over to the bank employee in the operating room. The bank employee will independently enter all the necessary details, all you have to do is deposit the required amount and receive a payment receipt.

Bank terminal

Now even small towns and villages have at least one bank terminal. If you have a bank card (debit or credit), then just insert it there and then follow the instructions:

Enter your PIN code.
Select the “Payments and Transfers” menu.
Click on “Transfer by TIN”.
Enter the TIN taken from the registry office employees. An automatic search for the organization will begin.
Once the search is completed, complete information about the organization will appear on the monitor.
Then you should indicate the amount that needs to be transferred, enter information about the payer and confirm the payment.

Don’t forget to pick up the check from the ATM - this is the receipt for payment of the state duty, which you will need to attach to the rest of the documents when visiting the registry office.