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213.046 Registration of births required -- Establishment of paternity -- Duties
of institution and cabinet -- Contents of birth certificate.
(1)
(2)
(3)
A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in the Commonwealth shall
be filed with the local registrar within ten (10) days after such birth and shall be
registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. All
certificates shall be typewritten. No certificate shall be held to be complete and
correct that does not supply all items of information called for in this section
and in KRS 213.051, or satisfactorily account for their omission except as
provided in KRS 199.570(3). If a certificate of birth is incomplete, the local
registrar shall immediately notify the responsible person and require that
person to supply the missing items, if that information can be obtained.
When a birth occurs in an institution or en route thereto, the person in charge
of the institution or that person's designated representative, shall obtain the
personal data, prepare the certificate, secure the signatures required, and file
the certificate as directed in subsection (1) of this section or as otherwise
directed by the state registrar within the required ten (10) days. The physician
or other person in attendance shall provide the medical information required for
the certificate and certify to the fact of birth within ten (10) days after the birth. If
the physician or other person in attendance does not certify to the fact of birth
within the ten (10) day period, the person in charge of the institution shall
complete and sign the certificate.
When a birth occurs in a hospital or en route thereto to a woman who is
unmarried, the person in charge of the hospital or that person's designated
representative shall immediately before or after the birth of a child, except
when the mother or the alleged father is a minor:
(a) Meet with the mother prior to the release from the hospital;
(b) Attempt to ascertain whether the father of the child is available in the
hospital, and, if so, to meet with him, if possible;
(c) Provide written materials and oral, audio, or video materials about
paternity;
(d) Provide forms necessary to voluntarily establish paternity;
(e) Provide a written and an oral, audio, or video description of the rights and
responsibilities, the alternatives to, and the legal consequences of
acknowledging paternity;
(f) Provide written materials and information concerning genetic paternity
testing;
(g) Provide an opportunity to speak by telephone or in person with staff who
are trained to clarify information and answer questions about paternity
establishment;
(h) If the parents wish to acknowledge paternity, require the voluntary
acknowledgment of paternity obtained through the hospital-based
program be signed by both parents and be authenticated by a notary
public;
(i) Provide the unmarried mother, and, if possible, the father, with the
affidavit of paternity form;
(j)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
Upon both the mother's and father's request, help the mother and father
in completing the affidavit of paternity form;
(k) Upon both the mother's and father's request, transmit the affidavit of
paternity to the local registrar in the county in which the birth occurred;
and
(l) In the event that the mother or the alleged father is a minor, information
set forth in this section shall be provided in accordance with Civil Rule
17.03 of the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure.
If the mother or the alleged father is a minor, the paternity determination shall
be conducted pursuant to KRS Chapter 406.
The voluntary acknowledgment-of-paternity forms designated by the Vital
Statistics Branch shall be the only documents having the same weight and
authority as a judgment of paternity.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall:
(a) Provide to all public and private birthing hospitals in the state written
materials in accessible formats and audio or video materials concerning
paternity establishment forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge
paternity;
(b) Provide copies of a written description in accessible formats and an audio
or video description of the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging
paternity; and
(c) Provide staff training, guidance, and written instructions regarding
voluntary acknowledgment of paternity as necessary to operate the
hospital-based program.
When a birth occurs outside an institution, the certificate shall be prepared and
filed by one (1) of the following in the indicated order of priority:
(a) The physician in attendance at or immediately after the birth; or, in the
absence of such a person,
(b) Any other person in attendance at or immediately after the birth; or, in the
absence of such a person,
(c) The father, the mother, or in the absence of the father and the inability of
the mother, the person in charge of the premises where the birth occurred
or of the institution to which the child was admitted following the birth.
No physician, midwife, or other attendant shall refuse to sign or delay the filing
of a birth certificate.
If a birth occurs on a moving conveyance within the United States and the child
is first removed from the conveyance in the Commonwealth, the birth shall be
registered in the Commonwealth, and the place where the child is first removed
shall be considered the place of birth. If a birth occurs on a moving conveyance
while in international waters or air space or in a foreign country or its air space
and the child is first removed from the conveyance in the Commonwealth, the
birth shall be registered in the Commonwealth, but the certificate shall show
the actual place of birth insofar as can be determined.
The following provisions shall apply if the mother was married at the time of
either conception or birth or anytime between conception and birth:
(a)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
If there is no dispute as to paternity, the name of the husband shall be
entered on the certificate as the father of the child. The surname of the
child shall be any name chosen by the parents; however, if the parents
are separated or divorced at the time of the child's birth, the choice of
surname rests with the parent who has legal custody following birth.
(b) If the mother claims that the father of the child is not her husband and the
husband agrees to such a claim and the putative father agrees to the
statement, a three (3) way affidavit of paternity may be signed by the
respective parties and duly notarized. The state registrar of vital statistics
shall enter the name of a nonhusband on the birth certificate as the father
and the surname of the child shall be any name chosen by the mother.
(c) If a question of paternity determination arises which is not resolved under
paragraph (b) of this subsection, it shall be settled by the District Court.
The following provisions shall apply if the mother was not married at the time of
either conception or birth or between conception and birth or the marital
relationship between the mother and her husband has been interrupted for
more than ten (10) months prior to the birth of the child:
(a) The name of the father shall not be entered on the certificate of birth. The
state registrar shall upon acknowledgment of paternity by the father and
with consent of the mother pursuant to KRS 213.121, enter the father's
name on the certificate. The surname of the child shall be any name
chosen by the mother and father. If there is no agreement, the child's
surname shall be determined by the parent with legal custody of the child.
(b) If an affidavit of paternity has been properly completed and the certificate
of birth has been filed accordingly, any further modification of the birth
certificate regarding the paternity of the child shall require an order from
the District Court.
(c) In any case in which paternity of a child is determined by a court order,
the name of the father and surname of the child shall be entered on the
certificate of birth in accordance with the finding and order of the court.
(d) In all other cases, the surname of the child shall be any name chosen by
the mother.
If the father is not named on the certificate of birth, no other information about
the father shall be entered on the certificate. In all cases, the maiden name of
the gestational mother shall be entered on the certificate.
Any child whose surname was restricted prior to July 13, 1990, shall be entitled
to apply to the state registrar for an amendment of a birth certificate showing as
the surname of the child, any surname chosen by the mother or parents as
provided under this section.
The birth certificate of a child born as a result of artificial insemination shall be
completed in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Each birth certificate filed under this section shall include all Social Security
numbers that have been issued to the parents of the child.
Either of the parents of the child, or other informant, shall attest to the accuracy
of the personal data entered on the certificate in time to permit the filing of the
certificate within ten (10) days prescribed in subsection (1) of this section.
(16) When a birth certificate is filed for any birth that occurred outside an institution,
the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall forward information regarding
the need for an auditory screening for an infant and a list of options available
for obtaining an auditory screening for an infant. The list shall include the
Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs, local health
departments as established in KRS Chapter 212, hospitals offering obstetric
services, alternative birthing centers required to provide an auditory screening
under KRS 216.2970, audiological assessment and diagnostic centers
approved by the Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs in
accordance with KRS 211.647 and licensed audiologists, and shall specify the
hearing methods approved by the Commission for Children with Special Health
Care Needs in accordance with KRS 216.2970.
Effective:June 25, 2009
History: Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 102, sec. 4, effective June 25, 2009. -Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 433, effective June 20, 2005. -- Amended
2000 Ky. Acts ch. 308, sec. 27, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky.
Acts ch. 255, sec. 14, effective July 15, 1998; and ch. 426, sec. 383, effective
July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 365, sec. 4, effective July 15,
1996. -- Amended 1994 Ky. Acts ch. 405, sec. 81, effective July 15, 1994.
Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 166, sec. 2, effective July 14, 1992. -- Created 1990
Ky. Acts ch. 369, sec. 8, effective July 13, 1990.
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