Vital Statistics

PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Skagit County Public Health Department can notarize paternity acknowledgments for persons born in Washington at no cost. A person mails the completed acknowledgment to the Center for Health Statistics in Olympia. Acknowledgments can be obtained at the Health Department. Our office hours are MONDAY through FRIDAY from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

If there are questions regarding paternity acknowledgments, please call the Skagit County Public Health Department at (360) 416-1500. More information can be obtained by using the Division of Child Support link below.

https://www.dshs.wa.gov/faq/how-do-i-establish-paternity-signing-paternity-acknowledgment

WHAT IS THE COST OF PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Center for Health Statistics charges a $15.00 filing fee for paternity acknowledgments mailed to them. Your local child support office may be able to pay the $15.00 filing fee if you meet the qualifications listed below.

1. The child must have been born in Washington State.
2. The child's mother was unmarried at the time of birth.
3. The father of the child is not named on the child's birth certificate.

If you need further assistance and details, please contact your local child support office.

WHAT IS A PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT?

A paternity acknowledgment can be used to allow parents to acknowledge paternity of a child born in Washington State if the man agrees he is the father. The father and mother (and the mother's husband if she was married) sign the paternity acknowledgment in front of a notary.